Belgian F1 GP: Sebastian Vettel admits 'costly' qualifying mistake
Ferrari Formula 1 driver Sebastian Vettel was left kicking himself for "a costly mistake" that compromised his lap and left him ninth in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix

While Mercedes was in a class of its own at Spa-Francorchamps, third place on the grid was closely contested.
Come the conclusion, just 0.288 seconds separated third place to ninth, but Vettel had to settle for the last of those positions courtesy of an error late on in his final hot lap in Q3.
After winning last time out in Hungary, Vettel now faces a tall order to put Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton under any further pressure in the title battle, with the gap between the duo at 42 points.
"The last race doesn't matter now, but it's always disappointing [to finish so far down in qualifying] when you consider I had a good feeling throughout," said Vettel.
"Probably the worst lap, or the worst part [of qualifying] for us was the last one.
"We only had one set of [soft] tyres due to the red flag earlier [caused by team-mate Kimi Raikkonen's failure in Q2], but still, I was fine until the last corner where I lost too much time.
"I went in a bit too deep, had a very poor exit and lost quite a lot of time, two tenths, not enough to go P3, but enough to be higher than P9.
"It was a costly mistake and I'm not happy with myself because it was very tight from P3 onwards. We were at the right end of it in Q2, but at the wrong end in Q3."
Vettel, though, firmly believes he can make up positions in the race.
"We have made impressive progress on our side," he said.
"Our straightline speed is good, and that makes me fairly confident for the race as this is a place where you can overtake.
"I feel we're quicker than the cars in front, so we'll see how it pans out. Surely the target for both of us is to make progress."
RAIKKONEN HOPEFUL OF RACE PROGRESS
Raikkonen will start 14th after losing drive from his Ferrari early in Q2, forcing him to park his car on the side of the track shortly before Stavelot.
With Ferrari still investigating exactly what happened, Raikkonen said: "We lost drive and obviously I had to stop. I'm sure we'll find out exactly the problem."
The Finn knows he faces a fight to make up places with eight Mercedes-powered cars among those ahead of him, but is confident race pace can prove beneficial.
"All the Mercedes engined-cars are there and they seem to be pretty strong here, but our car's been handling nicely all weekend
"We've been good in the top speed, and obviously race pace is something we hope is going to change in the race, in our favour."

Belgian F1 GP: McLaren's Button and Alonso resigned to lonely race
Belgian GP: F1 qualifying press conference transcript

Latest news
Dennis singles out Jaguar as Porsche's biggest Formula E threat
Jake Dennis says Porsche cannot let off its development of its Gen3 Formula E powertrain, and singled out Jaguar as a threat to the German manufacturer in the coming rounds.
Verstappen buoyed by new handling characteristics of 2023 F1 tyres
Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen is hopeful the new Pirelli tyres will help further dial out the inherent understeer of the current generation of cars.
Pastrana adds NASCAR Truck Series race to Daytona programme
Travis Pastrana has added the season-opening NASCAR Truck Series race to his appearance at Daytona International Speedway this month.
Turkington continues with WSR BMW for 2023 BTCC season
Four-time British Touring Car champion Colin Turkington will bid for a fifth title in 2023 with the West Surrey Racing BMW squad, the team confirmed on Wednesday morning.
Why Albon won't be "throwing around laptops" to gain a 2023 F1 edge
OPINION: At the Williams 2023 Formula 1 season launch, Alex Albon’s easy-going nature was again a point of focus. But does being “too nice” really matter in modern F1? Albon’s own expressions put that in an intriguing new light
How the last Sauber-built Alfa offers F1 2023 evolution clues
Alfa Romeo has become the first Formula 1 team to reveal a new car for 2023, in addition to a fresh livery. This offered a first look at some of the understated changes produced by the revised regulations, along with points of convergence in the second year of the ground effect rules
The pioneering F1 car that preceded Lotus’s terminal decline
In the hands of Ayrton Senna the actively suspended 99T would be the last F1 race-winning Lotus but, as STUART CODLING reveals, it was a complicated machine that caused more problems than it solved
How Tyrrell became a racing Rubik’s cube as it faded out of F1
Formula 1’s transformation into a global sport meant the gradual extinction for a small team determined to stay true to its low-budget roots. But Tyrrell would eventually be reborn as a world-beating outfit again, explains MAURICE HAMILTON, albeit in different colours…
Assessing Hamilton's remarkable decade as a Mercedes F1 driver
Many doubted Lewis Hamilton’s move from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 Formula 1 season. But the journey he’s been on since has taken the Briton to new heights - and to a further six world championship titles
Why new look Haas is a litmus test for Formula 1’s new era
OPINION: With teams outside the top three having struggled in Formula 1 in recent seasons, the rules changes introduced in 2022 should have more of an impact this season. How well Haas does, as the poster child for the kind of team that F1 wanted to be able to challenge at the front, is crucial
The Mercedes F1 pressure changes under 10 years of Toto Wolff
OPINION: Although the central building blocks for Mercedes’ recent, long-lasting Formula 1 success were installed before he joined the team, Toto Wolff has been instrumental in ensuring it maximised its finally-realised potential after years of underachievement. The 10-year anniversary of Wolff joining Mercedes marks the perfect time to assess his work
The all-French F1 partnership that Ocon and Gasly hope to emulate
Alpine’s signing of Pierre Gasly alongside Esteban Ocon revives memories of a famous all-French line-up, albeit in the red of Ferrari, for BEN EDWARDS. Can the former AlphaTauri man's arrival help the French team on its path back to winning ways in a tribute act to the Prancing Horse's title-winning 1983?
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.