Sebastian Vettel may have been denied his first pole position since the British Grand Prix but the Red Bull Racing star could afford a wry smile about it as it title rivals Rubens Barrichello late-session crash that consigned means he lines up second on the grid for tomorrow’s Singapore Grand Prix.
Barrichello, already hit with a five-place grid penalty, was desperately trying to secure a top-three finish in the final qualifying shoot out to minimise the damage, when he lost control and slammed into the wall bringing out the red flags to halt the session.
Vettel had been on his final flying lap and ahead on the track of pacesetter Lewis Hamilton, but had to abort after the accident halted the session. With no time for an outlap on the restart, the German was forced to settle for second but afterwards admitted that the potential of his final run would never be known.
“I don’t know what would have happened, none of us can answer this question,” he said. “The first run in qualifying was very important but unfortunately then the red flag came out.”
But with Barrichello fifth in the session but dropped back to 10th because of his penalty and Jenson Button limping to 12th after suffering car balance problems all day, Vettel could afford to be pleased with his night’s work. “At the end of the day, it is great to be back,” he said. “Qualifying on a street circuit is very important and it’s good to be back in front. We will see what happens with the weights now.”
With his championship rivals well behind though strategy may not be a crucial concern for Vettel tomorrow and the German conceded that this weekend he does have a potentially race-winning car. “The car is very good and I'm feeling very comfortable,” said Vettel. “We brought some stuff that seems to work. Tomorrow will be a long race. It’s 61 laps so it will be warm in the car but we have all that it takes. I'm looking forward to tomorrow.”
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