Vettel on Singapore qualifying: ‘Hamilton isn’t untouchable’

SINGAPORE – Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel had a frustrating Saturday qualifying against Mercedes’ championship leader Lewis Hamilton with only third on the grid for the 2018 Singapore F1 GP.

Vettel, according to a Reuters correspondent, seemed dominant in practice as he warmed up for Sunday’s race but still 30 points behind Hamilton with only seven races left for the season.

Ferrari and Vettel have, Reuters adds, won four times under floodlights in Singapore but things are not looking good for him after Hamilton’s ”stunning” 1min36.015 lap.

READ THE full Reuter’s analysis / images here

Vettel told reporters, after finishing 0.613sec slower than Hamilton: ”The gap was a surprise but I don’t think it reflects the true performance. It just didn’t go as smooth as it should have been.

“We had the ingredients and we didn’t put it together.”

Vettel will start behind Hamilton and – perhaps a surprise? – Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

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“It is not a disaster so I am not completely upset but for sure we wanted to get pole. I think it was definitely there for our grasp and the way qualifying happened, it wasn’t any more.

He suggested that, although Hamilton’s pole lap was significantly faster than his, the Briton ”was not untouchable”.