Abu Dhabi GP: Surprised Sebastian Vettel sure Red Bull issue not major

The German driver, the winner of the previous four races, had to settle for third position on the Yas Marina grid, having been unable to match the pace of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and his own team-mate Mark Webber.

After the session ended, Vettel was asked to stop his car on the track, although the world champion is confident it was not a serious problem.

"I don't know why I had to stop. I was asked to stop, I guess there was some problem," said Vettel. "It should not be something major."

Vettel said he had not been entirely happy with his qualifying after having missed most of the final practice session because of a brake issue.

"This morning it was not ideal not getting to run. We didn't get answers we were hoping for. I'm not entirely happy with my qualifying," he said.

"The last part was tricky for me. I guess I should have been a bit quicker but overall we can be quite happy. The race pace should be good tomorrow. It is a long race here, lots can happen so I am looking forward to tomorrow."

Vettel said the brake issues were fully rectified for the grid-deciding session.

"We fixed the problem and had fantastic brakes in qualifying," he said.