Zoom A solid run from both Vettel and Bourdais

Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix saw both Sebastian Vettel and Sebastien Bourdais make it through to the final round of qualifying. The Toro Rosso duo went on to claim the fifth row of the grid with Vettel just ahead of Bourdais.

Sebastian Vettel
“At the start of qualifying the track was still quite green because of the rain, but we made it to Q3 again which is good. Then in the final part, I was struggling a bit with the heavier car, as it did not feel as good as before and I made a couple of small mistakes. But the gap to the next fastest was a bit too big. It will be a tough race on the cars and especially the tyres, so I think the key to success will be to keep the tyres in good shape. I hope our strategy turns out to be a good one.”

Sebastien Bourdais
“It was a good qualifying and I’m happy to be close to Sebastian on a track with a lot of corner entries on the brakes which is where I usually struggle with the rear end of the car, so I had to hold back a bit. I think the car has improved a bit after the team found a couple of things on the aero side which has helped. I think we are in good shape for the race.”

Laurent Mekies, Chief Engineer
“Having both cars in Q3 indicates that we put together a strong qualifying performance. Both drivers have done a very good job, closely matched throughout the weekend. Tomorrow, we will find out what our competitors have done in terms of fuel loads, but certainly, we are happy with our race trim and are looking to have a strong race."

E.A. © CAPSIS International