Sebastian Vettel (1:36:184) taking pole for the first time for Red Bull at the Shanghai Grand Prix may have raised quite a few eyebrows.
Sebastian Vettel (1:36:184) taking pole for the first time for Red Bull at the Shanghai Grand Prix may have raised quite a few eyebrows. But no one among the Force India team was surprised despite the fact that the German's car didn't even boast of the controversial rear diffuser.
Vettel had won pole last year in Monza for Toro Rosso and later went on to win the race. No wonder both Force India drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil heaped praise on the German Red Bull driver. "Vettel is a very good driver and it comes as no surprise that he is on pole," said Fisichella, who sadly failed to get past the first qualifying phase on Saturday and is placed in the last row (20th) of the starting grid for Sunday. Sutil too failed to make waves and finished alongside his Italian teammate in the back row (19th). However, later Toyota's Timo Glock faced a grid penalty and was placed 19th after a gear box failure.
Very strong
Sutil said: "Red Bull have a good car this year. They have been very strong right through the qualifying sessions. It is also the first time this season that a car without a diffuser has won pole position, so it is a good sign."
Fisichella blamed the team's poor show to a lack in grip and the missing diffuser. "We had a major problem trying to grip the surface," he said.
Sutil too blamed it on the track. "The track was good yesterday but today it warmed up and so we lost grip. The car is also lacking in down force, so we struggled," said Sutil.
However, there is some good news in store for Force India. They will be getting a rear diffuser for the next race in Bahrain.
"We will be getting an interim rear diffuser for the next race. This particular feature will ensure the car has better down force especially during turns which should solve most of our problems," announced Force India chairman and team principal Vijay Mallya.
