Sebastian Vettel said he was happy with second place on the grid for the Brazilian Grand Prix after a tricky qualifying session. The Red Bull driver finished behind Williams's Nico Hulkenberg, who secured his first career pole position after a superb performance on Saturday.
"It was a tricky session, and obviously a tough call in Q3," said Vettel. "It's tricky in these conditions and it's easy to do a mistake. We were targeting pole and he [Hulkenberg] was better than all of us today. I am happy with second."
Vettel conceded it was no luck that gave Hulkenberg, the young German finishing over a full second ahead of his closest rival.
"Generally I am happy with qualifying, but also angry, because if there is a second gap to the guy ahead, it is not frustrating but a statement," he added. "We saw yesterday at the beginning when the track was green that Williams was generally a quick car. It was not a lucky lap at all if you outqualify everyone by a second. He did it three times in a row. But I'm happy with second, as it could have been anything this afternoon."
Vettel said he will treat Hulkenberg as a serious rival despite the Williams not being as quick as the Red Bull in race trim.
"I have to take notice of him – he is ahead of me, so he is a challenger and we are racing against him," he said. "The race is long; a lot of things can happen. We know we should be quicker in the race, as the car is a bit quicker than the Williams. We will focus on a good start and it is a long race, a lot of things can happen."