Sebastian Vettel says he is braced for an “intense” Azerbaijan Grand Prix versus Mercedes and Red Bull, despite storming to his third consecutive pole position in 2018.
The Ferrari driver held off a late assault from Lewis Hamilton to take his first pole at the Baku City Circuit, the first time Vettel has recorded three poles on the bounce since the end of 2013.
Although the four-time world champion locked up on his final run, Vettel’s original effort was enough to see off the challenge of his rivals, in spite of a ‘near from perfect’ lap.
“I felt the car was good in Q1 and Q2 but in the last segment in qualifying I had the car which does what I want, not have it as in pole position but I could put a good lap together,” Vettel said.
“The first lap I was really happy and there were two tiny bits where it wasn’t exactly perfect that I wanted to get right on the second run.
“I was a little bit down on the time, as in I was a little bit faster but I locked up, it caught me by surprise at Turn 3 and I wasn’t sure whether I would try to go straight or try to hang on to it, I tried to hang on to it but yes fortunately it was enough as I had a really good lap on the first attempt.”
Vettel holds a nine-point championship lead after the opening three rounds but with no cover from team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who qualified sixth, the German expects Baku’s street circuit to throw up an exciting encounter.
“I think it will be an intense race and anything can happen as a safety car is very likely,” he added. “I think the good job is that our car was very good this afternoon which should mean we are in a good place for tomorrow.
“I struggled a little bit for confidence and trust in the car which is important around here but when it clicks it keeps coming so it was really enjoyable.”
