Sebastian Vettel confirmed during qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix that Ferrari’s discreet performances so far this year have certainly not been an obstacle as he suffered his first performance-related Q2 outing since joining the team in 2015 But the German was still aiming for points on Sunday as he prepared for a P11 start.
A sloppy final effort by Vettel in Q2 saw him kicked out of qualification by teammate Charles Leclerc in tenth place for just 0.165s, with Leclerc ranking a humble P7 in Q3, almost a second slower than his pole time. last year . The performance prompted Vettel to confess that, despite the team having downplayed his chances before the weekend, he had nonetheless been surprised by his lack of pace.
READ MORE: Ferrari Performance ‘Even Worse Than Expected’ Leclerc Admits After Difficult Start In Austria
“Surprised,” he said after his Q2 departure. “I thought we had a little more on hand, but it seems like the others were probably spending a little more fuel or more conservatives in practice.”
“I wasn’t too happy with the car … more input oversteer than I’d like, but we’ll see. I think tomorrow is a different image. Maybe with the track a little hotter, today it cost us a little more. ”
With Mercedes, Red Bull, McLaren and Racing Point posting faster times than Ferrari in Q3, the pace of a team lap seems to be of great concern. But Vettel was calmer about the team’s long running pace, after our data on Friday showed them the fourth fastest on that metric, behind Mercedes, Racing Point and Red Bull.
“It is a long race,” Vettel said, before Sunday’s 71-lap meeting. “I think that in career adjustment we are always better. I think we will be there to regain the ground and score some good points. “
It looks like the radically improved Ferrari SF1000, set to hit the Hungarian Grand Prix in two weeks, just can’t come fast enough.
Sebastian Vettel: ‘It’s a surprise’ to be in Q2
