Vettel facing 'grim' Japanese GP

Toto Wolff was in confident mood after Mercedes outmanoeuvred Ferrari to put Lewis Hamilton on pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix, with Sebastian Vettel facing a "grim" race from eighth on the grid as a result of the Scuderia's tyre gamble backfiring.

Ferrari fitted Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen with intermediate tyres after a brief shower, but the track was not wet enough and the red cars had to immediately pit for slicks, all the while Hamilton was touring the track in one minute and 27.760 seconds to secure his eighth pole of 2018 and 80th in total.

Wolff branded Mercedes' move to go for slicks immediately a "masterstroke" – however, the remaining six cars following their suit suggested the error lay with Ferrari's pit wall.

Although taking nothing for granted in a race that could also be affected by the weather, Wolff admitted that Hamilton's title rival had been dealt a bad hand.

#Seb5: ‘Now it’s easy to say it was the wrong decision. I was asked if I was ok with it and I said yes. Tomorrow it won’t be easy but it’s not impossible’ #JapaneseGP #Quali #Nevergiveup pic.twitter.com/XZMs339JoE — Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) October 6, 2018

"You know after the first look at the result race day comes into my mind and that's tomorrow," Wolff said.

"The guys just got it right, there was a lot of discussion about strategy and what tyres to use in qualifying.

"Ninth is a pretty grim starting position for Sebastian tomorrow, he's got a fast car but it's going to be very difficult for him to catch up to Lewis."

Vettel will start the race in eighth thanks to Esteban Ocon picking up a three-place grid penalty for a red-flag infraction in FP3.

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