Zoom "the Force India guys ruined my afternoon"

Sebastian Vettel had a good run in qualifying today for the Turkish Grand Prix, making it into the second round of qualifying and then setting the 14th fastest time.

Team-mate Sebastien Bourdais was left unhappy after hitting traffic on his runs in Q1 and lines up 18th.

Sebastian Vettel
“The track was changing a lot, the earlier rain did not help, but I am happy because at the last two races I struggled a lot to find the balance and now we are slowly getting there and I feel we have made a step forward. It’s nice to give our old car a good grid position for its final appearance. In Q2, it was very close with the Hondas and unfortunately we did not progress as the track conditions improved. Overall, we can be happy with today and now I’m looking forward to getting through 58 laps tomorrow.”

Sebastien Bourdais
“Bad traffic, basically the Force India guys, ruined my afternoon: on my first run I was held up by Sutil as early as Turn 3 and on the second, I came up behind Fisichella in Turn 8. That meant we weren’t too sure about the handling of the car and I asked for an adjustment to be made for the last run which turned out not the right thing to do. It’s annoying because I came within two tenths of Q2. Everyone seems to behave quite well in qualifying, but I don’t know what those guys were doing on their “out” laps. It was a bit surprising. Starting eighteenth, our expectations are limited, but I will give it my best shot as usual and try and make the most of any unusual circumstances that might occur.”

Giorgio Ascanelli
“I think engineers, drivers and mechanics have got the best out of our package so far this weekend. That’s ironic given that with the delay on our new car, we were not so well prepared for this race back at the factory. All in all, I am very happy that we put together a good short-notice plan to run here. It has taught us a valuable lesson about planning for future races."

"Bourdais lost his first two runs because of the Force India cars and then it is very difficult to commit yourself fully on the third run. I guess he won’t be going to India for a holiday any time soon! Vettel might have found another tenth, but not another position and he was brave enough to go over the limit at Turn 8, giving it more than the car could deal with.”

E.A. © CAPSIS International