Sebastian Vettel said he expected McLaren to be quicker than them in qualifying.
But he believes Red Bull’s strategy of not using the soft tyres in qualifying will help them in the race.
Speaking in the press conference he said: “To be honest I think McLaren looked very competitive yesterday.
“I know the conditions were completely different but you could see that they were a fair chunk ahead of everyone including us, as well as this morning in the dry. They looked extremely quick.
“I think once again we pushed them very hard in qualifying and got very close – I think closer than they expected and probably closer than we expected in some regards, so I think we did a very good job in qualifying.
“Also, we saved all our prime tyres which I think will be crucial for tomorrow. Obviously we had only a rough idea this morning with a little bit more fuel in the car so we could be in a good position.”
Vettel said tyre wear will be “crucial” in the race: “Jenson did a very good job last race in particular so I think that again will be very important tomorrow.”
2011 Korean Grand Prix
Image © Korean GP/Sutton
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
15th October 2011, 8:14
Well, he expected them to be quicker, but only one of them was.
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
15th October 2011, 19:47
I wonder if Jenson made a mistake in the final sector… He was looking good for pole for a while there.
Younger Hamii (@younger-hamii)
15th October 2011, 8:17
I think Seb had a tenth still in the bag despite being held up by Di Resta but looking at the nature of the Track & referring back to McLaren’s Suzuka Performance,I agree with Seb on that but RB do have the better Race Strategies if im right(3 New sets of Options).
Fascinating race to be seen,Cant wait!!!
Eggry (@eggry)
15th October 2011, 8:19
so this time Red bull would like to kick Mclaren’s ass in the race? Interesting. I think Button will be very important role in Vettel-Ham battle. and don’t forget Ferrari and Mercedes have had stunning starts!
aka_robyn (@)
15th October 2011, 8:23
I think “kick[ing] McLaren’s ass in the race” is their goal in general, yes.
raymondu999 (@raymondu999)
15th October 2011, 8:25
“Kicking [insert other team’s name]’s ****” is everyone’s goal in the sport. Any sport for that matter.
BasCB (@bascb)
15th October 2011, 8:29
I am certainly looking forward to see how that might pan out! Getting different tyre strategies, yeah!
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
15th October 2011, 8:37
Are you sure it’s not the Button-Hamilton battle?
Eggry (@eggry)
15th October 2011, 8:57
@Alex Bkk of course I’m not sure! If Button leapfrog Vettel it would become Button-Hamilton battle certainly.
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
15th October 2011, 9:21
I know what you mean. Is it worse to lose to Vettel or your team-mate?
raymondu999 (@raymondu999)
15th October 2011, 8:20
I think this was coming for quite some time now. McLaren was the fastest car in Suzuka too
Tyson Evans (@bobtehblob)
15th October 2011, 8:26
I think Button might be a bit of a sleeper this race. Wasn’t to far off Hamilton pace wise, and he always looks after the tyres better.
One things certain, the race is going to be decided on tyres more so then anything else for sure!
BasCB (@bascb)
15th October 2011, 8:34
It might be interesting for Hamilton going fast from the start, Button waiting a bit to conserve the tyres for that one or two lap extra and Vettel going for a slightly different strategy using longer runs on the soft tyres.
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
15th October 2011, 8:41
That’s my thinking as well. Should be a very good race.
Canuck
15th October 2011, 22:05
Hammy will have no more tires by the 8 or 9th lap …..will have pushed too hard like usual ……deja vu all over again ….JB will shine once again.
bananarama (@bananarama)
15th October 2011, 8:50
I guess BUtton can win the race if Vettel and Hamilton get caught up in a fight or if he can get ahead at the start. I see quite a chance for the two McLarens to lead after the first corner. The only chance I see for Hamilton to win is if he can run away with the lead. But thats just a guess, who knows how the tyres will perform tomorrow.
Scary Terry (@hatebreeder)
15th October 2011, 8:46
its just that mclaren delivers a stunning car just a little late.
Alex Bkk (@alex-bkk)
15th October 2011, 9:01
In all fairness to Macca, and this subject was beaten to death at the beginning of the season. (Why did they build this piece of rubbish?) It was a completely new design, now they have a platform that they can build on next season. With all the testing limits, I think they have done a good job to get the car up front.
@HoHum (@hohum)
15th October 2011, 8:47
Superb ******** by Vettel, they have more sets of the slow tyre so watchout.
Fixy (@)
15th October 2011, 10:28
I was more suprised after the initial Q3 run than after the second. Vettel clearly tried to take pole, and this shows how fast McLaren, and Hamilton, were.
just.daz (@nemo87)
15th October 2011, 11:14
of course you did seb..
David-A (@david-a)
15th October 2011, 12:12
He would have expected a Macca front row lockout, but still split them.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
15th October 2011, 20:59
@nemo87 It’s not that unbelievable if you think about it. Button was all over Suzuka, even throughout practice and with those 2 generous straights in Korea it’s not really a surprise that Vettel might feel more threatened than usual.
John H (@john-h)
15th October 2011, 12:38
Now that they have the WDC, there’s a chance that Red Bull have now taken something dodgy off the car. I might be way of the mark, but it just seems strange that they don’t have that 1 second (or more) qualifying advantage to the field (and I’m not just talking about to McLaren here).
Why else would they be so convinced that McLaren would be faster? Horner completely expected it in his post-qualifying interview – but why only in these last two races? Ferrari were as quick as them at Japan. It just doesn’t add up.
By the way, the banning of EBDs will have a massive effect on McLaren so I’m not so confident they will be starting 2012 where they look to be leaving off this year.
David-A (@david-a)
15th October 2011, 19:37
Red Bull have not had a 1 second qualifying advantage for a long time, probably not even all season. I can’t help but feel disappointed that a regular F1Fanatic would really think Red Bull have had such an advantage, and only because of “something dodgy”.
Perhaps RB were convinced Mclaren were faster because of last weekend and the free practices this weekend?
John H (@john-h)
16th October 2011, 1:26
Sorry to dissapoint David, although I did try and stress I might be way off the mark with this one! I just find it strange they don’t have the same advantage anymore, be it half a second we saw at Monza, or my grossly exaggerated 1 second from way earlier of course. There’s also the speculation about Webber’s plank wear at Monza by scarbs and others, but in all reality I’m sure everything RBR did was above board and my comments look stupid!
John H (@john-h)
16th October 2011, 1:43
Link is here
And by dodgy, I mean it could still be legal, but dodgy… Hope that makes sense :)
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
15th October 2011, 21:02
Now, if Vettel or Webber manage to take a win based purely on strategy that will really rub plenty of people up the wrong way!
I think that would be a wonderful way for them to bounce back and I would love to see how this strategy pans out.