Vettel: No changes made for Japan breakthrough
Sebastian Vettel says there are no changes to explain his "step in performance" at the Japanese Grand Prix, where he ended Ferrari Formula 1 teammate Charles Leclerc's qualifying superiority.
Leclerc had qualified on pole for the previous four grands prix, a run that stretched his dominant run over Vettel in qualifying to nine races.
Suzuka marked the first time Vettel had outqualified Leclerc since June's Canadian Grand Prix, which was also the last time Vettel was on pole.
Asked if he had enjoyed a breakthrough during the Japan weekend, Vettel said: "Not really, just a clean [qualifying] session.
"I don't think there was a particular problem. We've been improving the car since Singapore, the update has helped me in areas where maybe I struggled a bit before.
"Overall qualifying sessions on my side didn't go entirely smooth. Maybe that one just went quite smooth – both laps were clean, I had no issues preparing the lap.
"[There is] nothing that has changed. We didn't change the car for here. [There is] nothing that would explain the step in performance."
Vettel has struggled more with the SF90 than Leclerc, who was generally the quicker of the two Ferrari drivers in the first half of the season when the car was more inconsistent.
Since the major aerodynamic upgrade Ferrari brought to Singapore Vettel's form has improved, but Japan was the first time he looked like he had an advantage over Leclerc.
However, Vettel botched the start, which meant he could not capitalise on his qualifying result, although he avoided a penalty and was able to finish second.
"I was doing what I normally do [at the start]," he said. "I had a very poor start because I moved a little bit, stopped, then lost all the momentum.
"So overall I lost compared to a normal start. It was a mistake. [So] there was a reason, but not a great reason!"
Vettel's pole had looked extremely unlikely on Friday, when Leclerc ended practice marginally the faster Ferrari driver but neither was as competitive as the two Mercedes.
By Sunday morning's qualifying session – rescheduled after Typhoon Hagibis caused Saturday to be cancelled – Ferrari's recent qualifying dominance returned, but Vettel's error and inferior race pace allowed Valtteri Bottas to take the win.
"It's always difficult to judge the true performance on Friday," said Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto when asked by Motorsport.com to explain Ferrari's twice-changing fortunes.
"Because we maybe on different programmes, I don't know how they were running.
"But focusing on ourselves we had some car issues on Friday, quite high degradation, and we worked through the set-up for the qualy and the race.
"We dropped the rear wing for qualy and the race, which helped the front balance, and the [drivers said the] car felt better.
"We've got the right pace in qualy but not in the race. We've got degradation, higher at least to our competitors."
Hamilton: 2019 title doesn't feel as "happy"
F1 gears up for decisive Paris meeting on 2021 rules
Why Aston Martin is unlikely to repeat Jaguar’s F1 mistakes
Two famous manufacturer teams born out of humble midfield origins, splashing the cash while attempting to rise to the top of F1 in record time. There are clear parallels between Lawrence Stroll’s Aston Martin and the doomed Jaguar Racing project of 22 years ago, but Mark Gallagher believes struggling Aston can avoid a similar fate.
How rejuvenated Haas recovered its F1 mojo
US-owned but until recently Russian-backed, Haas seems to have reached a turning point in car performance after three gruesome seasons. And it needs to if it’s to attract fresh investment. Team boss Gunther Steiner tells Oleg Karpov how close Haas came to the abyss.
How F1 race leaders have now lost their comfort blanket
As Formula 1 teams have settled down in understanding the new generation of cars and the way they need to maximise their performance, fresh lessons have emerged. Jonathan Noble investigates how they have brought with them an all-new kind of grand prix racing
Gilles Villeneuve's 10 greatest F1 drives
Formula 1 lost one of its brightest stars when Gilles Villeneuve was killed during practice for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix. Forty years on, Motorsport.com picks out the greatest drives by a Ferrari legend
The silver lining of Ferrari’s Miami GP defeat
OPINION: Much was made of Formula 1’s first Miami Grand Prix – what turned out to be a very ‘marmite’ event for both those in attendance and everyone following on TV. But even as the on-track battle between Red Bull and Ferrari it produced continued the negative run of results for the red team, it contained a glimmer it must hope continues to shine
How imperfect Miami offered F1's drivers a unique challenge
OPINION: Despite all of the stylistic embellishments festooning Formula 1's inaugural Miami Grand Prix, the Miami International Autodrome offered the drivers a unique challenge and punished driver errors; a stark contrast to the usual cast of modern-day circuits
Why F1’s turbulent relationship with Russia is nothing new
Russia’s involvement in Formula 1 has been big on promise but short on delivery – then reached the end of the road prematurely. MARK GALLAGHER investigates why
Miami Grand Prix Driver Ratings 2022
Formula 1's eagerly-anticipated debut in Miami was the scene for the latest bout for victory between Red Bull and Ferrari. But there was plenty of intrigue up and down the field at F1's newest race, including another stirring drive from a 2022 returnee