Sebastian Vettel says Red Bull "never feared for performance" when their RB8 was declared illegal twice in the space of almost a single week.
Last Saturday the FIA ruled that the hole found in the floor of Red Bull's RB8, which was used to improve aerodynamics, was illegal and told the team they had to change it ahead of this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix.
That, though, wasn't the end of the story.
On Saturday in Montreal the RB8 was again deemed to be illegal as Red Bull were running wheel hubs that improved the cooling of the car's brakes. The reigning World Champs had to block the holes in the hubs to pass inspection.
However, that didn't stop Vettel from storming to his second successive Canadian pole position on Saturday.
"We changed the car, we had to close the hole/slot - it seemed to work pretty well without the hole," said the German.
"It is not just a hole in the floor that makes all the difference. It's a shame it went one way or another, and a shame it was declared legal and then illegal. We never feared for performance.
"We were not afraid it would have a big impact on performance. It was good today and even without the hole I enjoyed today."
Vettel came to the fore on Saturday morning, setting the pace in final practice before following that up with a brilliant 1:13.784 in qualifying. That put him 0.303s up on Lewis Hamilton.
"We've had a fantastic weekend," Vettel said. "Friday was very smooth with no problems.
"We've learned some lessons of late because we've been quick on a Sunday, but not in qualifying.
"Yesterday it was important to have a clean run. We trust the car we have. We go with the circuit, and I was very comfortable.
"I found I was always able to get a bit quicker. I knew it would be tight here, but it seems we've been able to make a bigger difference.
"Obviously we've got it right in qualifying today, but I'm still only eight metres ahead of Lewis."
Related Links
Qualy: Vettel storms to Canadian pole
Saturday's shots from Canada
