Sebastian Vettel laughs off doubters

Sebastian Vettel was able to laugh off claims there would be a changing of the guard after clinching his seventh pole at the European Grand Prix.

Earlier this week the FIA announced a ban on engine mapping changes between qualifying and a race, with many hoping that would result in an end to Vettel's one-lap domination this season.
The belief was Red Bull had been aggressive with engine performance in qualifying before switching to a safer mode for the race to ensure the powerplant either did not break or the car did not run out of fuel.
However, the outcome remained the same as Vettel now has 22 poles to his name, with the reigning champion spearheading an all-Red Bull front row with Mark Webber for the second time this year, and 12th in the team's history.
It was also Red Bull's ninth pole in a row stretching back to the end of last season.
In claiming all eight this year, it is the first time a team has managed such a feat since McLaren started 1998 with nine in succession.
"There was a lot of talk going into this grand prix, but for us we have never understood why," said Vettel.
"There will also be a lot of talk before the next grand prix at Silverstone (the British GP when off-throttle blown diffusers are outlawed).
"People expected us to lose more than others, but that's where I disagree.
"It's a step back, but it's the same for all of us - for some less, for others more, especially for those based on a certain concept like Mercedes or Renault. I think they feel it more than others.
"But for us we just focused on what we had to do here."
Webber also agreed as only five teams - Williams, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus and Alfa Romeo - have achieved more successive poles than Red Bull.
"I don't expect there to be a huge difference tomorrow in terms of what we have done today," said Webber, who edged Lewis Hamilton in his McLaren into third late on.
"We've seen in the past that sometimes the result can be different and it could happen tomorrow.
"But if Lewis wins by 50 seconds it won't be down to a new exhaust or the fact he can't change the differential.
"It's going to be down to a result that probably would have happened anyway."
For last year's winner Vettel, his performance in becoming the first driver to set a sub-one minute-37-second lap, also went some way to eradicating the memory of his last lap in Canada 13 days ago when he slid wide to allow Jenson Button through for the win.
"In that moment I was disappointed. I think you could see I wasn't the happiest guy, and Jenson was," said Vettel.
"It was a long race, easy to make mistakes and everyone finished, so looking back it was very important to finish and collect points.
"Of course, it took a little while for me to forget, but on Monday and Tuesday it was history, and then I started to look forward to this race.
"Of course, I'd love to have won, but it didn't happen and we start from zero again here."
Even over the in-car radio, however, there appeared to be little of Vettel's customary enthusiasm after claiming pole, suggesting it is all becoming a little mundane for the 23-year-old German.
The battle these days would appear to be who can grab the front-row spot alongside Vettel, but he dismissed that notion and said: "With respect we are all fighting for first.
"I don't expect somebody like Lewis targeting second. You always want to beat everyone.
"Otherwise what is the point if you are going round and you try to finish second, fifth or 10th?"
McLaren have at least generally proved to be more competitive in a race, with Hamilton hoping that will again be the case.
"Third is definitely a good effort. I wasn't expecting to be so high up and we should be able to have a good race," said Hamilton.
"Whether we can race Red Bull, that is the question. We're as close as we can be, and we've seen how the other races have unfolded, so we could still have an exciting race."
Behind the leading trio will be Ferrari duo Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa in fourth and fifth, with Jenson Button sixth in his McLaren, whilst Force India's Paul di Resta starts 12th.