F1: Austin Pole Gives Vettel Shot At Securing Title

Formula 1

F1: Austin Pole Gives Vettel Shot At Securing Title

Sebastian Vettel has a chance to lock up the World Championship Sunday in Austin...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted November 17, 2012 Austin, TX

Sebastian Vettel has been dominant through all three practice sessions and qualifying in Austin. (Image: SPEED)

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel gave himself a golden opportunity to secure his third World Championship in Austin by securing pole – although he was pushed much harder than anticipated.

In the end, Vettel beat main challenger Lewis Hamilton by only a tenth of a second.

“We started off on the right foot, I think, yesterday,” said Vettel. “The first practice was very good for us. It was extremely slippery, to be honest, to start with. Obviously the circuit is brand new, the asphalt is brand new and it takes a while for the track to come in, but it's also quite a lot fun to slide around a couple of corners, and it just got better throughout. I think you can see the lap times just got quicker.

“Through qualifying I think we were very happy. In the last section I would have loved to go a little bit quicker. I think I lost a little bit in the first and the last sector. It was a little bit closer than I wanted with Lewis. But overall, fantastic.”

Vettel said he wasn’t focusing on what title rival Fernando Alonso – who will start eighth – is doing.

“Obviously, we have to look after ourselves, and, as I said, I’m very happy," said the German. "We had a smooth session, no issues. Yesterday afternoon was not ideal; we lost a little bit of time. These things can happen, and they might happen again. So you never know, and therefore it’s the best strategy to keep your head down and try to get the best, which I think was the target in qualifying.

“As I said, I’m very happy with the result but so far nobody has scored any points. I think we have seen at the last race how quickly things can change, and even starting at the back does give you opportunities, so we need to wait and see. But for us, we focus on our race, and tomorrow we have the chance to seal the constructors’ championship for the team, so that’s what Mark (Webber, teammate) and I will probably be looking out for.”

Adam Cooper notched up his 27th season as a racing journalist in 2011. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.

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