Sebastian Vettel is confident he can put polesitter and championship rival Lewis Hamilton under pressure at the Japanese Grand Prix having secured second on the grid.
Vettel qualified third at Suzuka in the knowledge Valtteri Bottas is set to serve a gearbox penalty in the other Mercedes, meaning the Ferrari driver moved up to a spot on the front row. Hamilton never looked like being beaten over one lap, with his 1:27.319 shattering the previous circuit lap record held by Michael Schumacher, but Vettel is expecting a different story when the lights go out on Sunday.
When asked how he felt with his qualifying performance, Vettel said: "Oh, pretty good, pretty happy to be honest -- the car balance is getting better, obviously we're lacking a bit of performance but all in all it was a positive day.