Sebastian Vettel certainly imagined the Formula 1 qualifying in Le Castellet differently. Despite a new underbody, which was only installed shortly before the third practice session, it was only enough for 14th place in qualifying.
After all, the Aston Martin driver will move up two positions for the start of the race due to the grid penalty for Carlos Sainz and Kevin Magnussen. Small consolation for Vettel, however, as he didn’t get his fastest lap right in Q2.
“I think a tenth would have been possible,” said Vettel. “Because I made a little blunder in the last corner, but it wouldn’t have made any difference, also in terms of position, so I think it was ok.”
Vettel is hoping for a lot of tire wear in the race
“The new underbody just came in today for me and was a bit different with the balance so it was hard to get used to at first. But then thank god I had a good second shot [in Q1].”
“Compared to others, we don’t have the luxury of being able to warm up a bit first, but have to show directly what’s possible and then there’s not much more to come. But that’s how it is,” analyzes Vettel.
Despite the weaker Aston Martin performance in qualifying, there could still be points for the race, since the race simulation on Friday was “not that bad” according to Vettel. “I think the race is generally ok. I hope that it will be very hot tomorrow and that everyone will have problems with the tires and I hope that I can make the difference there,” said the German.
Lance Stroll slowed down by traffic
However, his teammate Lance Stroll stayed under the radar with 17th place in qualifying on Saturday: “I hit traffic in the last sector on my last lap, which was a shame,” explains the Canadian. “That definitely cost me my place in Q2.”
Despite the suboptimal qualifying, team boss Mike Krack is confident about Sunday’s race in France: “We had a good performance on the long runs yesterday, which is why our goal is points for tomorrow’s race.”