Ferrari: To beat Mercedes in the race, Vettel hopes for a miracle
Sebastian Vettel set the third fastest time in the qualifying session at Interlagos. Kimi Räikkönen, who posted the fifth fastest time, will nevertheless start 4th after Valtteri Bottas's penalty. The two red cars, however, finished at a good distance from the Mercedes.
The Ferrari chassis proved to be better, except, once again, for the Mercedes. This Saturday in Interlagos, Sebastian Vettel secured his usual spot on the third row, more than half a second behind the Mercedes: « I would have loved to be a bit closer to the Mercedes » he admitted. « But we did our best today. »
He holds a small hope of creating a surprise in the race: « In order to finish ahead of the Mercedes, we need a fantastic start because the first corner comes up quickly, and a good start always helps. Then, in race pace, we are usually a bit faster than in qualifying, close enough to put some pressure on the Mercedes, and then I think we can play with the strategy. Interlagos is a crazy place, a lot of things can happen and you never know what might happen during a Grand Prix. (…) Our goal for tomorrow is to give it our all. We want to make a miracle happen. »
Kimi Räikkönen never managed to get ahead of his teammate this weekend and admitted himself to having made a few mistakes during the session: « I went wide on the last lap, at turn 11, and this mistake also affected my next lap. But apart from that, the car behaved well. Its balance was good, it responded really well, even though we are obviously not fast enough to beat the Mercedes. »
Thanks to Valtteri Bottas’s penalty, which demotes him from 4th to 7th place for passing under the red flag during Free Practice, Kimi Räikkönen will start on an all-Ferrari second row.
