Saturday Review: Red Bull – A Breathtaking Finale

Red Bull Racing did everything possible today to withstand the McLaren counteroffensive, and it worked! Sebastian Vettel snatched the pole from Hamilton by just a tenth. The KERS is probably not unrelated to this on the Sepang circuit with its long full-throttle sections. On his side, Webber did not manage to match his German teammate’s performance; he will start on the second row in 3rd position.

Sebastian Vettel – 1st, 1:34.870

Until today, it has been an intense and competitive weekend. I was happy with the car, but we weren’t really in the rhythm. Yesterday, things didn’t go as well as we had hoped, but we knew our machine had potential, so the most important thing was to keep believing. In qualifying, everything went very well. Towards the end, we were very close to the McLarens, so I’m really happy to get the pole. I extend all my compliments to the guys on the team – especially those working on the KERS, they have done an immense job since Australia. If we didn’t have it today, we wouldn’t be where we are, neither for me nor for Mark, so really hats off to the guys – it’s a great reward. It’s very hot in the garage for the mechanics, the air is very humid, so at least tonight they will get a good rest before facing the race tomorrow.

Mark Webber – 3rd, 1’35’179:

I knew it would be very close; everyone was on the same pace after the first lap launched with the option tires in Q3. It was completely clear ahead of us; you just have to drive as fast as possible when it’s like that. We couldn’t manage, to gain a few tenths, you had to give everything. It’s a better result for me today compared to Melbourne and I’m now looking forward to tomorrow’s race. I’ll be starting from the clean side of the track and it will definitely be an interesting race – I think there will be a lot of pit stops.

Christian Horner – Team Principal of Red Bull:

A great performance by the team today. Occupying the first and third positions on the grid after a fascinating qualifying session, which was really close with the McLarens, is a great start. On his final run and under immense pressure, Sebastian did just what was needed to secure the pole. Mark also improved his time, and for the team, being P1 and P3 puts us in a very good position for tomorrow.