Formula One
SEBASTIAN VETTEL GRABS HIS FOURTH CONSECUTIVE POLE POSITION IN JAPAN-
SEBASTIAN VETTEL, Position: POLE POSITION, (3rd Practice – P1, 1:32.136)
“It was good we got the time on the first run, with the yellow flags coming out later. We had a phenomenal balance in the car and I had the feeling we could go with the track today. We only needed one run in every session, which doesn’t happen all the time, but it’s very enjoyable around here when the car works how you wish, especially on low fuel and fresh tyres. It’s very special. Yesterday evening I wasn’t too happy as I was losing time in the first sector, but I found my mistake and in today’s practice session it worked straight away, I don’t know why I didn’t do it in previous years and it shows you never stop learning. Tomorrow will be interesting; it’s hard on tyres here, so we will need to work to stay where we are. ”
MARK WEBBER, Position: 2nd, (3rd Practice – P2, 1:32.371)
“That was a pretty solid session. We knew it was going to crank up in Q3, but I’ll tell you, this place on low fuel with new tyres is something else. I was pretty happy with my first attempt, apart from the hairpin, but Sebastian had that couple of tenths and I thought ‘fair play’, it was a competitive lap from him. Overall both of us were very competitive in qualifying and that puts in good stead for tomorrow. All the hard work from the factory is paying off. The main day though is tomorrow, that’s where the points are.”
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m30.839s 2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m31.090s + 0.251 3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m31.294s + 0.451 4. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m31.700s + 0.861 5. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m31.989s + 1.059 6. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m32.022s + 1.183 7. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m32.114s + 1.275 8. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m32.208s + 1.369 9. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m32.327s + 1.488 10. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes no time Q2 cut-off time: 1m32.272s Gap ** 11. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m32.293s + 0.792 12. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m32.327s + 0.826 13. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m32.469s + 0.968 14. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m32.512s + 1.011 15. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m32.625s + 1.124 16. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m32.954s + 1.453 17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m33.368s + 1.867 Q1 cut-off time: 1m33.370s Gap * 18. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m33.405s + 1.376 19. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m34.657s + 2.628 20. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m35.213s + 3.184 21. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m35.385s + 3.356 22. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m35.429s + 3.400 23. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m35.432s + 3.403 24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m36.734s + 4.705