Sebastian Vettel says he is drawing the positives from potential opportunities in race trim at the Malaysian Grand Prix, after an engine problem forced him out in Q1. Vettel, who topped Friday’s running at Sepang, placed second to team-mate Kimi Räikkönen in third practice, but had to crawl back to the pits at the end of the session due to a problem.
Ferrari diagnosed an electrical fault and changed his Internal Combustion Engine and MGU-H – his fourth of the season – prior to the start of Q1. Vettel returned to action but slowed through Turn 6 on his first timed effort and reported a turbo problem, forcing him to abandon the run.
Ferrari, despite its best efforts, was unable to rectify the problem in the time available, leaving Vettel out of qualifying.
“We had a very good car, I think we could have gone all the way today, and now start last,” Vettel reflected. We have saved some tyres compared to the others, and who knows what will happen tomorrow, it would have been worse if it [the problem] happened tomorrow.”
“I saw two weeks ago how quickly things can change, [there could be a] Safety Car, rain… “The car is quick, so maybe that’s why I’m fairly relaxed.”
Vettel also praised his Ferrari mechanics for undertaking the required component changes in the two-hour gap between the conclusion of practice and the start of qualifying.
“We managed to do the change, successfully, in time,” he said. “The guys did a miracle today. It was like the ‘Cars’ movie, with little Luigis going around! It’s a shame we couldn’t go out.”
Kimi Räikkönen, will start from the front row of the grid after qualifying second to Lewis Hamilton. “It’s okay, but obviously when you get that close it’s disappointing,” he said.
“I thought I made the most out of it, there’s always places to improve, it’s never going to get 100 per cent perfect anyway, you always find some things to improve. The car has been behaving nicely all weekend.”
