Friday: Vettel in the top 5 for Red Bull, Ricciardo pleads guilty
If Sebastian Vettel's day was relatively calm during the first day of the Japanese Grand Prix of Formula 1, Daniel Ricciardo ended it in the tire wall of the last corner of the Suzuka circuit.
Sebastian Vettel (No. 1) – 9th and 5th
According to the German world champion, the RB10 can do better than its current ranking: « I really think we can do better than fifth, but we might end up stuck in third place! Mercedes seems very fast here but I think we can improve, especially in the short stints. It would be nice to fight with Mercedes during the race, who knows if it rains, otherwise we’ll be against Williams, McLaren, who seem stronger here, and Ferrari. »
Daniel Ricciardo (No. 3) – 7th and 10th
The Australian couldn’t drive in FP2 after making a mistake for which he takes full responsibility: « I did a fast lap and was trying to get a good exit to start the next one. We were trying to cool the tires and there was a yellow flag, so I was trying to go slowly enough to avoid it at the start of the lap, but I think the tires got too cool and I accelerated too hard given the circumstances and lost control of the car. Obviously, it’s not what I wanted in the first 10 minutes of the second session, but I’ll learn from it. »
He remains optimistic about his teammate: « It’s not ideal since we didn’t run this afternoon, but Sebastian completed a full session, so we can look at his data. The “Mercs” were really fast today; just when we think we’re catching up, they widen the gap again. I think we should be able to be third on the grid. »
