'Greedy' Vettel unhappy losing Monaco pole to Raikkonen

Sebastian Vettel will start Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix from second place as part of an all-Ferrari front row. But Vettel wasn't happy to miss out on pole to his team mate Kimi Raikkonen.

It had been a trouble-free build-up for Vettel, with strong showings in all three practice sessions. But when it came to qualifying, he just hadn't been able to get as much out of the car as Raikkonen did.

"I think we had clean sessions on Thursday and this morning, no traffic," he said. "We were really able to feel the car and get the most out of it.

"In qualifying, I got some scruffy runs, some traffic, and couldn't get in the same rhythm.

"The car was really quite nice to drive," he commented. "I think I probably pushed a little bit too hard on the first lap in Q3.

"I went wide in turn 5. On the second attempt again, I went a little bit deep. So the second sector I was probably too greedy, wanted a bit too much. I lost a little bit."

"I'm sure if you ask anyone after qualie, we all have the feeling there's always more," he acknowledged.

"Bottom line, it's a great result for the team," he said. "Not as happy as I could have been, but well done to Kimi.

"I was close," he added. "Maybe I struggled a bit more than him and today he was faster."

Raikkonen on Monaco pole after nightmare qualifying for Hamilton

While he might not have pole position, Saturday's qualifying does give Vettel a huge advantage over his title rival. Lewis Hamilton qualified in 14th and will start from 13th after grid penalties are served by both McLarens.

But Vettel dismissed any thoughts about the impact of Saturday's session on the championship situation.

"I don't really care about that," he insisted. "I think we're both fighting for the best spot for tomorrow.

To make the most of the upper hand he has over Hamilton, Vettel needs to be able to convert Saturday's qualifying performance into a strong race on Sunday. That should be easier in Monaco than most places, provided the weather stays fair.

"I don't know the weather forecast," said Vettel. "If it's dry the next day, I think it won't be easy but it should be fine."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.