An overly cautious approach for Vettel

Already upset by a five-place grid penalty for gearbox change, Sebastian Vettel could not do better than fourth place at the end of the qualifying session. A result transformed into ninth position at the start tomorrow on the Spielberg track.

Rather satisfied with the performance of his SF16-H, the German admitted taking insufficient risks in delicate track conditions. “The car was good, performing well all day. I don't think anything was missing, the only thing missing was time.

A fourth place is still decent, which puts us 9th, but it's not ideal because everything was linked to the last lap. The trail was surprisingly dry, perhaps drier than I expected. In hindsight, I should have taken more risks. The pace, or the car, is not in question. It comes down to the driver, and the three drivers in front of me took more risks. The later you crossed the line, the better. »

By establishing his Q2 lap on super-soft tires, Vettel, like Räikkönen, could benefit from a more advantageous strategy than the drivers Mercedes, who will have to start on ultra-soft tires.

“Tomorrow anything can happen, maybe there will be a little rain. It will be significantly cooler and the problem will lie in tire management. We are in a good position and the car was really nice to drive and I thought we could be closer to the top places. »

Like most of the drivers this Saturday in Austria, Vettel was questioned about the kerbs, which caused a lot of damage in the peloton, notably to Nico Rosberg in EL3, or even Daniil Kvyat in Q1. “ It is certain that it is better not to touch them, and I think that for next year we must find a solution, but for tomorrow there is nothing that can be done. »