It had not been the best of weekends so far for Sebastian Vettel, after he struggled through a problematic practice on Friday that led to an overnight change of chassis.
He'd still looked to be struggling for pace in qualifying. However there was a big smile on the Ferrari driver's face after he managed to secure a crucial front row spot for Sunday's United States Grand Prix.
“We are very happy with the result," a relieved Vettel said after qualifying. “I’m very happy in the end.
"We lacked a bit of running yesterday but today was a lot better," he continued. "A bit of a slow start. We had a couple of problems and I didn’t feel comfortable with the car. I lost the car pretty early in.
"I was lacking a bit of rhythm especially the transition from the first to second sector" he explained. "It was quite tricky with the wind so I struggled a bit there.
"Finally I got it right on the last run when it mattered," he said. "It’s important to get the front row, because I believe our race pace is really good.
“In the end we are closer than we expected. And for tomorrow, if the car feels like it did today, it should be good.”
Lewis Hamilton starts from pole and holds a 59 point lead in the championship with four races remaining. It's why the front row spot is so vital, as this weekend's race is virtually a must-win if Vettel is to keep his title hopes alive.
"Not just [a win] here, it would be good to win also the others!" Vettel pointed out.
Vettel had looked on the ropes overnight. The Ferrari team had been forced to build a new car for Vettel after the driver experienced handling problems in Friday's free practice.
“A big job overnight but the team was fantastic," praised Vettel. "The mechanics have now had a couple of weekends in a row with a lot of work and they didn’t break the curfew.
"To do that big job there’s always a threat but I think they did another record time change," he noted.
“Today was much better. I was happier with the car and glad it worked out."
His team mate Kimi Raikkonen was ruing once more missing out in qualifying to Vettel. The Finn will start tomorrow's race from fifth place.
"It was a bit tricky," Raikkonen told Sky Sports F1. "I think I had some decent laps but never really had good places. Some laps a few places were okay and then others I struggled to get them right and lost lap time. It was tricky to put one decent good lap together.
"Okay it was not too bad but for sure everything should have been a bit better, but it is what it is today."
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