- Monaco GP - FP2
Vettel: Pole still a long shot for Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel feels pole position is still unlikely for Red Bull at Monaco despite seeing the gap to Mercedes in FP1 comes down to under half a second.
Vettel's team-mate Daniel Ricciardo finished third in the morning session, just two tenths off Nico Rosberg in second and just over 0.4s down on Lewis Hamilton. Vettel managed to claim P6, nine tenths down on Hamilton's benchmark time, though the rain-affected FP2 did not give the teams a chance for an accurate assessment of their super soft tyres.
Having seen Mercedes comfortably claim pole on Saturday at every race this season Vettel admits it would not be a surprise to see it make another leap forward in Monaco.
"Obviously [Mercedes] are the favourites and we have usually seen that come Saturday they are usually able to pick up their pace. We will obviously try to do the same where we can. I think we are closer at this circuit without there being any straights but we will see."
Despite the limited nature of FP2, Vettel believes Red Bull gained plenty of information from the running it did manage.
"There were not that many laps around here but it felt good. It was limited in terms of what we could learn but I think we improved the car slightly, at least it felt that way from the morning. I think it's important around here to feel comfortable in the car because then you can push to the limit.
"Obviously FP2 was limited in terms of what we could learn in terms of pace for the race. I think if there is a chance we have to use it."
When asked about the news Adrian Newey looks set to extend his stay at the team after interest from Ferrari, Vettel was quick to point out Red Bull is not just a one-man team.
"Well I won't know, there were a lot of stories before but now he said he will stay. He's an important part of the team but as I've said before there's a lot of other people that are very important to us as well and responsible for the success we had and hopefully responsible for the success we will have to use it."
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