Vettel seeks to surprise

Editor

Although Sebastian Vettel acknowledges that it would be a surprise if Mercedes did not lock-out the front row at Monza, he is keen to produce a surprise.

Vettel, taking part in his first Italian Grand Prix as a Ferrari driver, completed the practice podium in both Friday sessions.

While he was a massive 1.5s down in FP1, a swap to the soft Pirellis in the afternoon saw him close the gap to 0.759s.

However, with Mercedes still holding a clear advantage, the German admits it would be a surprise if they didn't grab the front row of the Monza grid.

"It's obviously difficult to say what people are doing on Friday but they are very strong," he said. "They do look very, very quick.

"No surprise I would say and if they are not in front tomorrow then that would be a surprise.

"But we like surprises, so we'll do our utmost to turn things around."