NOT Daniel Ricciardo! Sebastian Vettel Reveals Real Reason for Not Making It to Q3 in Baku

Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel had another tough day in the office. The 4-times world champion failed to get into Q3 and will be starting the race in P11. However, he could have got into the final qualifying session were it not for Daniel Ricciardo’s crash that brought an out the red flags and also prematurely ended the session. But the German doesn’t blame his ex-teammate. Instead, he takes the blame on himself and criticizes his mistake that cost him a shot at Q3.

Speaking after the qualifying session, Vettel reflected on his performance saying, “Yeah, I think that’s the standard phrase, anyone in P11 always hopes for an advantage on free choice of tires

“Yeah, disappointed because I had a mistake. It was up to me. I should have done better, I locked into the last 10 to 15 and lost a lot of time. Otherwise it would have been quite easy into Q3. But it is what it is and then there was the red flag so nothing to do.”

That red flag from Ricciardo was not the first one of the day. In fact, in what was a drama-filled qualifying session, there were a total of 4 red flag incidents. The first one came about thanks to Vettel’s teammate.

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Lance Stroll will be more upset than Sebastian Vettel

While Vettel can rue his mistake, he at least starts in P11. Stroll’s mistake, on the other hand, cost him his entire qualifying session. As a result, he will start at the back of the grid alongside Antonio Giovinazzi who also had a similar incident that brought out red flags.

Stroll’s crash occurred just over 5 minutes into Q1. At the time, barely a handful of drivers had completed hot laps. The Canadian driver was not the first and will not be the last victim of Turn 15. That particular corner was the exact site of Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen’s crash in the free practice sessions, as well as Giovinazzi’s crash.

Despite the disappointing result, Lance may want to take a page from Ricciardo’s book. He won his first ever podium here for Williams, and he’ll want to rely on that performance to give him a boost of confidence as he’ll hope to make amends in the race.

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