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Sat Quali: High Velocity Vettel

Sebastian Vettel
By Keppel May 10 2008
It would be easy to feel disheartened by the delayed debut of the STR3, especially when sister team, Red Bull Racing, seem to have hit their stride with the RB4 in Turkey this weekend. Toro Rosso fans shouldn't feel too bad about qualifying in Istanbul earlier today, however, with Sebastian Vettel paving his way to an impressive 14th, and team-mate Bourdais in 18th.

Both Vettel and Bourdais showed their potential today, and although they didn't receive much attention from the television cameras, they certainly received the attention of yours truly. Without traffic, Bourdais could have found himself in another Q2 session, which this time last year would have been highly unlikely with Toro Rosso cars. Vettel pushed during some promising trouble-free runs to position himself in a potentially more profitable grid slot than as of late, outpacing a Renault, a Williams and a Toyota on the way. Not bad for what is essentially last year's RB3, that actually only allowed both Webber and Coulthard to qualify 12th and 13th for the 2007 Turkish Grand Prix, which highlights the top job from Vettel today.


For tomorrow, are points a possibility? If Spain was anything to go by, perhaps they are. With a colder track, many drivers found themselves in a spot of bother when warming up the tyres today. If either Vettel or Bourdais can steer themselves through any first corner chaos caused, perhaps, by such temperatures, then a top 8 position might be possible. The finale of the STR2, however, is most likely one which will be considered the end of the beginning for Toro Rosso. The STR3 chassis will undoubtedly be a huge improvement, and perhaps the new format of qualifying could yield more surprise casualties in Q1 as a result. In Spain, I said "Roll on Turkey". This weekend, i'm saying, let's see what happens before we look towards Monaco.


Keppel's Predictions: A solid race from both drivers, has to be the first race finish for Vettel of 2008, points unlikely but a top 10 position is certainly possible.

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