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 2024

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 - 2024

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
29 - Mar 2
Bahrain
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia
22 - Mar 24
Australia
5 - Apr 7
Japan
19 - Apr 21
China
3 - May 5
United States of America
17 - May 19
Italy
24 - May 26
Monaco
7 - Jun 9
Canada
21 - Jun 23
Spain
28 - Jun 30
Austria
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom
19 - Jul 21
Hungary
26 - Jul 28
Belgium
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands
30 - Sep 1
Italy
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan
20 - Sep 22
Singapore
18 - Oct 20
United States of America
25 - Oct 27
Mexico
1 - Nov 3
Brazil
22 - Nov 24
United States of America
29 - Dec 1
Qatar
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates
-
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
29 - Mar 2
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
22 - Mar 24
Australia Albert Park
5 - Apr 7
19 - Apr 21
3 - May 5
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
17 - May 19
24 - May 26
Monaco Monte Carlo
7 - Jun 9
21 - Jun 23
28 - Jun 30
Austria Red Bull Ring
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom Silverstone
19 - Jul 21
Hungary Hungaroring
26 - Jul 28
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
30 - Sep 1
Italy Monza
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
20 - Sep 22
18 - Oct 20
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
25 - Oct 27
1 - Nov 3
Brazil Interlagos
22 - Nov 24
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
29 - Dec 1
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
-
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team Red Bull Racing
  • Points 3,024
  • Podiums 112
  • Grand Prix 209
  • Country NL
  • Date of b. Sep 30 1997 (27)
  • Place of b. Hasselt (Belgie), NL
  • Weight 70 kg
  • Length 1.8 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar