Vettel has 'no excuses' for pole defecit

  • Published on 31 Aug 2019 16:35
  • comments 2
  • By: Fergal Walsh

Sebastian Vettel says there are "no excuses" for his gap to pole position on Saturday at the Belgian Grand Prix.

The German will line-up in second place for the start of Sunday's race, behind teammate Charles Leclerc, who managed to take pole position by over seven-tenths of a second.

The runs in Q3 saw traffic stack up in the final sector as drivers jostled for position, with Vettel being overtaken at the final corner by the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, who ended the session in third.

Despite the traffic problems, Vettel says there must be no excuses for him as he goes in search of his first victory in 12 months.

"In the end, it's good that we secured the first row," Vettel said. "To fight for pole... I was sort of in the queue and that didn't help. But there are no excuses.

"There's good pace in the car so hopefully we can show it over the 44 laps," he added.

With lower temperatures expected for the race on Sunday, Vettel is not expecting such a scenario to impact the car, as it will be the same situation for everybody. 

"It should be better, the car felt better today," he said. "The temperatures should drop overnight, which makes a difference, but it's the same for everyone."

Teammate Charles Leclerc admits that his first sector was far from ideal, but he managed to hook the lap up in the following two sectors to take his third career pole. 

"It felt good. The first sector wasn't what I wanted, especially the first corner," said the Monegasque driver. "We had to go very slow throughout the lap because there was a lot of traffic. But after that from the second corner onwards, we were very strong and it felt amazing."

Leclerc didn't get caught up in the tussle for track position at the end of the session, which is something he says he worked to avoid, as he didn't want a slipstream. 

"That's what I asked in the garage, I didn't really care about a slipstream. It was just too much of a mess to prepare the tyres and the lap overall, and it worked out, so I'm happy."

Replies (2)

Login to reply
  • f1ski

    Posts: 726

    His excuse is age. Lewis in a lesser car would possibly show the effects of time as well.

    • + 0
    • Aug 31 2019 - 23:30
    • Age is hardly an excuse. Especially for Vettel. He should be in his prime. Regarding Lewis there is hardly any evidence that he is driving any worse than he was in 2014 at age 30. If anything, he seems less susceptible to bullshit that made him have pathetic weekends. No, I think we are actually witnessing Seb dwindling. Slowly. But Charles has been faster than him several times this year already

      • + 0
      • Sep 1 2019 - 07:09

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

BE Grand 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 Aston Martin
  • Points 1,480
  • Podiums 56
  • Grand Prix 161
  • Country DE
  • Date of b. Jul 3 1987 (35)
  • Place of b. Heppenheim, DE
  • Weight 62 kg
  • Length 1.75 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar