Vettel wanted to “take a little more risk”

As he attempted to enter Q3 for only the 4th time of the season, Sebastian Vettel concluded his qualifying session in the TecPro protective barriers after going off the track at turn 4 in Q2. 

The shock, spectacular visually but fortunately not serious for the German, littered the track with debris and resulted in a flag which came close to depriving future pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton an entry into Q3. His teammate Charles Leclerc, who followed him closely, managed to avoid the car injured by the quadruple world champion by a narrow margin. 

« I tried to take a little more risk, commented Vettel. I lost the car. Already in turn 2, it hadn't gone far and I lost it again in turn 4, without being able to catch it this time. 

I knew I had a little margin left so I tried to maintain more speed but the car suddenly slipped away and I was unable to correct the situation. ».

For his 250th career start on Sunday, Vettel will start from 15th place on the grid, 4 rows behind his teammate Charles Leclerc, who missed Q3 by a breath – 43 thousandths compared to the 10th fastest time.Esteban Ocon (Renault) in Q2.