Ferrari lacked grip in qualifying
Once again, the Ferraris missed out on qualifying, as Sebastian Vettel had to be content with 4th place, while Kimi Räikkönen was pushed back to 11th position by his gearbox change penalty.
Ferrari was smiling after a third practice session finished on top. But at the moment it counts, it must be admitted that the Ferraris once again dropped in the hierarchy. Sebastian Vettel therefore had a hard time hiding his disappointment after the qualifying session: « Obviously, I am very disappointed because everything we did on the car between Thursday and today was very good and we had made a lot of progress. »
His first-place finish this morning therefore boosted his confidence. But as the qualifying progressed, he was less satisfied with his car: « This morning, we got off to a very good start. I knew we were going to improve a lot more, so I wasn’t worried at all. But as the qualifying went on, it became increasingly difficult for us to get grip. »
Thus, while he was first again in Q1, he dropped to 3rd place in Q2, before settling for the final fourth place, despite Lewis Hamilton’s technical problems: “I did what I could but I wasn’t as comfortable as in the morning. I’m disappointed because I missed a great opportunity to start the race on the front row tomorrow. I expected better because the car gave me every reason to expect more.”
The situation is even more complicated for Kimi Räikkönen, who clocked the sixth fastest time in the session but has to face a five-place penalty for changing his gearbox just before the qualifications: « Obviously, we are not happy with where we are finishing, and the penalty for the gearbox is certainly not going to help us, but we have to make the most of it. »
But being beaten by Nico Hülkenberg’s Sahara Force India is clearly not a good sign for the Finn.
