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Formula 1 Chinese GP
Vettel thinks Ferrari tyre strategy will pay off
Sebastian Vettel believes Ferrari's tyre strategy could be an advantage over the one chosen by Chinese Grand Prix polesitter Nico Rosberg.
Pablo Elizalde
Edited: Apr 16, 2016, 12:39 PM
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Rosberg opted to use the soft tyre compounds to set his best time in Q2, meaning he will start tomorrow's race with that rubber.
In contract, Ferrari driver Vettel and teammate Kimi Raikkonen will start the race with the supersofts, a decision the German reckons could pay off.
"It's difficult to predict," said Vettel, who qualified down in fourth. "It will be interesting to see how much of a difference it makes.
"We had races in the past where this sort of strategy can work, but then again it doesn't work. He's probably one of the only ones who can afford to do so in Q2.
"Nevertheless, I think we can have a very strong race. I think tyre degradation could come towards our direction."
"P2 was probably up for grabs"
Vettel, who chose to do just one lap in Q3, admitted his run was far from perfect, and reckons second position was possible.
"I started a bit on the wrong foot and then I probably asked a little bit too much form the tyres in the first sector already and from that point on it was trying to play catch-up," he said.
"So it was not the best lap of the weekend. I was confident that the strategy was fine. We saved a set of tyres but obviously not entirely happy with qualifying because the first row was there and P2 was probably up for grabs.
"As I said, that lap that I had wasn't good enough."
The Ferrari driver believes his team should be ahead of Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, second on the grid, in the race tomorrow.
"I think they had a very good day. Here it's important to find the right balance, especially as the session progresses, and I think they did.
"So in that regard it's not a surprise, but I think for tomorrow we should be ahead of them again."
Additional reporting by Adam Cooper
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