Vettel says one or two additional laps at Bahrain GP would have hampered him – Formula 1 news
Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel has said that he feels delighted that 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix ended after 57 laps and there was no further lap left as he was facing the issue of tyre degradation.
The two-time world champion took his first victory of this season at Sakhir circuit ahead of Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus, after claiming the pole in the qualifying.
Even though, Vettel expressed that his time dropped off during the last two laps because of the tyre degradation, however, he said that he felt extremely happy that there were no more laps left as he suddenly stopped after the chequered flag.
“Over the last two or so laps, the times dropped significantly so it was good that there wasn't a 58th or 59th lap!” he told the official F1 website, “If you get it wrong with the brakes in such a situation - and this track is very demanding on the brakes
and, consequently, for the front tyres - it could mean you let the win slip out of your hands. But none of these things happened! Thank god!”
Furthermore, the veteran German driver admitted that the Finnish driver, Raikkonen was quick on track during the middle of the race.
“It was somewhat obvious that, in the middle phase, Kimi was faster and that I was able to control him was extremely important,” said Vettel.
Nevertheless, he said that he was able to create a gap to the drivers who were behind him in order to take the advantage towards the end of the race as there were huge chances that the problem of tyre degradation might arise, which did happen during the
final laps.
Vettel is leading the drivers’ championship after the first four races with 53 points. Nonetheless, it will be important to mention that the defending champion has said that they are not as confident in 2012 Formula 1 season as they were in the previous
one as all the races in the season until now have been won by different drivers with entirely different car setups.
He added that they need to make the necessary improvements and substantial preparations for the races ahead so as to enhance the pace of RB8.
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