From his pole position, Sebastian Vettel remains measured about the outcome of the Singapore Grand Prix
Sebastian Vettel made a strong impression in Singapore during the qualifications: he is the first driver not equipped with a Mercedes engine to secure a pole position since the advent of the turbo engine in March 2014. However, the joy of the Ferrari driver is short-lived: he is particularly concerned about a possible resurgence in power from the Mercedes drivers for tomorrow's race!
The four-time world champion delivered a high-flying performance in the illuminated streets of Singapore. A driving style that was both fast and smooth allowed him to secure an unprecedented pole position in red overalls, marking the 46th of his career. Nevertheless, he believes that Mercedes remains a rival in the pursuit of the Grand Prix.
« *I’m sure that Mercedes, just like Red Bull, will be fast tomorrow.* » he told reporters once he got out of the car. « *Anything other than this observation would be a surprise. It’s already surprising that they are not better positioned. Tomorrow’s race offers a lot of work ahead.* »
Regarding his own performance, the German driver wants to savor it in any case: «I know it’s only Saturday and that the bulk of the weekend is tomorrow and the race, but I’m trying to enjoy it, ever since I found out we’ve secured this pole position. »
Her overall performance seems almost idyllic since this morning: «Everything had gone quite well since the start of qualifying and even since the Free Practice session this afternoon (this noon in France). »
With a time of 1:43.885, he was nearly six-tenths ahead of his closest rival, Daniel Ricciardo, his former teammate at Red Bull. Such a gap left him perplexed: “I am surprised by the gap. I am very satisfied with my laps in qualifying, especially the last one at the end of Q3: it was an almost perfect lap. The lap is so difficult here that you can easily lose a few tenths by pushing a little too much. I was very happy to complete the lap without making any big mistakes.”
For his part, Kimi Räikkönen should also not be forgotten tomorrow at the start. He will start third. His qualifying session was a bit more complicated due to some problems. “It’s a good result for the team today,” Iceman stated in his traditional style.
I wasn’t very happy at the end of the last free practice session. So I’m a bit surprised to be so high on the grid given our difficulties in getting the car to work well. Let’s hope we can place both our cars on the podium tomorrow.
These good performances by Scuderia Ferrari were praised by the English veteran Jenson Button. Stuck in the midfield with his McLaren-Honda, he stated to the microphone of the English channel Sky Sports F1: “This Pole is excellent, it’s exactly what our sport needed. This weekend is very important for Formula 1. Even though Mercedes deserve praise for doing an excellent job, it’s also good for them to be 1.3 seconds off the best time this time, it adds a bit of spice to this season and shows them that they always have to be competitive.”
