Sunday, May 2nd, 2021
Good and bad omens
Vettel’s qualifying coup can cause agony
Sebastian Vettel is so far ahead in the race at the Grand Prix of Portugal than it has been for almost a year. The pilot himself assesses the starting position soberly, starting position ten actually has disadvantages. But Vettel wants to attack – and has to.
Tenth place in the qualification for the Grand Prix of Portugal was a positive surprise for Sebastian Vettel after the training impressions, the four-time Formula 1 world champion had previously missed the entry into Q3, the last section of the qualifying, in 15 attempts in a row. Now it worked again. Can Vettel convert the good performance on Sunday (from 4 p.m. / Sky and in the live ticker on ntv.de) into the first World Cup points for Aston Martin? It won’t be easy. Vettel’s starting position seems promising, but it also has disadvantages.
The disadvantage: Vettel has to start on the soft tires in Portimao, while his competitors can freely choose the tires in the places behind him. As in the previous year, the yellow “Medium” in Portimao seems to be the better choice than the red “Soft” over the distance.
In the course of the race, if there are no incidents, the teams will switch to the hard tires after the first third and end the Grand Prix with them. And this first third could be a torture for Vettel: If the soft tires run out quickly, the harder-tyred rivals have a good chance of overtaking the F1 veteran. So Vettel has to drive gently and with brains. Keeping the soft rubbers alive for as long as possible and losing as few places as possible is the motto.
Soft advantage at start
Vettel’s soft rollers also offer a small advantage: thanks to their increased mechanical grip at the beginning, Vettel has an advantage over the medium competition at the start. If he does not use this to win a few places and to get a cushion to the back, the already described, difficult first third awaits him on the more vulnerable soft.
Another disadvantage for Vettel: His Aston Martin is one of the slower cars on the straights this weekend. He could be an easy victim on the one-kilometer start / finish passage. Vettel himself classified his best starting position since Silverstone in July 2020 soberly: “There is still a lot for us to learn with the car. It puts us in a better starting position, that is the main thing. We can attack better there. We will definitely attack. ”
His goal is clear, Vettel had already told the British Guardian at the beginning of the race weekend: “I want to be right at the front because I’ve been there so often and I’ve learned to enjoy it.” If, however, as at the moment, “a top ten place is our maximum, then I’ll go for it”. Due to the surprisingly good starting position after the training impressions, a place in the top 10 is a realistic goal for the first time. “I have the feeling that my driving style is good and strong, but maybe not as consistent and at the level I want it to be. I need a little more time in the car and in the team.”
Vettel had clearly missed the points in the first two Grand Prix appearances for his new team. In the qualifying sessions and the races in Bahrain and Imola, he was also beaten by his team-mate Lance Stroll in 18th and 13th place. Now he beat the colleague for the first time. Stroll was already out in Q1.
Good racing pace at Vettel
The strong pace that Vettel showed on Friday when driving with a full tank encourages the race. In qualifying, too, the pace was “quite good,” said Vettel. In the long runs, especially towards the end, he was significantly faster than team-mate Lance Stroll. This indicates a significantly lower tire wear. That could make up for the disadvantage in terms of tire strategy.
As always in Formula 1, however, the following applies: a safety car or rain and things look completely different again. However, showers are almost impossible for the race Sunday.
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