Vettel: No excuses for Leclerc deficit

Sebastian Vettel said there were no excuses for his seven tenths deficit to Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix.

Vettel joined Leclerc on the front row, underlining just how strong Ferrari is compared to Mercedes and Red Bull around Spa-Francorchamps.

The German made a mistake at the first corner on his first flying lap and once again got sideways in the final shootout for pole after farcical scenes that saw cars tripping over each other in an attempt to gain a slipstream.

He said: "In the end, it is good that we secured the first row but to fight for pole, I was sort of in the queue which didn't help.

"No excuses, we look forward to the race tomorrow, we have good pace in the car."

The race is expected to be played out in much cooler temperatures, while Ferrari seemed to struggle on long-run pace in Friday practice.

But Vettel won from P2 12 months ago, overtaking Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap using the monstrous slipstream on the Kemmel Straight.

And the German remains confident as he goes in search of a first race win since taking to the top step of the podium here a year ago.

"The car was better today, so we'll see," he said. "Obviously temperatures should drop overnight, but we don't know. It's the same for everyone."

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