Vettel hails Red Bull's step forward

Sebastian Vettel hailed Red Bull's step forward at the British Grand Prix after he secured his third pole position of the season at Silverstone

The German, whose team introduced several significant updates to its car this weekend, said Red Bull's car was stronger thanks to the new components.

"It's been a fantastic weekend from the beginning to the end we didn't have a single problem," said Vettel, seeking his second win of the season.

"All the new parts we brought here worked very well. We made a step forward but when it comes to qualifying.

"There is tension there, you try to do your best, and it was quite difficult today. At the beginning I was struggling a little bit with traffic.

"The wind today was not such an issue but it's always difficult when you have cars ahead, so in the first two sessions I was struggling a bit and in Q2 we put on a soft tyre and I was quite happy with the car."

Vettel claimed his final flying lap had been near perfect.

"It was the lap of the weekend," he said. "It was close to perfect. As a driver you always think there is a little bit here or there, but it went very well. I was surprised how quick I was at that stage, it was enough to get pole position.

"I can only say a big compliments back to the guys in the garage, it is only half an hour away from Silverstone and they are working so hard to get this car ready, so it is down to them, we are proving the car is working very well."

The Red Bull driver, who is 31 points behind championship leader Jenson Button, welcomed the Briton's problems in today's session.

Button will start from sixth place.

Vettel, however, is aware that his Brawn rival will have a very fast car tomorrow.

"There are 60 laps around here, this circuit is tough with both the car and drivers, it is a long way. If you ask for the championship ranking, he has the advantage, we ware here to fight and want to win races.

"Today we did the best possible job, we have a fantastic car and a chance to win, you never know what happens. We will definitely fight.

"It is good that Jenson is not here in this room, but the Brawn has very strong pace, they have shown on Sundays they are extremely competitive, so even if he starts sixth he can come back and score a lot of points."