VETTEL EDGES ALONSO FOR POLE BY JUST 2/1000sec IN HOCKENHEIM
2010-07-24 23:27:19 Author: admin Source:
Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel gained another last second pole at the Hockenheim circuit for tomorrow's German Grand Prix, beating Ferrari's Fernando Alonso for the top spot by just two thousands of a second. Vettel set the fastest time of 1: 13.791 in the last moments of the highly competitive session, however Alonso was top in the Q1 and Q2 sessions.
Vettel commented, “I think it’s looking quite good and the car feels good, especially in the last section. Ferrari looked extremely competitive and I had to do my best laps possible on every allocated runs.”
Alonso and team mate Felipe Massa were the first two drivers to hit the track in Qualifying session 1 (Q1), and the Spaniard was first to set a provisional pole time ahead his Brazilian team mate. An accident involving Vitantonio Liuzzi stopped Q1 momentarily and following the restart, Mark Webber set the best time for Q1 but Lewis Hamilton beat him to it shortly. Vettel slotted into second, moments later Jenson Button jumped Vettel for second, a 1-2 for McLaren. The Red Bulls were just getting started with Webber taking over second from Button, while Alonso turned up his pace to go second and later assumed first position or P1.
End of Q1, the usual suspects; the Lotus drivers, Virgin Racing pilots, both HRTs and Liuzzi, all failed to move on to Q2. The Ferraris suddenly found competitive pace and looked strong for provisional pole. Webber set the benchmark early in Q2, but Alonso and Vettel quickly wiped out the Australian's provisional time for positions one and two. From nowhere, the second Ferrari of Massa on softer tyres scorched to provisional pole. After a brief stop, it was Alonso's turn to take the Q2 pole. Elsewhere, AT&T Williams' Nico Hulkenberg made a last dash for eighth and moved on to Q3, but Michael Schumacher, Vitaly Petrov, Adrian Sutil, both Saubers and both Toro Rossos ended their runs in Q2.
Webber again set the early pace for provisional pole in Q3, but Alonso immediately responded on another clean run. Then, it was Vettel who notched up another fantastic run to keep Alonso at bay for provisional pole. As the flag dropped, Alonso made a last gasp for pole, but could not match Vettel's time and the Spaniard was slower by just a couple of thousands of a second.
Both McLarens will start on the third row, while Renault's Robert Kubica leads off the fourth row with AT&T Williams' Rubens Barrichello next to him. Kubica concluded, "My lap could have been better, because I was held up by a Red Bull in the final sector, but I don’t think it would have changed my position. We have had a couple of issues with the car here and in Silverstone, and I have not felt as confident with it, so we know that it’s important to keep working to improve the feeling because that will give us more consistency."
Mercedes GP's Nico Rosberg and Hulkenberg finished ninth and tenth respectively to complete the top ten for Sunday's German GP.
Results
1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:13.791
2 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:13.793
3 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:14.290
4 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:14.347
5 Jenson Button McLaren 1:14.427
6 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:14.566
7 Robert Kubica Renault 1:15.079
8 Rubens Barrichello Williams 1:15.109
9 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP 1:15.179
10 Nico Hulkenberg Williams 1:15.339
