Formula One
QUALIFYING KOREAN GRAND PRIX-
Car 2 MARK WEBBER, Position: POLE POSITION! (3rd Practice – P7, 1:38.766)
“It was a tight session for all of us. I think as the session unfolded, people were having different balance issues on different tyre compounds. I was happy with my lap there, it was solid and it’s good to get pole. It’s a great place to start the race from. I’m looking to get off the first corner very well, that’s important as there are two long straights after that.”
Car 1 SEBASTIAN VETTEL, Position: 2nd, (3rd Practice – P1, 1:37.642)
“Overall we can be very happy with the result. We were quite quick in the first and second qualifying sessions and had a good start to Q3. On the last run, I had to back off starting the lap as Massa was there, it wasn’t his fault, but I had to back off. Nevertheless, the second lap in Q3 wasn’t good enough. I lost time in the middle sector, which seemed to be okay all weekend, but when the circuit ramped I wasn’t able to go with it, so I lost a bit, but second is a good position so start from. There are long straights near the start, so it could be interesting tomorrow.”
CHRISTIAN HORNER: “For the second time in a week, it’s fantastic to have locked out the front row. Mark drove a fantastic final lap to secure the pole position by half a tenth from Sebastian, who had dominated until that point. It’s Renault’s 200th pole position, which we are delighted to have achieved with them. It’s important that we now convert this strong qualifying into plenty of points tomorrow.
(Renault) CYRIL DUMONT: “Today is an important day. Not only have we got the front row of the grid again, but we have also scored our 200th pole position with the Renault engine. We started with Jean-Pierre Jabouille in 1979 and 500 races later we have achieved more than 40 percent of pole positions from all our Formula One qualifying sessions. That’s a very strong score for Renault. Among these 200 pole positions, more than 40 were achieved with Red Bull Racing and our two drivers, Mark and Sebastian. So, I would like to thank everyone at Red Bull, both drivers and everyone working at our factory at Renault.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m37.242s 2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m37.316s + 0.074 3. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m37.469s + 0.227 4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m37.534s + 0.292 5. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m37.625s + 0.383 6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m37.884s + 0.642 7. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m37.934s + 0.692 8. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m38.266s + 1.024 9. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m38.361s + 1.119 10. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m38.513s + 1.271 Q2 cut-off time: 1m38.436s Gap ** 11. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.441s + 0.674 12. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.460s + 0.693 13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.594s + 0.827 14. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m38.643s + 0.876 15. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m38.725s + 0.958 16. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.084s + 1.317 17. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.340s + 1.573 Q1 cut-off time: 1m39.180s Gap * 18. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m39.443s + 1.235 19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m40.207s + 1.999 20. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m40.333s + 2.125 21. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m41.317s + 3.109 22. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m41.371s + 3.163 23. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m42.881s + 4.673 24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth no time
Car 2 MARK WEBBER, Position: POLE POSITION! (3rd Practice – P7, 1:38.766)
“It was a tight session for all of us. I think as the session unfolded, people were having different balance issues on different tyre compounds. I was happy with my lap there, it was solid and it’s good to get pole. It’s a great place to start the race from. I’m looking to get off the first corner very well, that’s important as there are two long straights after that.”
Car 1 SEBASTIAN VETTEL, Position: 2nd, (3rd Practice – P1, 1:37.642)
“Overall we can be very happy with the result. We were quite quick in the first and second qualifying sessions and had a good start to Q3. On the last run, I had to back off starting the lap as Massa was there, it wasn’t his fault, but I had to back off. Nevertheless, the second lap in Q3 wasn’t good enough. I lost time in the middle sector, which seemed to be okay all weekend, but when the circuit ramped I wasn’t able to go with it, so I lost a bit, but second is a good position so start from. There are long straights near the start, so it could be interesting tomorrow.”
CHRISTIAN HORNER: “For the second time in a week, it’s fantastic to have locked out the front row. Mark drove a fantastic final lap to secure the pole position by half a tenth from Sebastian, who had dominated until that point. It’s Renault’s 200th pole position, which we are delighted to have achieved with them. It’s important that we now convert this strong qualifying into plenty of points tomorrow.”
(Renault) CYRIL DUMONT: “Today is an important day. Not only have we got the front row of the grid again, but we have also scored our 200th pole position with the Renault engine. We started with Jean-Pierre Jabouille in 1979 and 500 races later we have achieved more than 40 percent of pole positions from all our Formula One qualifying sessions. That’s a very strong score for Renault. Among these 200 pole positions, more than 40 were achieved with Red Bull Racing and our two drivers, Mark and Sebastian. So, I would like to thank everyone at Red Bull, both drivers and everyone working at our factory at Renault.”
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PEOPLE TALK
A Formula One team is all about the people, but away from the racing what makes our team members tick? This race, our Test and Reserve Driver Sébastien Buemi tells us about training, table tennis and explains why he’s keen to dive in the sky, but definitely not in the water…
A Formula One team is all about the people, but away from the racing what makes our team members tick? This race, our Test and Reserve Driver Sébastien Buemi tells us about training, table tennis and explains why he’s keen to dive in the sky, but definitely not in the water…
What racing driver did you most want to be like when you were growing up?
That’s easy – Michael Schumacher, simply because he was winning most of the races. As a kid you always want to be a winner, so it was Michael.
How strange was it to later race against him?
The first few races were amazing. I had a good fight with him in Canada, where I think I finished P8. I overtook him four laps from the end because he was having bad degradation on the tyres. That was a great feeling. But as the season goes on you just concentrate on your job. He became another competitor. Initially though, it was quite special to race against someone who was a hero.
How do you relax outside of Formula One? What’s the perfect day off?
If I’ve been away for a long time, like on these back-to-back races, then I just like to spend time with friends and family. If not that, then I like doing some proper training at home, where there’s not so much pressure and no tight schedules. You have to train so much in this job that you really need to enjoy it. And the more you do, the more you enjoy it.
Is there a particular element of training you’re passionate about? A lot of drivers are keen cyclists?
Some drivers they go flat out in one direction, but me, I like to do a variety of things. You have to stimulate yourself by doing something a little bit different all the time. You have to be mentally stimulated so that you do better and always learn something new.
What would you be doing if you couldn’t work in the field you do work in?
That’s very difficult. Maybe another sport. I like competition, so maybe tennis. But I don’t know. It was so clear to me from when I was four years old that this is what I want to do. I never thought about anything else. If I wasn’t doing this? Maybe I’d just be finishing university or something. I think I would have loved to do another sport because I don’t like the routine of a regular job.
What one thing, aside from what you do, are you really good at?
Table tennis. I started when I was young and went to do a course and played with a club. From the age of six to 13 I did table tennis and gymnastics, but then I changed, as you can’t do everything.
Pick three guests, from past or present, to invite to your ideal dinner party?
For sure Roger Federer, I’d invite him and then… Ayrton Senna and Steve Jobs. There are many people but that might be an interesting conversation.
Are you afraid of anything?
Sharks. When I go to Australia I’m always afraid of going in the water. I know it’s irrational and I know there won’t be anywhere we go but still I think about it.
What’s one thing you’ve never done that you would really like to do?
Skydiving. I’d like to do that, just for the adrenaline. I’m a bit scared of it, which is part of the attraction.
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