Red Bull finish second and third after going long on soft tyres
Sunday 21 September 2014 17:53, UK
Sebastian Vettel reckoned there was nothing he could have done to beat Lewis Hamilton to Singapore GP victory - the German conceding that Red Bull were “fortunate enough” to finish second and third on bold two-stop strategies.
In what proved the most competitive race-day performance of the reigning quadruple title winner’s disappointing season, Vettel briefly inherited the race lead from his Mercedes rival with seven laps to go after Hamilton pitted for the third time after a mid-race Safety Car had wiped out his earlier lead.
Vettel’s stay at the front lasted just one lap, however, as Hamilton wasted little time in making his brand-new tyres count with an incisive move on the Red Bull at Turn Seven. Having already started to struggle for pace with soft rubber which was 28 laps old by then in comparison, the German admitted it was inevitable he would be overtaken.
Asked by Sky Sports F1 if there was any way he could have won his first race of the season, Vettel replied: “I don’t think so. Maybe if we had pitted for supersofts and then gone onto the hard[er tyre] for the last stint we could have put more pressure on Lewis, but like that I think we were fortunate enough to get second and third.
“No point to defend him, at that stage he’s in a different category. He’s on fresh tyres whereas I’m at the end of my tyre life.”
Such was Vettel’s late-race pace struggles on badly-worn tyres that Hamilton pulled out a 13-second advantage over him in the final six laps while the German fell back into the clutches of team-mate Daniel Ricciardo and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.
Still, not only did second represent only Vettel's third podium of the season, it was also just the second time in 2014 that he has beaten Ricciardo when both cars had made the chequered flag.
“It seems that we are going down the right direction but there’s still a lot to do – especially end of stints we still seem to struggle a bit compared to Mercedes,” the 27-year-old pointed out.
Despite finishing one place step on the podium, it was actually Ricciardo who appeared the chirpier of the two Red Bull drivers in his interview with Sky F1 post-race. The Australian had reported a loss of power in his RB10 to the pitwall mid-way through the race, so he was delighted to eventually come through in third.
"We had a bit going on. All in all pretty happy just to get it home in the end. There were a few times in the race where I was thinking maybe she [the car] was sounding a little bit sick, but got us home in the end," Ricciardo explained.
"In the end we finished close to Seb which was stronger than we started – I would have loved to have found a way past – but in the end not a bad day to step on the podium."
Although beaten by his team-mate in race conditions after being outdragged into the first corner, Ricciardo’s third place meant he actually closed up the summit of the drivers' standings after pre-race points leader Nico Rosberg retired.
With his deficit now standing at 60 points - just ten more than the total on offer to the race winner at November's Abu Dhabi finale alone - Ricciardo is hoping to inch even closer at the Japanese GP in a fortnight's time given the fast, sweeping circuit has traditionally proved Red Bull's domain over recent years.
"Suzuka’s one we can really look forward to,” he added. “Overall we closed the gap in the title today, it’s still 60 points, but Suzuka’s a strong track for us so try and finish in front of the Mercs and just press on them a little bit more."
