Vettel Wins Pole in Brazil; Breaks Mansall's 19 Year Record

SAO PAULO, Brazil- It would only be a matter of time, and it was the last chance for Sebastian Vettel to make history. But the current World Champion wasted no time and despite the threat of rain, which fortunately never came, the German recorded the fastest time of the week, a 1:11:918, to take pole for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Brazil at Interlagos.

For Vettel, it is his 15th pole of the season, which breaks the 19 year old record set by Nigel Mansall. To make things more dominating, Red Bull teammate Mark Webber, who could clinch second in the World Championship with a victory, took second, and Jenson Button finished third.

“There has been a lot of talk about this particular record; I think the best thing to do was not to think about it at all.” Commented Vettel afterwards. “We had a rough start at the beginning of the week when I was not happy with the balance, but we made the right choices overnight, and I was enjoying the moment with the laps that I had put everything into the last lap. I was very emotional when I crossed the line, and whatever I did, it was all I had.”

Vettel got off to a slow start in the first session, as Button set the fastest time with a 1:13:281. But with the expected rain holding off, the track remained dry, and Vettel finally took charge by taking the second session with a 1:12:446 fastest time. But in the final period, Vettel had no threat for his attempt to break a 19 year old qualifying record, as the currently crown World Champion had the last laugh as he top the weekend with the best time. Webber came up just a little short on the attempt, but felt that he still could win the race, which would be nicer than many Red Bull 1-2 qualifying finishes like this.

“It went very well and quali was very well.” Said the Australian. “Both Sebastian (Vettel) and I put out the maximum of the car today. I was hoping for a good lap, but it did not happen. Sebastian put out a good lap as usual, and to be honest, it should be a good race tomorrow.”

Lewis Hamilton led the rest with a fourth place finish, while Fernando Alonso took fifth. Nico Rosberg finished in sixth with his Mercedes while home hero Felipe Massa qualified in seventh. Adrian Sutil, an impressive Bruno Senna, and Michael Schumacher completed the top ten.

Many people, including most journalists wondered how Vettel had any secret to turning out so many successful laps as he did this season. But Vettel himself had no great answer, just honesty.

“There is really no secret,” he said. “We had a great day on Wednesday before the weekend, but it not easy to put out a great lap and all the circuits are different. You are happy with what you can do, and not about what you cannot do. Generally, I was able to put most of it into one good lap and have a good run in Q 3. I just enjoyed it.”