Saturday: Vettel and Ricciardo are ready for the rain at Red Bull
By clocking the sixth and ninth fastest times during the Japanese Grand Prix qualifiers, the two Red Bull drivers are far from pole position. However, the setup choices have been made with a view to a wet race that seems inevitable, and the Austrian team is counting on it to shine during the race.
Daniel Ricciardo (No. 3) – 6th and 6th
The Australian discusses Vettel’s decision to leave the Red Bull fold: « I was quite surprised by Sebastian’s news, I didn’t know about it before this morning; there are two big changes, Sebastian leaving and Daniil coming in, but Seb has done his job here at Red Bull and he feels it’s time to move on. I’m glad I got to race alongside him for a year and see how he works, I heard a lot about his work ethic before the season and it was nice to see that this year and race against him. Daniil is coming in and I expect him to be fast – I know him quite well and it should be nice to work with him. »
Then he talks about his Saturday: « I am happy with the way we bounced back after my mistake yesterday, I thought we would be better here, but I think the sixth place is objectively the best we could do today. If it rains tomorrow, then we should be a little better. »
Sebastian Vettel (n°1) – 15th and 9th
Maybe concerned about his departure from Red Bull, the world champion only finishes ninth: « I wasn’t completely satisfied with this qualification, we lacked track time this morning but I couldn’t adapt to the track and was on the wrong foot, I was struggling a bit in the corners I usually like, so it’s not easy, but tomorrow we still have a chance if it rains, if not, it will be more difficult from where we start, but we’ll see. »
