Although he hates the term, as he remains focused on giving his best and supporting his team moving forward, Vettel is on something of a farewell tour at his last Formula 1 grands prix. The German has never hidden his love for Suzuka, which is why this weekend is special, as he races his favorite circuit for the last time.
And, from what is seen in the stands and off the track, the love of the Japanese for the pilot is mutual. The always creative Japanese fans show their support for Aston Martin, who after qualifying has made a great gesture with them and with the track itself.
Vettel had a great performance this Saturday, reaching Q3 as the only representative of his team (Lance Stroll fell in Q1) and shining to, in fact, qualify ninth ahead of Lando Norris.
After his only attempt in the final round, as he had no more new tyres, he went back to the pits and on the way back to the pitlane he turned on the radio to say: “Good guys, good session. I really enjoyed it. This track is much better than all the others.” the others”.
“Arigato gozaimasu Suzuka. Thank you. I will miss this place.”
Video: Vettel’s radio message at Suzuka
Such is the appreciation that Vettel (like other drivers) has for the Suzuka circuit, that on Thursday he admitted that he would happily return from retirement if he can contest another Japanese GP in the future. And, after the classification, he showed his satisfaction.
“I enjoyed the whole qualifying session,” he commented. “It was very fair to get to Q2, and then even more to qualify for Q3. It’s been a great day for us, a wonderful session.”
Regarding the fans, he stated: “I get a lot of support here. It’s great, there’s a lot of energy, people seem really happy that we’re back. There were a lot of German flags in the stands and I thought it was good to say thank you.”
Asked by Motorsport.com if saying ‘arigato’ in Japanese had been planned, Vettel replied: “No, it was spontaneous. This place has given me so much pleasure and the feeling of being so alive in the car, that I thought it was right to say thank you.”
(Look at the photos of Vettel fans in Japan before continuing)
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Vettel was surprised to have achieved such a performance in qualifying for the Japanese GP, on a circuit that does not seem to suit his car. In fact, the elimination of his teammate at the first opportunity and the small margins to advance rounds made Vettel define as ‘the power of Suzuka’ the fact of having been able to be ninth.
“On paper it’s not our track, we have a pretty big wing and our car has a lot of drag. The Q2 lap was under pressure, because I put pressure on myself to go into Q3 with a perfect lap, and we did it. “.
After crossing the finish line in that Q2 and achieving the pass, Sebastian Vettel exclaimed on the radio that it had been a lap that had left him ecstatic.
“In Q3 I was able to go even faster, but we weren’t really racing anyone anymore because we knew everyone else was going to be faster. We beat Lando [Norris], who was a bit unlucky, but overall it was a session. very good”.
In Suzuka Vettel won, in 2011, his second F1 world championship, and there Max Verstappen can be crowned this Sunday, also for the second time… and also with Red Bull. As for the German, he hopes to finally say goodbye to Suzuka by adding “important points”.
