Vettel adopts a different strategy in Shanghai

Red Bull Racing had a disappointing qualifying at the Chinese Grand Prix. Three weeks after its controversial double at Sepang, the Austrian team was unable to place an RB9 in the top eight on the starting grid. Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel both encountered mechanical problems: the Australian suffered a fuel pressure problem in Q2, forcing him to settle for 14th place on the grid, while the three-time world champion encountered a problem with his braking system in Q3 condemning him to ninth place. “I lost my brake pedal or something broke and I couldn’t finish my lap.”, commented the German after the last qualifying session. “I checked the tires and they were undamaged. »

Sebastian Vettel was aware that his car so efficient in Malaysia was not able to qualify at the front against the other top teams. The last winner at Sepang preferred to take the medium tires to establish a different strategy from his opponents who will all start in front of him with the soft tires. “We saw that some were very fast, especially the Mercedes and Ferrari, and so we decided to take a different approach.", added the German. “Soft tires don’t last long and mediums seem to be a better choice for racing. We will see if this choice pays off. »