Vettel says he "chickened out" in Brazilian GP pole fight

Vettel was ahead of his Mercedes rival after the first runs in the final qualifying segment, but came up just short of an improvement with his second and final flying lap.

Bottas, for his part, did make gains, putting together a last-gasp effort that denied Vettel pole by 0.038s.

Having lost time relative to the Finn in the first sector in particular, Vettel admitted his final lap was compromised by him not being strong enough on the brakes going into the Turn 1 left-hander.

"I was very happy with the first lap," Vettel said. "We knew that in the last corner in Q3 I had a bit left as I lost rear a bit. I knew I could gain some time.

"I chickened out a little bit too early in the first corner [on the final lap], braking too early - the grip was there - so I lost some time compared to first run."

Vettel carried on with the lap, trying to make up time in the remaining two sectors, but ended up half a tenth slower than his first attempt.

"I got some [time] back at the last corner but by then I was overall too far behind.

"It was not that bad. I was happy with my first lap. I think it was okay. Three hundredths [to Bottas], you always think there was some place I could get that."

Despite missing out on pole, Vettel appeared bullish on his chances of claiming his third Brazilian Grand Prix win on Sunday, saying his long runs in practice looked strong compared to Bottas "in particular".

Bottas recovering from slump

Having scored his third grand prix pole position for Mercedes, Bottas felt his qualifying pace in Brazil was a continuation of the recent upward trend in his performances.

The Finn has struggled to match fellow Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton since the summer break, but ran the Brit close throughout the Interlagos weekend – and managed to put the W08 on pole while Hamilton had crashed out in Q1.

"Sometimes it has been more difficult and that is how it goes in racing," Bottas said.

"For me, the last few races have been all the time on the up and feeling better and better with the car - and working hard on the issues I've been having.

"We managed to learn from the mistakes and the tricky sessions, and the last few weekends have been a lot better.

"It has been the case all the weekend here. Lewis wasn't anymore in Q2 and Q3 but overall I am pleased with the performance."

Additional reporting by Jonathan Noble