Question: Sebastian, you picked the right moment didn’t you to set your fastest lap of any of the qualifying sessions: right on your final flying lap.
Sebastian Vettel: Yeah, I think it was a very good session for us generally after yesterday, where these boys were a little bit quicker than us. It seems we have done the right thing and I felt much more comfortable this morning. Q1 and Q2 was just about to get through to the last section of qualifying and very pleased with the result. We changed a lot on the car overnight and the boys were working pretty hard and they didn’t get much sleep but to have a result like this today is the best way to say thanks. I am very happy. I have got the confidence back. Today I felt much more comfortable in the car and now I am looking forward to tomorrow.
Question: Sebastian, we saw Adrian Newey looking at the rear of your car throughout the session. Was there a problem with your rear wing or with your DRS?
Sebastian Vettel: No, I saw they were working a little bit on the rear wing. I saw that on TV actually, but I don’t know, I don’t think there were any problems. If any they fixed it, so the car was fine on the track. I never felt something being wrong, so a bit of maintenance maybe.
Question: Not enough to give you a few nervy moments?
Sebastian Vettel: No, not really. I trust in them. I trust in what they do and I think they know what they are doing. I don’t know what was the problem. I will ask later on, but on track there were no issues. Everything was fine and the car was very quick so very pleased with today.
Question: Sebastian, a great bounce back after yesterday and a lot of hard work by the mechanics overnight.
Sebastian Vettel: Yeah, indeed. I think they got back to the hotel around 5 o’clock, so we went a little bit longer than the curfew but it is the best way to show on the track straight in the morning that we made an improvement. Also today in qualifying, Q1 and Q2, was mainly to get through and we were a little bit behind. I was surprised by the lap times in Q2 but then in Q3 I think we were right on the pace. Lewis had a very competitive first run, especially in the last sector, but I was able to squeeze out a little bit more on the last run to get pole so very pleased.
Question: Not that you had a specific problem that I know of, unless you did have a specific problem with the car, but did it really start last weekend. Was it already there last weekend?
Sebastian Vettel: It is difficult to say, I think the conditions last weekend were very different to what we had all year. To be fair Silverstone wasn’t very hot, Germany wasn’t at all and also here it is not as usual. Usually it is 10 degrees warmer than what we saw today. Nürburgring is hard to judge because of the very different conditions, but I didn’t feel comfortable at the Nürburgring and struggling to match the pace of the guys at the front, so for here, yesterday was not ideal. It was already a bit better but today. I could feel much more comfortable in the car and back to where we have to be, so I am very happy.
Question: It did seem to be right from the word go, virtually from the first flying lap this morning.
Sebastian Vettel: Yeah, indeed. Straight away I noticed the difference and I was happier. If you are happier it is usually because you think the car is better and if you feel confident then you are also able to get more out of yourself. You are more consistent. It is not just one particular place where you find the time, it is just all around the lap a little bit everywhere, so I think that is a good sign and very important for tomorrow’s race.
Question: And does that come from confidence?
Sebastian Vettel: As I said half-half. If you struggle with the balance of the car a little bit here and there you reach a certain edge. Then you try to work on the car, which we did, and I think we improved it but finally overnight I think we released the knot and it was much better today. Then you gain the confidence back on top and you just go faster everywhere.
Question: Can you tell us a little more precisely what your mechanics did to your car during the long night?
Sebastian Vettel: It worked. No. we haven’t brought much new stuff so in the end, as I said, we have been testing a lot on Friday and I think we just put the car to the spec where we think it is best. Sometimes it’s not so easy because you have to take some parts off the car. It’s not a big secret: you change the engine and the gearbox overnight and it just took a little bit longer.
Question: Sebastian, last year yourself and Mark were quite evenly matched. This year it seems as though you’ve got a couple of tenths on him at pretty well every qualifying session. Is that a result of the renewed confidence you had from the World Championship, do you think?
Sebastian Vettel: No. I don’t think so. Last year I felt very comfortable here and we had a very good qualifying session as I remember. In the race it was a bit of a different story. I had a very good start and then a mistake which cost me the win but I think last year our car was very competitive here. This year again, but maybe the advantage is not that big. Last year we were much quicker than everyone else, I remember, so I don’t think it’s down to that. I haven’t had the chance to talk to Mark. Q1, Q2 I think he was there and then in Q3 the gap was obviously a little bit bigger. We will talk about qualifying later anyway and then I will find out, but I don’t think that it has much to do with last year. Sure, with experience, things become a little bit easier. You have a certain routine, but I don’t think it’s because of winning the championship that I’m on pole now.
Question: I think this year this circuit’s been on the calendar for 25 years. I was wondering if you have any comments on why it’s been so enduring, what’s the secret?
Sebastian Vettel: This is the 26th. I don’t know. I like this place, I like coming here. Obviously, as an Austrian team, we get a lot of support, a lot of Austrian people come. The border isn’t very far away, so it’s kind of a home Grand Prix for us and yes, the circuit might be a little bit Mickey Mouse in places but it’s different to most of the circuits we race on, so I quite enjoy that. It’s quite tough, there are a lot of laps tomorrow. Usually it’s very tough on tyres, on the car and on the drivers as well.