Sebastian Vettel declared himself ‘very happy’ with the result of today’s qualifying session in Canada, and with the two laps he put in at the end of Q3, both of which were good enough for pole position.
Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber, who will start tomorrow’s race from fourth, admitted to being surprised to be that high up the field.
“We were clear about the car today and able to improve step by step in qualifying,” said Vettel. “I'm very happy with the result and the laps at the end of qualifying, as we were able to improve each time.
“It puts us in a great place, but nevertheless tomorrow is more important. We put ourselves in a good position, eight metres ahead of Lewis and then we go from there.
“It's supposed to be hotter tomorrow, so it's important to get a good start and see what we can do. A lot of things can happen.”
Webber, in contrast, was not particularly happy with the laps he put in during the final stages of today’s session but, nevertheless, is pleased with his starting position.
“I'm surprised I'm in fourth – it wasn't the smoothest session, so I'm actually quite surprised to be there,” said the Australian. “I wasn't super happy with the last few runs in terms of confidence in the car and that means you don't get the most out of yourself, so fourth is okay. It's a long race and we're up there. Seb did a very good lap. The car's good here and the weather should be good tomorrow for the race.”
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner praised both drivers for their efforts. “A strong team performance today,” he remarked. “Sebastian looked really competitive throughout qualifying, going quickest on his first run in Q3 and improving slightly on his second run to take pole position for tomorrow.
“Mark also had a strong qualifying and will line up on the second row of the grid, we had a small issue with a tyre blanket on his last run, but nonetheless he did an excellent job and to be starting on pole and the second row is a great for tomorrow's grand prix.”