Sebastian Vettel conceded Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen was simply faster than him as the German missed out on pole position for the Monaco Grand Prix by just 0.043s.
Vettel had looked the favourite to secure Ferrari's first pole position at Monaco since 2008 heading into session, having been quickest in both FP2 and FP3. Instead, it was Raikkonen who went on to claim his first pole in 129 races -- since the 2008 French Grand Prix. After qualifying, championship leader Vettel admitted he struggled to hook up a lap good enough to beat his teammate.
"I think we had clean sessions on Thursday and this morning, no traffic," the German explained. "We were really able to feel the car and get the most out of it. In qualifying, I got some scruffy runs, some traffic, and couldn't get in the same rhythm so I was close. As Kimi said, it's about putting the lap together. Maybe I struggled a bit more than him and today he was faster."
Vettel insists he and Raikkonen will be free to race in Sunday's grand prix and says he is focused on what he anticipates will be a long race.
"We're here to race and race each other," Vettel said. "The start here is important, the first corner is important, the race is important. We know that it's always important in Monaco, so we'll see what happens.
"I'll just do the best race I can, that's the priority for tomorrow. For the start, I don't know, we'll start and then maybe see what the others are doing. You see where you find yourself. It's very simple. You try to do your best and then you see. It's not a long way to go to Turn 1, but after that you have a very long race."