Scuderia Ferrari German driver Sebastian Vettel says he and the Maranello team must “look after our own race” and not get distracted by title rival Lewis Hamilton dropping from third to eighth after the qualifying session ahead of the 2017 Austrian Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel is currently the Formula 1 Chahmpionship leader, 14 points clear of Lewis Hamilton, as the Mercedes driver will start six places higher on the grid, due to an unscheduled gearbox change.
In another close qualifying battle between Mercedes and Scuderia Ferrari, Sebastian was pipped to pole position by Valtteri Bottas, with just 0.042s between the pair: “Q3 was pretty good, I was very happy with the lap. In all fairness, what goes around comes around, as I have been on the lucky side a couple of times, especially against Valtteri, with tight gaps. So the story continues between us two – well done to him obviously.” – the four-time Formula One world champions said, as reported by the Italian media at the end of the qualifying session.
“Valtteri said he still had a bit of margin, but I was pretty happy with my lap to be honest… maybe there was a sniff in the last corner, but it’s a short track, it’s not easy to get everything right. Overall I am pretty happy, the car was good and I think we did a good step from yesterday to today, so hopefully we can carry that into the race.” – Sebastian added.
Asked to comment on whether Lewis Hamilton’s grid position penalty will represent a huge advantage for the Maranello team, Sebastian Vettel said: “We wll see, it’s a long race, and a lot of things can happen. I think we have to look after our own race. It will be a tough race with Valtteri, he has been quick all weekend, also yesterday, setting a good pace, so we’ll see – it should be a good race.”
Mercedes driver Lweis Hamilton apparently refused to shake Sebastian Vettel’s hand during the post-session interviews in Spielberg, when asked by ex-racer and current Sky Sport Formula Two analyst / Sky Sports F1 commentator Davide Valsecchi, but it was later clarified that they had acknowledged each other earlier.
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