F1 News
Date:
24/November/2013
Those who thought wet weather would shake up the qualifying
order for the Brazilian F1 finale were left disappointed as Sebastian Vettel
splashed his way to a comfortable pole position.
The newly crowned four time World Champion lapped 0.6s clear
of nearest rival Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) by the conclusion of qualifying, the
final part of which had been delayed due to standing water.
Qualifying marked the first time that Red Bull star Vettel, aiming
for a ninth victory in succession and 13th of the season on Sunday, had
been on top of the timesheets so far this weekend.
“It took a long time for us to get out in Q3,” said Vettel. “It’s
a shame for the fans, but when there’s too much water the risk of aquaplaning
is too high.
“Then we got out and I was surprised by how much of the
water had gone. I went straight on intermediates and was able to get a very,
very good lap straight away. Tried to beat it on my second lap. It was very
close, so with both my laps I was very happy and surprised by the pole margin.
“When I was told, I even mixed up Spanish and Portuguese on
the radio, saying “olé,” - but olé is Spanish. I don’t know the expression in
Portuguese!”
Vettel may have been surprised, but it was Ferrari’s title
runner-up Fernando Alonso who made the biggest leap in performance to claim
third on the grid. It was the Spaniard’s best qualifying since round four in
Bahrain.
“We were waiting for wet races this year but it came only here
in Brazil,” said Alonso. “I’m happy to be so far up on the grid, finally.”
The big question now is what the weather will do for the
race. Alonso, who won two of the first five events but hasn’t been victorious
since, needs as much unpredictability as possible.
“Mixed conditions would be the best thing - and that’s probably
what it’s going to be, with the weather forecast we have,” he said. “We also
saw today how quickly it goes from extreme to nearly dry, so tomorrow will be
fun…”
While Vettel and Alonso are confirmed in first and second,
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), the absent Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) and Mark Webber
(Red Bull) are covered by just six points in the fight for third.
Brazil is Webber’s final event before retiring from grand
prix racing. The Australian will line-up alongside Alonso in fourth, with
Hamilton starting fifth.
Mercedes holds a 15-point lead over Ferrari for second in
the Constructors’ standings behind Red Bull, with Lotus in turn 18 points
behind Ferrari.
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