F1 inaugural sprint "weird" - Sebastian Vettel

British Grand Prix

1 reactie

F1 inaugural sprint "weird" - Vettel

Vettel will line up eighth for the British Grand Prix

Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale

Saturday 17 July 2021 20:45

Sebastian Vettel has labelled F1's inaugural 100km sprint as "weird" and remains adamant the winner should not be credited with pole position.

After qualifying 10th on Friday evening, the Aston Martin driver moved up two places in the 17-lap race and will start eighth for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Vettel was one of the drivers to show scepticism when the format was announced and following the conclusion of the event, his review was mixed.

Article continues under video

"It is weird, to be honest, such a short race," said Vettel. "It was okay, now it is a reset and we will see what we can do tomorrow.

"We love racing. It is a little race and it is a little weird because it is by far the shortest race I have done in years but it is not bad. I think yesterday was good fun, to have something on the Friday that matters. That was nice.

"I can see that maybe in the future there will be more of this. I'm sure the people liked it. It is better than watching free practice."

Vettel, though, is still unhappy Max Verstappen will be credited with pole position after Lewis Hamilton set the fastest lap in qualifying.

"I think they should change that," he added. "It doesn't make sense."

Alonso defence "unnecessary"

Vettel was stuck behind Fernando Alonso in the latter stages of the sprint, facing stern defence from the Alpine driver who had already ruffled the feathers of McLaren duo Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo.

"I was stuck behind Fernando at the end but he did well to defend," explained Vettel.

"He was quicker than me in the crucial places and therefore was difficult to follow. I thought he would struggle a lot more with the [soft] tyres but he didn't."

On Alonso's exaggerated weaving down the Hangar Straight, Vettel commented: "I think it was okay.

"He shouldn't do that so late because I wasn't going to really go there so it was a bit unnecessary."