Breaking news
Formula 1 French GP
Vettel “didn't have grip” in final Q3 run after upshift mystery
Sebastian Vettel will start the French GP from seventh on the grid after a missed upshift caught him out on his first run in Q3 – leaving the Ferrari driver under pressure with just one run in which to set a time.
Adam Cooper
Published: Jun 22, 2019, 7:00 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
On his first run in the top-10 qualifying shootout Vettel couldn’t get into fourth gear out of Turn 9, so he opted to abort the lap without recording a lap time. The German didn’t feel comfortable with his car on the second and final run, and he could not better seventh, losing out to teammate Charles Leclerc, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and the two McLarens of Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz.
“I don't know why I missed the upshift,” he explained. “And then I lost so much momentum that it was pointless to finish the lap, so I aborted. But then on the last lap I don't know, I just couldn't feel the same car that I had maybe in other parts of qualifying.
“It was difficult for me because some laps it was really good and it was just coming, and other laps, I don't know why I didn't have the grip that I seemed to have the runs before. So, a shame that it happened in Q3, it would've been better to be slower in the other segments, but that's what it is today.
“Not ideal, obviously a bit of a funny session, I didn't get a consistent feel for the car, and didn't extract the maximum today, so can't be happy with that. But on the other hand, I’m looking forward to tomorrow, I think it's much more straightforward and should be more consistent in the race. So let's see what tomorrow brings.”
More F1 news:
- Hamilton elaborates on emotional late-night social media post
- Gasly blames wrong set-up direction for qualifying struggle
- Grosjean "gutted" not to have Haas update for home race
Vettel remains optimistic about his chances of recovering ground in the race, having finished fifth last year despite falling to the rear of the field after a first-corner collision.
“We'll see, I mean if I pass as many cars as last year, then I'm going to win the race!” he quipped. “It's a long race, it will be difficult to manage the tyres, to be honest. But I'm sure that in the race things settle down a little bit more and I should have a better feel.”
Regarding the McLarens that will start ahead he said: “I think they showed some good pace this weekend, so it won't be easy, but I think we are faster. Tomorrow I think we have good pace to have a good race.
“Obviously Mercedes is far away but we should be in the mix with Red Bull.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Gasly blames wrong set-up direction for qualifying struggle
Next article Mercedes unreliability being "saved" by mechanics - Wolff
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Adam Cooper
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
Apr 10, 2024
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Formula 1
Formula 1 Apr 10, 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Formula 1
Formula 1 Apr 10, 2024
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
More from
Sebastian Vettel
Why Daniel Ricciardo would consider a comeback at Le Mans
WEC
WEC 16 d
Why Daniel Ricciardo would consider a comeback at Le Mans
Sebastian Vettel reveals why BMW didn't want him – but Red Bull did
Formula 1
Formula 1 16 d
Sebastian Vettel reveals why BMW didn't want him – but Red Bull did
More from
Ferrari
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
2 d
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
Latest news
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
The ten closest finishes from the 2026 NASCAR season
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 35 min
‘Lewis suspected a conspiracy’ – Nico Rosberg explains how Lewis Hamilton F1 rivalry went awry at Mercedes
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
2 h
BMW "proud of what we achieved" after securing runner-up in 2026 WEC
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
4 h
The numbers that reveal how sprint races have turned the MotoGP title fight upside down
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe