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Question: Sebastian, your 15th consecutive front-row start of 2011 and continuing your 100 per cent pole record here. What a lap!
Sebastian Vettel: Yeah, what a qualifying! To be honest, yesterday I went off in the free practice and damaged the wing, so it wasn’t ideal in the afternoon to prepare the car for today. I think we suffered a little bit from that this morning. In particular, where we were kind of coming back regarding the car balance but we were too slow. We sat down after the practice session this morning and fortunately got everything together and we were able to get everything, every single bit out of the car, which was crucial. There isn’t much between Jenson and myself. It was a tough qualifying but I enjoyed it a lot. It’s a long lap. You start off with this mega first sector. We come here, not for the first time, but still, every time is a challenge, especially in qualifying to really get it as good as you can. I had a bit of a wobble in sector one but then I made up for it in the second sector and we have been strong in the third sector, so, all in all, fantastic. Special thanks to the team, who just in time brought the front wing. Many regards also to the factory. I think without them I would not be sitting on pole position today, so I am very happy and very proud. We were able to extract everything we had today, which was just enough, so very happy.
Question: Sebastian, only Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost have more poles than you in a season now. Just one point left in it for you this season, how much are you looking forward to the race tomorrow?
Sebastian Vettel: Well, regarding the point or no point, I am not really focusing on that. I had a lesson yesterday where I didn’t do a big mistake but for maybe just a little moment I wasn’t a 100 per cent focused and lost the car. It is a long race. It is a very challenging track around here, so I am looking forward to the race. We really love to come here. It is a special atmosphere. The Japanese fans are so passionate and so crazy and when we leave the hotel in the morning it is full of people and they are all screaming. It is generally a nice feeling to be part of that. As Jenson said, it is a long race. There are a lot of things that can happen. DRS this year can open chances to the whole grid so we will see where we are. But I am definitely looking forward to it. I think we had a good race car yesterday in the preparation so far, so it should be alright, but I am looking forward to the race and not for the point.
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Question: Sebastian, fantastic. How much satisfaction do you get from that after the weekend you have had so far?
Sebastian Vettel: A lot. It was a great qualifying for us, no doubt, especially as these guys looked so quick right from yesterday morning onwards. We were struggling a bit yesterday to set-up the car. I did a mistake in P1, which did not help. Lost the front wing, but the team did everything to bring it back and just in time it arrived and we got it for qualifying. It is the best way to say thank you in a way. Everyone did a very good job and without the team I would not be able to extract that today. Once you are in the car, you have got a new set of tyres on, you think you have got everything set up and you find yourself in Q3 - then you know it is between you, the car and the track. To be honest I enjoyed it a lot. I knew that after the first run of Q3 it was possible. The time Lewis set straight away was very strong and I knew that I should be able to be around 30.5, to do a lap around 30.5, if everything goes well. The start of the lap wasn’t that fantastic as in the first sector I lost a little bit, tried a bit too much. But then I was quite confident in sector two that I could make up for it. But first you have to do it. Then when I crossed the line it was very close. I saw on the screens around the track Lewis crossing the line and Mark crossing the line. Then you know, and then I got the radio call that we had just done it by nine thousandths-of-a-second, so I am very happy. It has been a great pleasure this afternoon, so I am looking forward to tomorrow.
Question: You give the impression that the team sent the front wing back to the UK?
Sebastian Vettel: No, the nose that I had on the car yesterday morning you couldn’t really use it anymore. It was crashed. I shunted the car at the exit of turn eight and went straight into the barrier, so it wasn’t really helpful from my side. We got a new front wing out just in time. It wasn’t easy, but fortunately we did.
Question: You also talked about how, on these tyres, the car seems much more alive around this circuit. Does that make them more skittish, more difficult to control?
Sebastian Vettel: I would say there is a fair difference to last year. I think everyone can feel that. We are faster overall, if you look only at the lap time, but we are making a lot of time up on the straights with the DRS system around here, which is quite powerful in qualifying. In cornering I think we are a little less strong than last year. One, because of the car and second, probably because of the tyres. But it should be an interesting race tomorrow as it is not that straightforward. Last year it was a one-stop race and once everyone has done their stop we race to the chequered flag, but this year it could be quite entertaining. I don’t think it is yet 100 per cent sure what the right strategy will be exactly. I think we will definitely see more than one stop that’s for sure.
Question: But the tyres? How do you feel about increasing the allocation and having qualifying-only tyres for next year?
Sebastian Vettel: I think the bottom line is that even if we had more tyres… where do you get the points? You get them in the race, so even if you had more tyres, then the situation arises where tyre degradation is high, you will still - no matter how many sets…
Question: If they were just for qualifying, or just for Q3…
Sebastian Vettel: Yeah, obviously… I think the cars that didn’t go out twice or didn’t go out at all - I didn’t see it - obviously they used up their tyres beforehand, to make it to Q2 and then to Q3. For us it’s a bit different because we are in a lucky situation whereby the car is good enough, especially in first qualifying, on hard tyres, to usually get through. I don’t think we need a different type of tyre, I think we have enough stops in the race.
Question: Sebastian, you have your official website in English and German. At this Grand Prix, you have a very special translation in Japanese of the English version. When did you decide to make this special edition for Japanese fans at the Japanese Grand Prix, and would you give me the beginning part of what you’re going to write in your diary today for Japanese fans?
Sebastian Vettel: Well, it’s pretty easy to answer. You could look at their overalls, at my helmet and a couple of other things. Obviously there isn’t much we can do, but if there is a little bit, then things like that, we are all ready to try to give something back, try to help. I think it’s exceptional, the fans around here, the passion they have. I saw just before practice this morning three guys in the grandstand with cameras like we have on the rollhoops of our cars on their heads. The special thing about Japan and the Japanese fans is that it’s always different. I think most of us like that a lot and to see a disaster happening like at the beginning of the year is dreadful, and as I said, we try to give a little bit back and if we can put on a good show… today it was very close between Jenson and myself. For us, at least - maybe not for everyone - a good qualifying session and it’s some entertainment that we can give back and maybe put a smile on the people’s faces. That’s pretty simple to answer.
Question: Seb, this is the last night before your second championship - it looks like. How are you gonna…
Sebastian Vettel: I don’t see it like this. I’m happy if I wake up - like every morning - and then we have a very nice race tomorrow, which I’m looking forward to. We start from pole position so to achieve whatever you think we will or will not achieve tomorrow, we need to do our best and make sure we get that. It’s not to focus on that which you mentioned, it’s trying to focus on having a good race, trying to do (everything) as usual, in a way and be as excited, as aggressive, as alert as we usually have to be to finish the best or the highest up as we can in the race. So I’m looking forward to that.
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