Vettel reveals he nearly lost the car on pole lap

  • Published on 28 Oct 2017 23:12
  • comments 2
  • By: Fergal Walsh

Sebastian Vettel has admitted that he very nearly lost his car on his lap that secured him pole position. The German pipped Max Verstappen in the final moments of the session to take his 50th career pole position with a lap time of 1:16.488.

Vettel will need a lot of luck if he has any chance of securing his fifth world championship this season, as there is now a monumental 66-point gap to title rival Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton himself couldn't challenge Vettel on Saturday, and will line-up from third on the grid.

Speaking about his milestone pole position, Vettel said: "It was quite a lap I have to say, I’m really, really happy. It’s very difficult here, very slippery, it’s difficult to get everything in one lap. I had a little bit [of an advantage] in the first sector, I managed to get that right, so I had a good start.

"Then I had a bit of a moment at Turn 6, and I nearly lost it there, I had to go down to first gear, but I didn’t lose any time," he admitted. "Then I knew in the last sector if I could just keep it clean and cross the line it should be enough, and it was."

Vettel vows to fight hard during tomorrow's Grand Prix but is aware that he doesn't have much control over his world championship hopes. With it being almost three months since Vettel and Ferrari have won a race, the 30-year-old thinks the Scuderia is due a strong result.

"Tomorrow we’ll see, it’s not as much in my control as I would like it to be, so it depends what Lewis is doing," added Vettel. "For us we’ll go all out, we’ll attack, and we’ll see what we can do. We deserve a good result, Ferrari deserves a good result, let’s see what we can do tomorrow."

Replies (2)

Login to reply
  • boudy

    Posts: 1,168

    Not sure if i agree that they deserve a good result. Would like to see a great battle between hamilton and vettel. Will max win again?

    • + 0
    • Oct 29 2017 - 05:30
    • With some luck, though I pretty much expect him to be a temporary hinderance for whomever he gets in front of more than anything else. Mexico's GP generally favour high top speeds, so it should in theory benefit all the Mercedes teams. Why the grid looks the way it does is beyond me.

      • + 0
      • Oct 29 2017 - 11:59

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

World Championship standings 2023

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2023

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
3 - Mar 5
Bahrain
17 - Mar 19
Saudi Arabia
31 - Apr 2
Australia
28 - Apr 30
Azerbaijan
5 - May 7
United States of America
19 - May 21
Italy
26 - May 28
Monaco
2 - Jun 4
Spain
16 - Jun 18
Canada
30 - Jul 2
Austria
7 - Jul 9
United Kingdom
21 - Jul 23
Hungary
28 - Jul 30
Belgium
25 - Aug 27
Netherlands
1 - Sep 3
Italy
15 - Sep 17
Singapore
22 - Sep 24
Japan
20 - Oct 22
United States of America
27 - Oct 29
Mexico
3 - Nov 5
Brazil
17 - Nov 19
United States of America
24 - Nov 26
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2023

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
3 - Mar 5
17 - Mar 19
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
31 - Apr 2
Australia Albert Park
28 - Apr 30
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
5 - May 7
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
19 - May 21
26 - May 28
Monaco Monte Carlo
2 - Jun 4
16 - Jun 18
30 - Jul 2
Austria Red Bull Ring
7 - Jul 9
United Kingdom Silverstone
21 - Jul 23
Hungary Hungaroring
28 - Jul 30
25 - Aug 27
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
1 - Sep 3
Italy Monza
15 - Sep 17
22 - Sep 24
20 - Oct 22
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
27 - Oct 29
3 - Nov 5
Brazil Interlagos
17 - Nov 19
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
24 - Nov 26
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team Red Bull Racing
  • Points 2,587
  • Podiums 98
  • Grand Prix 185
  • Country NL
  • Date of b. Sep 30 1997 (26)
  • Place of b. Hasselt (Belgie), NL
  • Weight 70 kg
  • Length 1.8 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar