Vettel surprised by gap to Mercedes after 'crazy session'

Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) signed on Saturday at the Shanghai circuit (China) the 52 pole position of his career. And how ! The German broke the lap record from his teammate Kimi Räikkönen in the final seconds of qualifying.

“It was a crazy session.”, recognizes the four-time world champion, who knew he had first-rate equipment after the performances in Free Practice 3 as well as his turn in Q1. “From my first qualifying lap, I was very satisfied, and we didn’t touch the car settings that much. You didn't have to exhaust yourself to get the perfect set-up. Normally, we turn things in all directions, we think…”

His final lap of Q3 was close to perfection, a few minutes after a spirited first run. “I knew I could do it. On the first lap of Q3, I had two scares coming out of Turns 3 and 6, where I lost the rear. I was a little too optimistic. I could do better. I managed to put everything together, it made me happy when I crossed the finish line! »

Being the experienced driver that he is (200 GPs under his belt since Bahrain last week), Sebastian Vettel analyzed the wind direction from his cockpit. “It was constantly changing, sometimes there were bursts. I was trying to see which way the flags were (located at the edge of the track) floated to give me an idea."

Saturday boost #ChineseGP #Which pic.twitter.com/t9JYvKOpu5

- Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 14th

The leader of the general classification does not hide his astonishment at the results of the Mercedes in Asia (Valtteri Bottas 3th and Lewis Hamilton 4th concede half a second). “Each circuit at the start of the season has been different, so to have such a gap is a surprise. But here, it's a track that requires gentle driving, and if you're a little off track, you lose time. I wouldn't be surprised if on Sunday this gap disappears. But I wouldn't mind keeping this advantage! »

Is the significant gap on the Silver Arrows the consequence of a setting entirely focused on performance over one lap? " No, replies the person concerned. We are also looking at the settings for the race obviously. »