Question: Mark, almost a grandstand finish from yourself. You were within touching distance of Seb for two-thirds of your final qualifying lap so is this smiles for a front-row start or a frown for a pole that got away.
Mark Webber: No, I think I am pretty happy to be honest. It has been a pretty testing venue for me in the past, particularly on Saturdays. In the races I normally go a bit better around here. Seb obviously laid it down pretty hard and fast for all of us. He is very quick around here and did a great job for the pole. I think it is pretty rare that he makes a mistake. I think maybe he saw my data and there were a few corners I was a little bit quicker and maybe in the chicane he was trying to put it altogether and get it altogether. But he was very quick for the whole lap. To put it altogether for the whole lap is very challenging for all of us here. It is very easy to grab a bit more and then lose a bit on the next straight so overall satisfied given the curve balls the teams can face around here. Both cars up there is a great result for us.
Question: Mark, your best grid position here and similarly you said you needed more pace.
Mark Webber: Yes, overnight we made a pretty good step. But most of it was from me to be honest. It is a very, very challenging venue. Not one I would pick to come to every week, but it’s my job to deliver on all the tracks we go to. It is one of my best sessions on a Saturday here to be honest, not only in terms of position but also getting a pretty good run out of the car. I am a few tenths off Seb, three-and-a-half or whatever it is. In the end Seb did a great job for pole and my lap wasn’t too bad at all, so it has put us in a good position for the race. I certainly was happy with a front-row start going into qualifying. It is so easy to screw the lap up here and, as Seb said, you have got such a long way to chat to yourself when you make a mistake. So to pull it altogether and as you can see all of us are improving every single time so we are learning more and more knowledge every single time we put the car on the limit so it is a challenging afternoon for all of us and very rewarding. At this level, all of us pushing each other very hard is good stuff.
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Formula 1: Sebastian Vettel Storms to Pole at Singapore
Formula 1: Singapore Grand Prix - Race Line Up
Formula 1 Standings Ahead of Singapore Grand Prix
Question: And for the race tomorrow how difficult is the strategy?
Mark Webber: There are a few balls in the air for sure. We aren’t overly sure how constant the tyres are going to be. For sure they are going to drop off but we don’t now when. It is like most races to be honest. In these sort of conditions we saw in Valencia, in Budapest, a few races - obviously Budapest was wet at the start. With the exception of I suppose Monza and some of the other races where the tyres, like in Spa, you see they are going to be pretty stable. Here we have had a decent build up on Friday. Long runs. Most teams had a good look at it, but let’s see. There are two compounds that are definitely going to be used tomorrow to their extreme.
Question: And you are going to be starting on the soft compounds. That is going to be a challenge as well?
Mark Webber: Yeah, everyone I think around me is as well. That’s what we’ve got. We can’t make a pit stop overnight. Same for everyone.
Question: Mark, the changes on the kerbs, were those satisfactory solutions for the drivers?
Mark Webber: Yep. Yeah, absolutely. I think they did the best job they could. Obviously it was a new situation from previous years. The kerbs started to lift up, unfortunately we learnt that at a bad time before P1 yesterday so I think they’ve stuck them down as hard as they can, the ones they’ve decided to keep down there, really super-glued them to the track as much as possible. Charlie (Whiting) says it may be difficult for them to get them back up but in terms of line, the track is fine.
Question: Given that ‘the show’ has been a bit of a buzzword in F1 over the last few years, people are complaining about the lack of running that we’ve seen from some teams - obviously not any of you - in Q3. How do you feel about proposals that the FIA implement automatic grid-drop penalties for those who chose not to run in any qualifying session?
Mark Webber: Yeah, the show, which you spoke about, is generally for the teams on Sunday, so they want to save their tyres. Basically, if we were all flush with tyres, the guys would be out there and getting the experience, getting the laps in, having exposure for their own partners as well. It’s not just that they just don’t want to be in the garage because they haven’t got any fuel; it’s because they are doing it for a reason, for Sunday. I think the question is completely fair but I think the penalty is not… it’s not fair to penalise people who are looking to try to have a good performance on Sunday.
Question: Mark, the fact that you’re second gives us some hope that Sebastian is not going to take the title tomorrow. Is it of your concern to try to push him as far as possible in the championship, to Japan and Korea, or are you just trying to have the best performance possible, knowing that he’s going to win the title anyway?
Mark Webber: Yup. The same, mate. The championship is… for all the great work Seb did at the start of the year, this is the situation we’re in. We know the championship’s been pretty boring for that reason but the racing has been awesome, the racing this year has been great and I think we’re going to have some great races before the year’s out. Tomorrow will hopefully be another good one and I’m planning to go forward if I can at some stage in the race, which is one more position, so got to keep him honest as long as we can.
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