Red Bull tyre gamble pays off for Vettel

SEBASTIAN VETTEL has admitted Red Bull took “a lot of risk” en route to him taking a giant stride towards back-to-back Formula One world titles.

There was concern in the Red Bull camp ahead of yesterday’s Belgian Grand Prix as Vettel and Mark Webber started on worn tyres they both damaged during Saturday’s qualifying session.

It led to Webber pitting after just three laps and Vettel five in a bid to manage a situation that eventually turned in their favour as the race unfolded.

Come the chequered flag, following 12 years of McLaren and Ferrari dominance at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, Vettel and Red Bull had their first win at a track that was not supposed to favour them.

To enhance their joy, Webber grabbed second for the team’s 10th one -two finish, ensuring the pairing are the fourth most successful in that regard in F1 history.

With seven wins in 12 races this season, and 17 in his career, the 24-year-old German said: “We had a lot of concerns going into the race due to the damage on the tyres from qualifying.

“We weren’t quite sure, so we took a lot of risk, although we had reason to be confident it would be fine.

“But you never really know. There is no one walking up and down in the paddock giving you a guarantee.

“We didn’t feel too comfortable, and both of us stopped fairly early in the race, with the aim to see how the tyres were after a couple of laps and to go from there.

“It was more management than usual, but I have to say the car worked brilliantly.

“Compared to previous years [at Spa] we were very competitive so I am very, very happy with the result and very happy with the race.

“It’s a big relief after all the discussions we had going into the race which didn’t make it easy to keep focused.

“We decided the priority was simply to finish and not think too much about where, so that’s why I am so happy with the result. It couldn’t have been any better.”

Webber’s race was compromised by what he describes as “a shocking start” due to the anti-stall kicking in on his car, relegating him from third on the grid to midfield early on.

But like Vettel, strategy and tyre management enabled the 35-year-old Australian to finish second at Spa for the second successive year.

“We did a lot of damage to the tyres in qualifying and had to stop pretty early to protect ourselves from any issues,” said Webber.

“In the end, the right decisions were made and the team reacted incredibly well and did some good research overnight to work out how we could best get through the race.”