Sebastian Vettel was simply “too quick” for his rivals as he soared to pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix.
It was the four-time Formula 1 champion of old as he produced two perfect runs in Q3 to set a new lap record around Suzuka, a 1m27.064s.
The result also continued Ferrari’s run of pole positions since the summer break with five now to their name, even if this one was Vettel’s first since Canada.
“Not easy, obviously the conditions are very different to what we had on Friday, but the main thing is obviously the sun is out, people are happy and we are quite surprised, to be honest,” the German said, noting the strong winds which remain following Typhoon Hagibis.
“We didn’t expect that, the front row, so very happy. It was unbelievable, the car being so light on fuel and new tyres and we had a headwind up the esses, which is just what you want because then the car feels even better.
“I don’t think I used the brakes other than Turn 2 so that was unbelievable, really enjoyed it but it’s only a part of the job done, so let’s look forward to this afternoon.”
After four straight poles, teammate Charles Leclerc had to settle for second and also saw his nine-race qualifying run against Vettel come to an abrupt end.
The Monegasque though wasn’t too downbeat.
“Seb did an amazing lap and today he just deserves to be on pole,” he said.
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“I’ve been a bit struggling since the beginning of the weekend but to be honest I was pretty happy with my lap, apart from the last sector where I made a few mistakes.
“Pole was not possible, Seb was just too quick so congratulations to him. I’m very happy and very surprised to be first and second after the free practices we’ve had, but the race is most important and hopefully, we will be able to keep these positions.
“Mercedes are very quick in the race so it’s not going to be easy but we’ll try to focus on our job and keep this one-two.”