Saturday: Red Bull surprises with Vettel in 3rd
The Austrian team might be a bit higher in the hierarchy than expected after the qualifications. In the race, they will try to stay in touch with the cars equipped with Mercedes engines.
Sebastian Vettel (No. 1) – 10th and 3rd
After a poor start to his last qualifying lap, the world champion took more risks in the two chicanes. He is very satisfied with this result: « It was the maximum we could do ».
He thinks the surprise could come from the strategy: « We will have to see what happens, but Williams is very strong here and the Mercedes-powered cars will benefit from the straights. I’ll try to stay as close as possible to the two in front for the slipstream. If we have the opportunity to attack them, we must go for it. »
Daniel Ricciardo (no. 3) – 5th and 6th
Despite some adjustments, the Australian driver did not manage to secure third place. Even though he is disappointed, he tries to stay positive: « We made progress throughout the weekend and we weren’t too far off, but it’s disappointing to fall short. Hopefully, we can have a good start and see how we go; the strategy will be interesting. »
