Vettel promises to charge
Sebastian Vettel has vowed to race like a 'maniac' in tomorrow's Macau Grand Prix so he can at least leave the event with something to smile about
The BMW-Sauber test driver was one of the pre-event favourites for victory but has had a torrid time - suffering a misfire in first qualifying, damaging his front wing early in the qualification race and then eventually crashing out with brake problems.
That incident means he will start 28th for the main event tomorrow - and with little chance of storming through to victory.
But despite the disappointment of the weekend, Vettel has vowed to just go out and have fun to try and salvage something for his efforts.
"It wasn't the plan when we came here, but somehow it all went wrong," said Vettel. "I will just drive like a maniac and we will see what happens.
"Tomorrow there is no specific position we are aiming for, so let's see what happens - if it's P13 or P5 we don't know. As we have seen before at Macau, though, anything can happen."
Vettel thinks one of the biggest factors that has worked against him is the lack of straightline speed from his Mugen-Honda-powered car.
Rivals Mercedes-Benz have dominated proceedings, taking the top eight positions on the grid and the top five in the race. Figures from qualifying showed that Vettel was more than 11kph down on the quickest Mercedes-Benz car through the speed trap at the end of the main straight.
Although he has refused to criticise the performance of Mugen-Honda, Vettel is well aware of where he has been lacking performance - having switched from the Mercedes-Benz-powered ASM team for this event.
"It has never happened before but we are struggling in a straightline," said Vettel. "All the other cars and just go and pass me. Even when I am in a slipstream my position stays the same, so it is quite hard."
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