Greater Noida: Selecting the right set of tyres at the Buddh International Circuit might hold the key to success in Sunday's Indian Grand Prix, but defending champion Sebastian Vettel feels the 60-lap race is long enough for a team to adjust its strategies.
High degradation on the soft Pirelli tyres was the greatest cause of concern for the drivers during Friday's practice sessions and there is a feeling among the experts that most of the teams will go for long-lasting medium tyres in the final race.
"What is the right strategy we will find out tomorrow. The race is long so we will have plenty of time to make up and adjust the strategies," said Vettel, who positioned himself perfectly for a fourth straight world title after securing his third consecutive Indian Grand Prix pole position here on Saturday.
Vettel came out with a flying lap of 1:24.119s to grab his third straight pole in India, seventh of the season and 43rd of his career as he pipped Mercedes' Nico Rosberg by 0.752 seconds. Rosberg was followed by his team-mate Lewis Hamilton (1:24.941s) as Mercedes prevented a Red Bull lock out by pushing Mark Webber (1:25.047) to the fourth spot.
"I really like the circuit specially the middle sector is very challenging with fast, high speed corners. The car has been very strong since yesterday morning. We didn't have to adjust that much. It was a good result for me as well as for the team with Mark sitting on the fourth spot," Vettel said.
"As a team we have been working very hard so as to make sure that we are on top of our game. It is a team effort at the end of the day. The team is pushing very hard and you also feel that you have to deliver. As part of the team I got to do my bid to find out the right set up," the German added.
Rosberg, meanwhile, admitted that medium tyre strategy is a consideration for Sunday's race.
"Medium tyre was always a consideration (for today). It is a consideration for tomorrow but today we decided that soft tyre was the best way to go. It was the best thing to do from my point of view. But medium tyre strategy is also good one," he said.
The second position on the grid is Rosberg's best qualifying this season and the German was satisfied with the effort his team had put in this weekend.
"Coming here I knew that I had to be the best. So it was nice to secure the second place. I am pleased with today's result. It has really been a tough weekend. We have pushed our limits to get extra out of the car and till now we have been successful. It seems we are step forward from where we were in recent races," Rosberg said.
"We have been a little bit quicker (than Ferrari) this whole weekend."
Hamilton, who will start third from the grid, too was satisfied with his effort in Saturday's qualifying session.
"It doesn't really matter. At the end of the day we had a strong weekend. Personally I struggled a little bit in this weekend. But I am really happy with the result," said Hamilton.
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