Sebastian Vettel revelled in the feeling of his Ferrari SF90 as he ended a 17-race long pole drought by topping qualifying for Formula 1’s Canadian Grand Prix.
Vettel, who had not led a Q3 session since Germany last July, vaulted Lewis Hamilton with his final effort to beat the reigning World Champion by two-tenths of a second.
It marked Ferrari’s second pole position of the campaign, in the wake of Charles Leclerc’s session-topping lap in Bahrain in March.
“Obviously it’s a great day, it’s been a while,” said Vettel.
“For the team the last couple of races have been quite tough, coming here and showing stronger form than we had in the last races is positive.
“We knew the track in a way would suit us but we still have to do the job.
“The car felt better and better through qualifying, not easy with the red flag.
“I’m really happy, I really enjoyed it, wish I could do it again for the fun of it!
“I had to pace myself for the two corners as getting the tyres to grip up wasn’t easy, after that was a joy, the car was shouting ‘keep going keep going’! I really enjoyed it.
“I wasn’t sure if it was enough [when crossing the line], they screamed pole position and it’s just amazing.
“It’s obviously only part of the job, will be a long race, difficult to fight and keep them off but from where we start it looks like a good race.”
It marked the second straight year in which Vettel has scored pole in Canada.
“To be honest I’m just excited, you know, this is one of the tracks where you need to dare going close to the walls in many places,” he said.
“It’s very bumpy, very rough, if you get it right it feels great.
“I think I got it quite right and you finish the lap and you finish with the adrenalin.
“I was looking up and I didn’t know who’s coming behind then they screamed pole position, was just pure joy, I’m not a singer but I was screaming quite hard!”
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