Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel admits that he “pushed too hard” as he attempted to improve on third in Q3 for the Formula 1 French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard.
Championship leader Vettel was provisionally third after his first run in the final segment of qualifying. Lewis Hamilton – who had topped both Q1 and Q2 – was 0.178 seconds ahead on provisional pole.
On his second run, Vettel ran wide at Turns 3 and 6. His lap was subsequently 0.8s slower than his first attempt, while Hamilton lowered the benchmark by nearly 0.2s to secure pole. Vettel retained third behind Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas.
“It’s a difficult one to try to get the balance,” Vettel said of his second Q3 lap. “I tried to push everything in the last attempt but looking back, I pushed too hard.
“You try a little bit too much here and there and then you lose the tyre, the car it slides, you lose the line and you end up losing time rather than gaining.
“After the first attempt, I saw that we are maybe there so I knew that with a really amazing lap I maybe have a chance but it didn’t come.”
Ferrari was the only team in F1’s top three not to qualify on the supersoft tyres in Q2. As a result, Vettel and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen will start on the ultrasoft compound, while their rivals will have additional strategic options using the more durable supersoft.
Regardless, Vettel was content with third on the grid, believing that the team will have strong race pace.
“In the end, I’m happy with P3 because the car should be good in the race. It was a good session.”
Mercedes used its upgraded power unit in qualifying after its introduction was postponed on reliability grounds at the last round in Canada – a race in which Vettel secured pole from Bottas by less than a tenth.
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