Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel says the team must focus and “look after” its own race at the Austrian Grand Prix, rather than become distracted by title rival Lewis Hamilton.
A penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change has dropped Hamilton from third to eighth on the grid at the Red Bull Ring, with Vettel qualifying on the front row.
The four-time F1 champion admitted he was not quick enough to challenge Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas for pole, but he came very close, missing out by just 0.042 seconds.
When asked after qualifying if he can capitalise on Hamilton’s grid penalty, he replied: "We'll see, it's a long race, and a lot of things can happen.
“I think we have to look after our own race. It will be a tough race with Valtteri, he has been quick all weekend, also yesterday, setting a good pace, so we'll see – it should be a good race.”
Reflecting on his qualifying effort, Vettel was pleased with his Q3 lap, even though he did not get the chance to complete a final run due to yellow flags.
“Q3 was pretty good, I was very happy with the lap,” he explained. “In all fairness, what goes around comes around, as I have been on the lucky side a couple of times, especially against Valtteri, with tight gaps.
“So, the story continues between us two – well done to him obviously. Valtteri said he still had a bit of margin, but I was pretty happy with my lap to be honest… maybe there was a sniff in the last corner, but it's a short track, it's not easy to get everything right.
“Overall I'm pretty happy, the car was good and I think we did a good step from yesterday to today, so hopefully we can carry that into the race.”
