Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel is stumped at his loss of pace in a shock Q1 exit in Qualifying for 2022 Canadian Grand Prix.
Vettel had enjoyed a strong Free Practice Three (FP3) in wet conditions to finish third fastest which largely remained the same for Qualifying, despite the rainfall grinding to a halt just as the latter session got underway.
The four-time champion however suffered a sudden loss of pace which led to him qualifying 17th for the race, which left him stumped for answers as he said: “I do not know where our pace went. We did not change much between FP3 and qualifying – but we were too slow and we do not understand it.”
Vettel went on to admit that he believed if he had the pace from FP3 that he could of “… have gone well in these conditions.”
He proceeded to further explain what exactly went wrong in Q1 as he commented: “The car was very difficult to drive – it was sliding and had a very poor rear end.
“We need to have a look at the data because something clearly did not work. Still, I am optimistic for tomorrow’s race.”
Vettel though is confident that he can fight back and snatch some points after he showed strong speed in two dry practice sessions on Friday (17 June), as he added: “Today’s result puts us on the back foot, but we showed good pace in Friday practice, and we can come back from this.”
Lance Stroll meanwhile felt “pretty competitive” in FP3 as he finished 13th fastest so felt that a 18th placed finish in Qualifying is “disappointing”, following a loss of grip in his car which left him struggling for pace whilst a late yellow flag failed to help him improve when the track dried out.
Stroll though will start 17th just behind Vettel as both drivers move up a grid slot due to a penalty for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, yet the Canadian is positive of a result as he said: “It will be tough to start towards the back of the grid, but free practice showed our car has good pace, and we will try our best to get points tomorrow.”
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