Championship leader Sebastian Vettel is ruing a mistake at the chicane on his final lap that saw him miss out on pole position by just half a tenth from Lewis Hamilton.
Vettel had been quickest of all in the second sector, but locked his left front wheel slightly under entry to the final chicane and crossed the line just 0.051s slower than Lewis Hamilton’s pole time.
Asked on the grid following the session if the mistake had been the difference between the two championship leaders, Vettel admitted that it had been.
“I’m afraid it was, yeah,” admitted Vettel. “We’ve been coming here a long time. We’ve done so many laps, but still the last chicane is a tricky one for me.
“First Q3 run, I wasn’t entirely happy. I knew there was more, so the second one was really good up to that final chicane. But it was very close to them, to Lewis.”
A front-row start could still be considered a relief for Ferrari following an engine change between final practice and qualifying for Vettel’s car. There was further drama for Ferrari after the team told Vettel to stop the car on his first outlap in Q1, but a driver default change appeared to solve the problem.
“A big thank you to the team because we had to change the engine last minute and the car was just about finished,” explained a grateful Vettel. “So today’s really for all the mechanics – also from Kimi’s car, who helped out, so grazie.
“They did an engine change sub two-hours. So if you ever see the car stripped, there’s a lot of bits and bobs that need to be disconnected, so it’s a miracle that they got me out. Would’ve been nice to get them the pole but hopefully we can do well tomorrow.”
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
13th May 2017, 14:53
Surprised to see Ferrari so close, after Mercedes B spec introduction they looked a bit quicker than Ferrari. Still Ferrari seems to keep their superiority on the medium and fast corners and the Mercedes is still the more responsive quick car on low speed.
sunny stivala
14th May 2017, 6:12
The surprise wasn’t because 44 was running the supposedly NEW B specification engine, it was because 5 was using his 1st 4 race weekends old ICE.
Cap SF (@dudebv)
13th May 2017, 14:57
0.051s…
Ferrari delivered not only a race winning car but also a car to qualify on pole. Tremendous job from them.
I’d like to know which updates Ferrari and Mercedes brought and how many of them.
Andrew Purkis
13th May 2017, 15:06
mercs long run pace is superior
so as long as they make a good start should be fairly easy win
if ham behind vet lap 1
could be a hard afternoon
HK (@me4me)
13th May 2017, 18:23
It is absolutely crucial for both Ferrari’s to have a great start and gain a place at the start. I don’t think they have the pace to beat Mercedes otherwise.
BobW
13th May 2017, 18:59
Both Ferrari drivers were doing practice starts at a filming day last week.
Loup Garou (@loup-garou)
13th May 2017, 21:12
True, but the Ferraris, especially Vettel’s, could go longer on the soft tyres and try for an overcut even if they do not have the speed to overtake the Mercs on track.
grat
14th May 2017, 3:05
I think Mercedes learned their lesson from last year, and this year their start system is better than Ferrari’s.
I also think the race will be won or lost on the pit wall– Mercedes has tended to be conservative in their strategy, and Ferrari has been more aggressive this year. Will have to wait and see who gets it right.
x303 (@x303)
14th May 2017, 9:44
Well, that’s racing Sebastian. Let’s see how both cars treat their tyres in the race, I think it will play a huge role in the finale results.