Sebastian Vettel Q&A: I could not have done anything better

Up until Lap 45, when his engine started to smoke and he was forced to retire from the lead, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel had delivered a perfect race weekend. The 25 points he could have bagged for a well-deserved win would have seen him take the lead in the drivers’ championship and step closer than ever to the title. It was a cruel fate, but the thwarted Vettel is determined to be back on the offensive in Brazil…

Q: Sebastian, it was looking great for you until your engine gave out. Was there any indication in the preceding laps that something was wrong?
Sebastian Vettel: No not at all. It was a total surprise. At the exit of Turn 17 I lost four cylinders on the right-hand side and from then on it was just a question of when it would also hit the other side. So I had to stop the car between Turn Two and Three. There was nothing else left to do in this situation.

Q: How was your race up until Lap 45?
SV: I was leading the race the whole time, getting away every time the safety car pulled in. I was able to look after my tyres during the ten laps before the engine blow because the conditions were getting trickier. It was getting darker but during all that time I always had something up my sleeve to react and keep Fernando (Alonso) at bay. I was a bit unlucky with some lapped cars as I lost around a second, but I knew that I could be around two to three-tenths quicker than Fernando if I wanted to. We definitely could have been in better shape after this result in regards to points. It didn’t happen!

Q: You went through heaven and hell during the race…
SV: It was one of the most difficult races of the season, adapting to every new situation and every new safety car. Sure when the engine gave out I was very disappointed but then there is nothing you can do, and honestly until that moment I was very satisfied with my race. I was able to control it and the rest of the grid at every moment. It would have been no problem at all to finish those remaining ten laps without the engine failure.

Q: What ran through your mind when the engine went?
SV: Well, in the first split second I hoped that the problem would go away. But there is also something telling you that when four cylinders give in the white smoke is just a blink of an eye away, and if that happens there is nothing that you can do. It is not easy under such difficult conditions to be in the lead because when you are following someone you can see where he is braking or where he’s running into danger of spinning. But that’s life.

Q: Was it the bitterest moment of your whole career?
SV: No, and there is still a chance to clinch the title. Sure with a win it would have been much easier…

Q: Now you are 25 points behind championship leader Alonso. What does that mean to you?
SV: Well sometimes you have to be lucky and Fernando was very lucky. For us, our luck has gone up and down probably too many times, but right here right now we cannot change that. We take it as it is. It does not make too much sense to be too disappointed. We had delivered a brilliant weekend up until that moment and, from my side, I could not have done anything better.

Q: How will you approach the Brazilian Grand Prix in your quest to win the title?
SV: No differently than this weekend because there is no reason to change anything. I am sure, had I finished the race, I would have left Korea with 25 points. The race for the title is not over yet so let’s wait what the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi brings.

Source: Formula1