Sebastian Vettel says he and Mark Webber owe their strong qualifying performance to the hard work put in by the Red Bull team.
The German, who dominated Saturday in 2011 by taking 15 pole positions, has struggled so far this season, but starts the Bahrain Grand Prix on pole, with team-mate Webber third.
“Obviously it feels great and this one I will give to the team and the guys,” he said after the session.
“It wasn’t an easy start to the season for us – surely a lot of expectations but more than anything it was what we expect from ourselves. It did not match our expectation.
“We worked hard on the car, trimming here and there to find the right way forward. The boys did not have much sleep the last few races – a tough race in China and here a serious lack of sleep, so I’m happy to be on pole.
“Both of us owe the result to the team. The car felt better all weekend. I did not have the best early part of qualifying in Q1 and Q2, but knew when I got lap in we could nail it – so I am very happy.”
The current champion expects to perform well on Sunday given their race pace has been far better than their one-lap pace.
“I think it is always tough, the race here is long and a lot of things can happen,” he added.. “We are pretty aggressive and we should be better off in the race.
“Race pace has proven to be pretty consistent in the last couple of races. At this one I am definitely happier with how the car feels.”
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