Sebastian Vettel has admitted he did not take enough risks on his way to fourth in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix.
The German looked to be on the pace of the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, however, when it came to the changeable conditions in Q3, Ferrari struggled for pace. To compound Vettel’s misery, he will be demoted five places due to a gearbox change after it sustained damage a fortnight ago in Baku.
Vettel will start ninth, behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. The duo will start on the more durable supersoft tyres after setting their fastest times in Q2 on the red-marked tyre rather than the ultrasoft which the Mercedes’ will start on.
After topping final practice, Vettel expected more but the German blamed himself for his lacklustre performance in qualifying.
“I don’t think it had anything to do with practice,” said Vettel.
“In the end it was a lucky draw and how much risk you were taking.
“It was a question of when you were crossing the line, the later the better. With hindsight, I wasn’t taking enough risks, but then again I think the cars behind me had better track conditions as well.
“That’s not an excuse, that’s a fact. But as I said, I should have taken more risks. In the end it came down to one lap.”
When asked about Ferrari’s choice to set their fastest time in Q2, Vettel believes it will be an advantage over those starting on the ultrasofts in Sunday’s race.
“I think it was looking very good this morning. The feeling was very good, the car was very good. It should be good news for tomorrow that the race is quite strong,” he continued.
“We think it’s an advantage. Otherwise we would have gone for the ultrasofts. I think other people had the same thought. Some succeeded and others didn’t if you look at the running in Q2.”
