Formula 1

MALAYSIAN GP QUALIFYING- SEBASTIAN VETTEL POLE POSITION!

Car 1 SEBASTIAN VETTEL: “It was very difficult as the circuit was half dry and half wet today – so it was difficult to find the right compromise between pushing hard and also saving the tyres. It was the right strategy to come in and change the tyres and the pace was there. It was a good session in Q3 and it was clear what we had to do, so I’m pleased with the result. It’s a long race tomorrow and whoever wins will have done the best job. We managed to save some tyres today which will help if the race is dry, but we will see.”

CHRISTIAN HORNER: “A challenging qualifying, but in the end we were able to navigate both cars into Q3 when the rain came – it was then a question of getting the timings right. Sebastian elected to do two runs – it was always clear there was only time for one and one (timed laps) or five laps if you ran the whole session. Mark having not got his first lap in elected to stay out and, as the circuit continued to dry, the lap times continued to fall. Sebastian put together a fantastic lap in tricky conditions to get the pole. With Mark, it was a great shame as we thought he would be the last car to cross the line and get the last timed lap, but a miscommunication about the number of remaining laps meant that he was first car to get the chequered flag, missing a fifth lap by one second. It was a shame, but first and fifth for tomorrow’s race is a good starting position. That said, I don’t think pole will be the deciding factor of tomorrow’s race; if it’s wet it helps with visibility, but in the event of a dry race then tyre degradation and tyre strategy will be key.”