- Singapore GP - FP2
Vettel encouraged despite engine troubles
Sebastian Vettel says he is optimistic Red Bull can take the fight to Mercedes in Singapore despite missing the majority of FP2 due to an engine problem.
Vettel has won the last three races in Singapore and started Friday strongly, beating team-mate Daniel Ricciardo to fourth in FP1. But at the end of the session Vettel pulled up at the end of the pit lane and Red Bull confirmed they would replace his engine, which seemed to put his participation in FP2 in doubt with just two hours between sessions and three to four hours needed to make the change.
But Red Bull managed to get Vettel out with ten minutes of FP2 remaining, enough time to go fifth, leaving the world champion optimistic there is better to come on Saturday.
"It was Friday so it's not ideal to [not] get a run on the options but thanks to the mechanics I got a couple of minutes at the end - better than nothing," Vettel said. "It felt very good this afternoon but obviously its difficult to go out and nail the first lap right away but I got pretty close. I wasn't able to get the best out of the tyres straight away because I didn't have feel for them but overall I'm pretty happy, and I'm sure we can improve tomorrow."
Red Bull expects to be strong in Singapore, as the Marina Bay circuit plays to its strengths, and Vettel admits he is optimistic after the pace he was able to find on Friday.
"I think there still is," he replied when asked if there was hope of beating Mercedes this weekend. "Hopefully we should be in a good place tomorrow, it's difficult to say today but we are a lot closer to Mercedes than we have been. Obviously today is Friday, we will see tomorrow. Qualifying is tight but we will see what we can do."
Vettel will not take a penalty for the engine change as the team re-used an old one for the replacement, rather than taking on new components.
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
