Sebastian Vettel says he believes his Ferrari has the speed to challenge Lewis Hamilton for victory in the Belgian Grand Prix.
Vettel will line up second on the grid behind his championship rival after Hamilton secured his seventh pole position of the season around the Spa circuit.
“I had a very good feeling in Q1,” says Vettel. “The get going was really good and then I lost that feeling a little bit. I had a bit of a light front end, especially through sector two with the medium to high speed corners. I was lacking a little bit of response.
“But the last lap, the car was more alive. I could feel it turning into turn one. I must admit I was a bit lucky with Kimi [Raikkonen] who had to abort the lap and he gave me a very very nice tow, which made it a bit more comfortable with Valtteri [Bottas]. Good position today. Great job from the team, I’m very happy. Looking forward to the race.”
Despite being beaten to pole by his rival, Vettel is confident that Ferrari’s long-run pace will allow them to challenge Mercedes tomorrow.
“So far it has been pretty good, so hopefully we can keep it up,” Vettel continues.
“On one lap, I think all weekend the car’s been a bit trickier to get together. Consecutive laps, high fuel, I feel really good. So let’s see what we can do with the strategy tomorrow. I’m sure Mercedes are going to be quick, but we don’t have to hide. We’re on the front row for a reason. We have the speed and we should have it in the race.”
2017 Belgian Grand Prix
- 2017 Belgian Grand Prix team radio transcript
- 2017 Belgian Grand Prix Predictions Championship results
- 2017 Belgian Grand Prix Star Performers
- “That’s a BS call”: 2017 Belgian GP team radio highlights
- Hamilton equals Schumacher’s pole record with 41 races to spare
Jorge Lardone (@jorge-lardone)
26th August 2017, 15:15
Vettel honest, as always is.
George (@george)
26th August 2017, 15:17
Despite all the talk of this being a Mercedes circuit, they do seem pretty evenly matched if you remove their quali engine mode advantage. If anything Ferrari might be slightly faster.
Gigantor (@kbdavies)
26th August 2017, 15:47
EVERY engine has a “quali mode”. Ferrari are no different. If you remove theirs too, you would still end up with the same result. The real point is, despite what many think, and as you correctly opined, the Ferrari is a slightly faster car overall – quali and race pace.
To put it into perspective, if swap Kimi and Lewis, what do you think the result would be? Merc would probably not be on pole. As fast as Seb went, Lewis would probably have beaten him to pole and proven that the Ferrari is even faster.
What would we all be saying then?
Makana (@makana)
26th August 2017, 15:56
Really? It’s that obvious to you! The results, if you swap Lewis and Kimi… Bottas all of a sudden becoming the benchmark 😁
Markp
26th August 2017, 15:58
Mercs quali mode is said to be the best so removing them wont remove the same advantage by both.
Last Merc engine spec here on a power track and not much in it. Ferrari expected to have last spec next race. If Ferrari can close on the fast tracks and nik a win on one and maintain advantage on slower tracks it would be look8ng good for Ferrari. Hamilton should win next 2 races but any loss of points to Vettel in either will be like a break of serve.
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
26th August 2017, 16:00
@kbdavies Considering the Mercedes is still the better car in Q, and the difference between the two was only .2s I’m fairly sure it would be Vettel leading Hamilton the way,…
Jdubs
26th August 2017, 16:22
I’m not so sure Mercedes conclusively has the best car in qualifying (Ferrari front row in the last race even with Kimi – must be some car). Also you’ve come to the conclusion that Vettel would be faster based on that first assumption. Not sure you’re correct… @xtwl
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
26th August 2017, 18:15
@xtwl to be fair VET did get a tow
Kingshark (@kingshark)
26th August 2017, 21:02
@kbdavies
Your assumptions are based on nothing. Ferrari is in absolutely no way the fastest car in qualifying. You’d have to be extremely blinkered to believe that. Ferrari is also slightly slower than Mercedes on Sunday on average this season. Vettel has been better than Hamilton this season, which he usually is every second year (2011, 2013, 2015, and now 2017).
Kgn11
26th August 2017, 15:46
I’m sure Lewis is too.
Seems a lot of this is based on FP2 yesterday, however that was misleading as the session was interrupted by rain. Look st Seb’s stint and he only did 2 laps in the 1:49’s throughout his stint. But what we do know, apart from Australia, when Lewis takes pole, his race has always been better than everyone else’s.
Baron
27th August 2017, 6:49
Oh sorry, didn’t see the when he takes pole part. But even then, the way the Merc is means pole or taking the lead is almost a guaranteed victory. So it’s not exactly a tremendous feat.
Gigantor (@kbdavies)
26th August 2017, 16:54
I dont know if you only just started watching F1, But Bottas is not the ONLY benchmark. Alonso, Button and Rosberg are – and Lewis has beaten them all in qualifying and also at Spa. More so, Kimi’s record at Spa is more impressive than Vettel’s.
And irrespective of you think of who is the better driver between the two, anyone who thinks Seb will beat Lewis at qualifying over the course of a season must have some serious blinkers on.
David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
26th August 2017, 18:16
To be fair Rosberg’s done it before…..
Gigantor (@kbdavies)
26th August 2017, 18:39
Agreed. But we have to consider Lewis was new to the team and had issues with the existing brake calipers which he was not used to. Once that was changed, normal order was restored. Not excusing this unique loss in his career, just explaining it.
Kingshark (@kingshark)
26th August 2017, 20:54
@kbdavies
It was his second season at Mercedes, it really shouldn’t be used as an excuse.
Loup Garou (@loup-garou)
26th August 2017, 20:41
Put them both in Mercs and then you’ll see who’s blinking!
Remember that Vettel has never driven a car that was the fastest in a straight line ie raw pace. His race winning Red Bulls were often among the slower ones over speed traps.
anon
27th August 2017, 7:54
@loup-garou, and is top speed really of relevance when you want a car that is the fastest over the entire lap, not just in a straight line?
Red Bull intentionally set the cars up with the gearing ratios and wing levels that meant they were gear limited, but could rely on their pace advantage in the corners and being able to out-accelerate their rivals to reach that top speed more quickly to ensure that they were the fastest overall.
When they did put a longer top gear in – as they had to in the 2012 Abu Dhabi GP when they failed the fuel sample requirements and Vettel had to start from the back of the grid – their top speed was comparable with their rivals, showing that their lower top speeds at most circuits was an intentional consequence of their set up to maximise performance over the lap as a whole.
Loup Garou (@loup-garou)
27th August 2017, 9:30
IMO it can be. During a whole race, almost no driver ever drives his car to perfection. Relative to grid position, other cars, mistakes by other cars, climate, strategy and the driver’s own errors, he might find himself in a less than advantageous position at a certain stage of the race than he could or should have been. In that case, a straight-line speed advantage over a rival can be significant, if the said rival can be closed upon just before a long straight. Once overtaken, we all know it is difficult to pass back on most of today’s race tracks.
The 2012 US Grand prix is a prime example. The commentator said several times that Hamilton’s McMerc was some 13 KPH faster on the “straight” than Vettel’s Red Bull. That is one of the easiest tracks to overtake and once Hamilton had done so, there was nothing Vettel could do about it because his car did not have the speed to defend.
Baron
27th August 2017, 6:51
Rosberg And Button are NOT the benchmarks in F1. Rosberg was beaten by Webber and Button only outpaced Barrichello.
Sviatoslav (@)
26th August 2017, 20:56
Ferrari is going to win this race easily.