Vettel: Pole is no longer as important

Sebastian Vettel won the 33rd pole of his career in Valencia, which allows him to move up to the level of Jim Clark and Alain Prost in terms of the number of qualifications won. The pilot Red Bull excels on the Spanish urban circuit where he has won in the last two editions after also starting from first place on the grid. However, the German knows that the hardest part is still to be done even if overtaking is known to be difficult on this track. “It will be a difficult race where the results will be hard to predict”, commented the pole sitter of the European Grand Prix. “We've tried too many times this year to make predictions after clinching that spot on Saturday afternoon. It is easier to make predictions about football rather than the outcome of the race. It will be warmer tomorrow and there will be a lot of cars to watch out for. Ferrari is very competitive, Williams is fast (Pastor Maldonado starts from third place) and Lotus proved its capabilities in Bahrain. Grid position is important but not as much as it used to be. »

The double world champion admitted to having been in difficulty at the start of qualifying and to being surprised by the lead of three tenths which he placed between him and his closest rival Lewis Hamilton. “Q1 and Q2 didn't suit me and I struggled to find the balance I had in free practice. But we did well.", continued the German who had to adapt to the changes in track temperature. “I knew the track would be a little better at the end of the session and that could be enough to take pole. But I was surprised by how early I finished. The team worked very hard this weekend to ensure we could install the new items on the car. These seem to be working well and I'm looking forward to tomorrow's race. »