Vettel prepares for tense duel against Bottas

Sebastian Vettel will only have to face one Mercedes at the start of the Austrian GP on the Red Bull Ring, his rival Lewis Hamilton only starting from 8th position following his penalty. The pilot of the Team Ferrari took 2nd place by failing 42 thousandths behind Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) who took the second pole of his career.

“Q3 was quite good for me, I am very satisfied with my lap, recognizes Sebastian Vettel. To be honest, I have often been lucky in recent weekends, especially against Valtteri, with very small gaps. The story continues between the two of us and I congratulate him. »

“Valtteri said he still had a bit of room to maneuver, but I was happy with my time. I may have made a small mistake in the last corner, but it's a short circuit and it's not easy to do everything perfectly. The car is in any case competitive and it has evolved well compared to the day before. »

Sebastian Vettel could have the opportunity to increase his lead by 14 points against Lewis Hamilton, even if the Mercedes driver has adopted a different strategy by betting on a start on super soft tires and the rain could disrupt the race.

“We will have to concentrate on our race. It will be tough against Valtteri, he was fast all weekend”, recalls Sebastian Vettel.

Kimi Räikkönen was further behind, a fact since the first tests, and was only able to take 4th position, half a second behind his teammate Sebastian Vettel.