Webber pole after Red Bull reversal

F1 News
Date: 13/October/2012

Mark Webber turned the tables on Red Bull team-mate and F1 title contender Sebastian Vettel by beating the German to pole position in Korea.

Vettel - winner of the past two races - had been on pace-setting form for much of the weekend. But it was Webber who proved the one-lap king in qualifying, outpacing Vettel by 0.074s to claim his first ‘real’ pole of the year.

“In Monaco [when fastest qualifier Michael Schumacher had a penalty] the pole was by default, so yeah, this is the first one on track this year,” said Webber.

“Most qualifying sessions this year have been tight and I’m very, very happy to get the job done today. It was a reasonable lap and we did it when it counted obviously.

“It’s been a tricky last few events for me, but I’m really happy to start on pole. Tomorrow’s the main day and we’re in a good position to get a good result.

“We have a pretty handy car around here. The guys at the factory have been working very, very hard and there’s no question, the hard work’s paying off.”

While reigning champion Vettel has closed to within four points of Championship leader Fernando Alonso, Webber has only the slimmest of title chances - sitting fifth in the standings and 60 points from Alonso.

That raises the prospect of potential team orders by Red Bull on Sunday although Vettel, who was held up slightly by Felipe Massa on his final qualifying run, is confident in his own chances.

Vettel said: “I would rather be on pole but we’re happy with second and a front row for Red Bull Racing. Obviously the car seems to work well, I think in the race we might even be a little better. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow.

“Last year we made a good start from second on the grid and I think here you could start third, fourth or fifth and still be leading by turn four, because of the long straight.

“It could be interesting tomorrow. It's difficult to know what's going to happen, but first of all I will focus on the start and then go from there.”

Ferrari’s Alonso qualified fourth on the grid and will start alongside McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.

Vettel won last year’s race by twelve-seconds from Hamilton.