Vettel takes pole in disrupted qualifying

2011 Monaco GP qualifying

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Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button, Monaco, 2011

Sebastian Vettel took his fifth pole position of the year in Monaco.

The Red Bull driver shares the front row of the grid with Jenson Button.

The session was stopped for almost 40 minutes following a crash involving Sergio Perez.

Q1

Nico Rosberg was able to join in the session following his crash in morning practice.

But HRT decided the damage to Vitantonio Liuzzi’s car couldn’t be fixed in time and didn’t send him out. Nor did Narain Karthikeyan complete a lap during the session.

The two McLarens headed the times, both drivers using a single set of soft tyres to make it through. Sebastian Vettel, third, and Fernando Alonso, seventh, did likewise.

Mark Webber and Felipe Massa chose to do an extra run each.

The two Lotuses were half a second off making it into Q2, Heikki Kovalainen only fractionally faster than Jarno Trulli.

Jaime Alguersuari collided with Kamui Kobayashi at Rascasse and dropped out in 20th place, ahead of the two Virgins.

Drivers eliminated in Q1

18Heikki KovalainenLotus-Renault1’17.343
19Jarno TrulliLotus-Renault1’17.381
20Jaime AlguersuariToro Rosso-Ferrari1’17.820
21Timo GlockVirgin-Cosworth1’17.914
22Jerome d’AmbrosioVirgin-Cosworth1’18.736
23Narain KarthikeyanHRTNo time
24Vitantonio LiuzziHRTNo time

Q2

Hamilton headed the times in Q2 as well as Vettel got within two thousandths of a second of the McLaren.

Neither Renault made it into the final ten, having been on the front row last year.

A late improvement from Pastor Maldonado got him into Q3 at the expense of his team mate.

Sergio Perez also made it through in ninth place, while team mate Kobayashi was eliminated in 13th.

Both Force Indias were eliminated, with Paul di Resta in front of Adrian Sutil. Sebastien Buemi also failed to progress in the Toro Rosso.

Drivers eliminated in Q2

11Vitaly PetrovRenault1’15.815
12Rubens BarrichelloWilliams-Cosworth1’15.826
13Kamui KobayashiSauber-Ferrari1’15.973
14Paul di RestaForce India-Mercedes1’16.118
15Adrian SutilForce India-Mercedes1’16.121
16Nick HeidfeldRenault1’16.214
17Sebastien BuemiToro Rosso-Ferrari1’16.300

Q3

Jenson Button set the fastest time to begin with but Sebastian Vettel found four-tenths of a second to beat Button’s time.

The other Red Bull of Mark Webber was the best part of half a second slower than his team mate.

Lewis Hamilton did not join in the early runs but lost time on his first run when he caught Felipe Massa’s Ferrari.

Sergio Perez was doing his first run of the session when his car snapped out of control as he dropped towards the chicane.

The Sauber made heavy contact with the TecPro barrier, which was moved back several metres in the impact. The session was red-flagged while Perez was recovered.

Qualifying restarted 35 minutes after it was originally supposed to end, with Lewis Hamilton getting to the pit lane exit early to ensure a clear lap.

But he could only manage a 1’15.280 for seventh on the grid, confirming Vettel on pole position.

Top ten in Q3

1Sebastian VettelRed Bull-Renault1’13.556
2Jenson ButtonMcLaren-Mercedes1’13.997
3Mark WebberRed Bull-Renault1’14.019
4Fernando AlonsoFerrari1’14.483
5Michael SchumacherMercedes1’14.682
6Felipe MassaFerrari1’14.877
7Lewis HamiltonMcLaren-Mercedes1’15.280
8Nico RosbergMercedes1’15.766
9Pastor MaldonadoWilliams-Cosworth1’16.528
10Sergio PerezSauber-FerrariNo time

2011 Monaco Grand Prix

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    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    140 comments on “Vettel takes pole in disrupted qualifying”

    1. Wonder why Lewis’ lap was accepted. He cut through the chicane.

      1. I think that was Button…

        1. yeah it was button, well done to him for P2 but not well done to massa; he knew exactly what he was doing when he came out the pits ahead of lewis, im absolutely foaming!

          1. Massa was way ahead when he came out. He moved out the way when the fast lapping car was within distance. The camera shot was very misleading.

            1. My impression was he slowed down hugely, almost waiting for Hamilton. Given the track in front of Massa was clear, this should have been examined by the stewards. Deliberate disruption.

          2. I don’t even think Ferrari are like that. They were doing their own thing.

            1. Well having a picnic on track would be ‘doing their own thing.’

            2. Yeah but they must have known when they sent Massa out that Lewis would encounter him in a place that would adversely affect his lap time. 10s later and Lewis would have passed him up the hill, no harm done.

          3. Absolutely revolted by Ferrari and Massa. There was a huge gap either side of Hamilton and they chose to put Massa out ahead, there’s absolutely no excuse for that. To Make it worse, rather than pull over completely to one side he waited until he was past the Casino before slowing, forcing Hamilton over the bump. Really bad sportsmanship from the Scuderia, Massa ought to get a 5 second penalty.

            1. Yeah, Lewis’ lap was totally ruined.

            2. It’s always the same dreary scenario, Alonso team mate out to scupper the opposition.

      2. I think that was Button.

      3. I think that was Button. He wasn’t on a hot lap.

      4. worst Q3 ever. i regret predicting hamilton to win. hopefully webber can get enought points to jump him in the standings. should be a good race tommorow

        1. Let me get this straight. You predicted Hamilton to win, but now you’re angry at him, because some random events ruined his Q3. Is that right?

          1. he didn’t say he was angry. he just said he regretted picking hamilton to win…

            1. … and hoping that Webber will jump him.

              It sounded petty to me, that’s all.

      5. That was Button, unless I missed Hamilton doing the same.

      6. Ah, so it was Button?

        Must’ve been the bright white helmet he’s using that confused me!

        1. Yeah that new helmet of his is confusing! Hamilton would have been right up there without the crash, hindered Rosberg badly too. Hope Perez is OK.

      7. It was Hamilton – unfortunately according to several sites, his times were discarded and will start 10th. Also Alonso said to the media he thought Hamilton would’ve/should’ve gotten Pole and that he himself could’ve been a little further up…

        1. Button did cut the chicane but he aborted his lap but Lewis continued with his & he was later given a 2 place grid penalty.

    2. What an anti climax :(

      1. worst Q3 ever.

      2. To be fair, what did you expect. The drivers are only human.

    3. What an anticlimax that turned out to be. Thoughts obviously go to Sergio.

    4. Hamilton must have mixed feelings about that Q3 session, but I doubt he would have beaten Vettel’s pole time anyway. And once again Ferrari flatter to deceive.

      1. I think Hamilton would have got P2, as he looked to have a couple of tenths over Button through qualifying.

        But with a car problem delaying his inital run for Q3, Massa slightly impeding that run and then the accident; there wasn’t anything he could have done about the outcome today.

        Glad to hear Perez appears to be ok, even if he can’t race tomorrow.

      2. To be fair, Ferrari never got a chance to put in a fast lap at the end of Q3 because of the cold track.

    5. What a disappointing end to qauli that was, pity Hamilton couldn’t get better then 7th, I feel he could have won this GP. Any news about Massa blocking Hamilton? I know he wasnt that close but it looked like Massa waited in the pitlane, then just decided to go and moved out of the way in a really crappy spot.

      1. In my mind Massa should certainly have slowed up the hill to allow Hamilton to pass unimpeded.

        1. My thoughts exactly.

      2. I feel he could have won this GP.

        GP is not over yet.

        1. Not by a long way. The number of pit stops and the extreme likelihood of a safety car make this an open race still.

    6. Hope Perez is OK, but damn…I predicted Vettel for pole with a time of 1:13.566……and he does a 1:13.556….so close!

      1. I got it bang on :D

        1. haha nice! hope we dont get the same in the predictions then!

        2. i got nothing because i forgot to put it in! :(

        3. I know you did Matt. Kinda eclipses mine a few races ago when I was 0.006 out! Although it was the wrong driver ;)

        4. @MattHT – That’s got to be worth some points!

    7. undecided as to whether or not I’m going to watch tomorrow…

      I guess I’ll just watch who leads the first lap then.

      1. lol why are you here?

        1. because despite the disappointment I do still love formula one.

          Just not sure if i want to see hear another fred flintstone cross Crazy Frog imitation ;)

      2. Maverick_232
        28th May 2011, 15:10

        Yeah….. I might do the laundry instead…….. :-/

      3. Something tells me this Vettel is going to win again. I’m in two minds as well…To watch or not to watch, beyond the first lap that is.

        1. Let’s just hope Button and Webber get better starts. ;)

    8. Disappointing end to qualifying, I think Button and Webber (and Hamilton) would’ve got closer if Perez hadn’t crashed (at least he’s okay), because Monaco is a track where momentum of the drivers is important. Oh well, hopefully the race is good tomorrow!

    9. i think it was button who cut the chicane.

      1. yes, but that wasn’t on his fastest lap

    10. Oh well, my prediction of Hamilton on pole didn’t pay off.

      Looks like he is going to be on a two stopper though as I can’t see why else he would have saved tyres in Q3. Looks like it could still be an interesting race tomorrow. Super lap from Button too.

      Again, difficult to say how good Vettel’s lap was. Just miles ahead of everyone else. Hopefully Perez is ok too!

      1. Didn’t Brundle or someone say Hamilton had a problem and thats why he came out late?

      2. I was thinking that too, two stints on the softest tyre and then a long last stint maybe. Or maybe leaving the option of a three-stopper if the traffic allows it.

        1. I think traffic demands Hamilton to do 3 pitstops. I guess his tyres will be SSSH, with the “hard” yellow tyres at the end, as the red tyre drop-off is less predictable. The other drivers will probably stick to a more conservative “SHH” strategy, as I don’t expect DRS-overtakings. It’s gonna be a very tough race for the 2008 World-Champion, although the McLaren may well be the fastest car in race-trim.

    11. I feel so cheated. You kinda get the feeling that if Button managed a 1:13.9, Hammy could’ve gone at least a few tenths better… maybe, just maybe even nabbed pole because he was looking pretty good up to that point. Anyway, I hope Perez is ok. So disappointed though :(

      1. I think Lewis would have just gone 2 tenths faster than Jenson. That Vettel lap was just too hot to touch.

        1. I am not so sure. The track was getting faster all the time and hamilton had enough time to get at least 2 timed laps in. However he should surely jump up a place to 6th when massa is given the penalty.

          1. Sorry but three purples for a pole lap means no one is going to beat it. Vettel did a 19.1 in the first sector and that was enough to shut out anyone else with a decent chance.

            Hamilton would have probably beaten Button or he could have ended in Alonso’s place but I don’t think that monster lap from Vettel was beatable.

            Kudos to Vettel, I think he beat Alonso’s pole record with today’s pole. This guy is freaking fast!

            Looks like 2004 is repeating itself this year:-)

            1. Vettel is clearly more confident and relaxed this year.

            2. So if Hamilton did 3 purples then he would not have snatched pole? Hamilton has been comfortably quicker than Button and button was only 4 tenths down on Vettel.

            3. And if Hamilton improved, Vettel would have improved (rather than back off).

    12. So many people confusing Button with Hamilton cutting that chicane because the Monaco TV director was just jumping around from car to car willy nilly.

    13. Lewis just gifted Vettel an early xmas present there I think, by waiting so long to go out in Q3 they were banking on just one run which is frankly stupid in Monaco, always a risk of a red flag here and so it proved.

      Perhaps Mclaren got a little cocky but they got what they deserved and thats from a Mclaren fan. Only Button can really challenge Vettel tomorrow now.

      1. I am pretty sure Hamilton had a problem in Q3, as was said by Brundle or someone else, thats why he was late coming out.

      2. something was wrong with hamiltons car,thats why he didnt go out at the start of q3.buttons a lucky boy.

      3. MY THOUGHTS PRECISELY,with 5-6 minutes to go,i started wonderin in my head,wht if there was a yellow/red flag and alas…im sick of Mclaren making these amateur mistakes for crying out loud,uve been racing 45 years and are still making this rookie mistakes???its damn Monaco for cryin out loud,one wonders y time n time again Redbull act like they r more experienced in their decision makin than Macca!Lewis u got robbed ,easily couldve started on front row

      4. Was there? I mean he was out of the car but nobody’s from the team has said anything, or Ted and Lewis just said that his engineers advised just 1 run. That begs the question why would you just do 1 run on a track where qualifying is so important and tyre degradation is the smallest so far (so it’s not that big a sacrifice to do 2 runs)?

      5. Actually seems it was a strategy decision by Hamilton’s engineers. I tend to agree with dynamite11, McLaren shouldn’t have risked LH’s chances at a circuit like Monaco where a safety car is big likelihood. The performance in q1 and q1 showed he didn’t need to risk anything (to save tyres) to have a good chance in the race.

    14. Well done to Vettel, Button and Schumacher.

      My thoughts are with Perez, although I missed qualifying (except the anticlimactic final 2 minutes).

      1. Oh yes of course, Button did really well also!

    15. i hope perez makes a full recovery very quickly.
      but im disapointed,i knew something bad would happen when something was wrong with hamiltons car at the start of q3.
      at first massa got in his way,and then unfortunatly perez crashed.lewis would have qualified in second or maybe pole otherwise.
      7th for lewis is good news for button and vettel tho.

    16. ralph schumacher
      28th May 2011, 14:51

      Disastrous quali for HAM, however a guaranteed safety car could make for an interesting race tomorrow.

    17. We thought it was going to be close but the order is usual. Vettel had many tenths in his pocket after practice.
      This time I didn’t care who was on pole though. Perez’s crash could have had serious consequences and when I heard he was conscious I felt really lifted.

    18. I think Alonso and Hamilton were the most disappointing. I really hoped that Alonso, Hamilton, and Vettel would have a good scrap.

    19. A good qualifying session aside from the Perez accident. He was doing so well as well.

      Great stuff from Lotus to put themselves ahead of Alguersuari, he was dreadful. Wonder what will come of his moment with Kobayashi?

      Disappointed in Renault. Expected better. But we all know that Monaco throws up a few surprises. Pole position not being one of them on this occasion ;)

      As cliched as it sounds the real winner out of today was Formula 1 safety. Outstanding.

    20. A hotlap ruined when Massa got in the way.
      A hotlap ruined when Perez crashed.
      A hotlap ruined with cold tyres.

      Circumstances just didn’t work out for Hamilton today, but that’s Monaco for you, you’re always going to need a bit of luck to get success.

      1. Don’t forget one run was cancelled because of a problem with his car.

        Apparently he was out of his car according to Brundle :S I think

        1. Revised statement:

          Banker laps ruined by reliablity at start of Q3
          A hotlap ruined when Massa got in the way.
          A hotlap ruined when Perez crashed.
          A hotlap ruined with cold tyres.

          Circumstances just didn’t work out for Hamilton today, but that’s Monaco for you, you’re always going to need a bit of luck to get success.

          Frustrated, but I’ve seen worse with good outcomes at Monaco. ;)

    21. Very good, committed lap from Vettel and deserved pole I thought.

      Looking to the race tomorrow I think that a tyre tracker would be helpful to follow the racing.

    22. Glad to hear young Perez is ok. Too bad the session was interrupted though. I think that Lewis looked good for pole. It will be interesting to to see it all unfold in the morning. Just need a bit of luck at the start to avoid contact with any of the midfielders.

    23. Why on earth was HAM sat there at the end of the pit lane with his tyres cooling down?

      1. One can only wonder. Obviously Lewis and his engineers need to get their act together a bit better.

      2. HBG, Hamilton was there early to ensure he was first out. The theory being if he is first out he has the clear track ahead and thus the best chance of pole.

        Personally, I think for him to sit there for nearly 2 minutes suggests he felt Massa baulked him and he would rather have “cooler” tyres for his outlap than someone in front of him on his hot lap.

        I think it adds extra spice to the race now. Does Hamilton have an extra set of super-soft tyres available to him now?

        Also, I don’t think anyone expects the race to run without at least one safety car, so the important thing is to be near the sharp end til the first round of pit stops.

    24. Season is effectively over, McLaren might nab a win at Canada and Monza but I think by Monza the title will have gone to Vettel anyway.

      1. LOL loving the gloom and doom.

        Dominant car and also that little bit of luck at the moment it seems like its already a wrap.

        Hopefully RedBull get some of their 2010 luck because thats the only thing that made last year close.

    25. Massa should be penalised for blocking, he has completely ruined Hamilton’s race weekend!

      1. Massa got out of the way in the safest place possible, but Hamilton can still add him to his list of drivers that have blocked him deliberately.

        1. It doesn’t need to be deliberate to be punishable. In the BBC coverage, Brundle commented that he expected Massa to move to the right a lot sooner than he did, although it seemed marginal to me.

          Your anti-Hamilton agenda is rather tiresome, though.

          1. No more tiresome than the Hamilton ‘fan boy’ reputation that this site seems to be getting itself. ;) Good site, otherwise.

            Massa will not get a penalty. Not even a reprimand, which seems to how most things are dealt with these day.

            1. Yep. I remember watching Massa (unsure if it was Alonso at first) and thinking why’s he going so slow?? The track ahead was clear, so there was no reason to back off to make track space, and slowing down so much would lose tyre heat. And then Hamilton appeared round the corner. Explained. Massa then definitely seemed to delay before moving aside. The teams know full well where everyone is – the Ferrari release can only have been deliberate with instructions. It’s a minor issue, sure, but the kind of thing that irritates me about Massa and any team with Alonso in it.

    26. Webber will start 5 places behind, is that right? Because he change his gear box. Nobody said something about that.

      1. You can change one gearbox for no penalty.

        FIA sporting regulation 28.6 (f)

        “For 2011 only, except during the last Event of the Championship season, each driver will be permitted to use a replacement gearbox without incurring a penalty the first time this becomes necessary during the season. Under such circumstances the replacement gearbox will only be required to complete the remainder of the Event in question.”

    27. The Last Pope
      28th May 2011, 15:22

      Vettel, boring.
      Hamilton, disapointing.
      Alonso, expected more.
      Schumacher, where did that time come from?

      Great job by Di Resta out qualifying Sutil yet again, after being much slower than him on Thursday.

      Glad Sergio is ok and I hope he is well enough to take his position on the grid tomorrow. He was having an awesome qualifing too I think he could have been up with Schumacher and Massa had he not crashed.

      1. Did you see Vettel’s pole lap?
        If that’s boring to you then you’re watching the wrong sport.

        1. Agreed sunnyside. A F1 car in a four wheel slide just centimeters from the barrier.
          That is what Monaco is all about.

        2. The Last Pope
          28th May 2011, 16:58

          lol yes it was an awesome lap. I mean to say that that has become expected of him and it is less exciting when nobody can match him. I really thought Alonso, Webber and Hamilton where going to challenge for pole, But Hamilton had his problems and Alonso and Webber didn’t step it up like Vettel did. Button did a good job though but he is still quite a bit off Vettel’s time, my hope for the race is that Button can get the lead into the first corner or failing that be able to keep up with Vettel. Otherwise it could be another easy win for Seb.

      2. Vettel, boring? Okay, his dominance isn’t exactly what’s wanted to make the competition exciting but there’s no doubt about that lad’s skills behind the wheel. Seeing him push that car to its limits fluidly around the streets of Monaco is what makes F1 exciting.

        1. you said it all.

        2. I’m no SV fan, but hats off to him for doing what needed to be done. Going round with him was amazing and ably demonstrated his car control and commitment.

          But if I was him, I would not be celebrating just yet – and I’m sure he isn’t, before all you SV fans berate me. It sure looked like Maclaren have the faster car here and they have been faster in race trim over the last few races so could, and should, be a good race.

    28. I thought Rosberg improved and outqualified Maldonado.

    29. Does this mean only 21 starters? Can a back up driver go in for Perez,an start at the back?

      1. No “back up driver” allowed.

      2. Depending on the stewards decision HRT could still race. Sauber can’t put in a reserve driver.

    30. Dunno why people are dissapointed for Reanult.
      Petrov did very similar to last year, HEI is the same as PET this year or worse in Q. The car is competitive like last year in Monaco. Drivers just suck a lot.

      Vettel made a good lap but could be even 0.3 faster if not 3 small mistakes.

      1. The Last Pope
        28th May 2011, 17:05

        My apology for the expletive. Read as “Genii are getting fed up (with Lotus)”

    31. The tyres would have lost temperature. The track would have lost temperatue. No driver was able to improve on that last run.
      Mclaren know how to create a disaster fron thin air. At least Button wasn’t affected

      1. Let’s hope that they take the bungs out of his radiator inlet this year.

    32. button is lucky,because unless lewis has some bad luck button cant beat him.
      they got 6 dnf’s between them last year,and lewis was ahead of button in all but 1 of those races.so button,eventhough he’s a very good driver,can only beat lewis if lewis has some major bad luck,because button doesnt have the skills to beat him otherwise.

      1. OK. Maybe they’re both lucky. Both have skills that the other one does not have.

    33. There will be a safety car i am pretty certain…

    34. All the fly way races towards the end of the championship is going to be less interesting this year – with this current form, Vettel will win his second WDC by miles ahead

      1. And if he does that, then it’ll be well won by both team and driver.

        Even Paddy Power (the bookmakers) are already paying out to those that backed Vettel to win the championship!

        1. Yeh a team that as only one driver in the fight for the title :)

          1. …because the other is comparatively slow.

            1. I don’t think so, why wasn’t he so slow lastyear?? More like redbull want webber to be comparatively slow!!

            2. Not really. You can’t blame Red Bull for him being slow and flipping his car trying to pass a Lotus. Or his pace in Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Australia. Vettel’s just faster.

            3. True he maybe faster but I don’t believe he is that much quicker, lastyear certainly proved that. Webber is now a clear no 2 driver and he knows it, and redbull certainly won’t let him get in the way of vettel this year that is certain

            4. Fair enough point Damon, though I feel Webber could have done more in Spain last week to win.

            5. Icemangrins
              29th May 2011, 3:31

              China 2011 proved that Weber could beat the rest of the pack…..but, in a 1 – 1, Seb would beat him fair and square in the same machinery… which is David’s point and I agree

            6. That’s the thing, webber proved he could be a match for vettel lastyear and it ended in tears at turkey. I really do believe that webber as not been given a fair crack at the title this year at redbull, and I think he knows that.

    35. Rosberg should retire, he is embarrassing himself, 1.1 sec. slower than team mate!!

      Now seriously, BBC should rename itself BBBC, first B being “bias”. I know that they dont like Schumi but it is getting old hearing Brundle and Co. just waiting to slam him. Disgusting

      1. Brundle and co didn’t slam schumi today…. I’m surprised too. Brundle and David were put to shame by Schumi during their racing time. There was nothing they could do even at that stage. Now, they have the power of microphone, publicity and the support of entire British nation behind them, they know they can run their mouth, however they want.

        By the way, in all fairness to Nico, his Q3 time was unfortunate and doesn’t represent his actual form. Nico is still the #1 driver at MGP

        1. michael is a legend (like federer, woods and a few others), they should show respect.

          1. unfortunately, they will not. Michael fans like you and me will have to accept that.

      2. In case you hadn’t noticed, this isn’t a BBC website. If you have a problem with them, take it up with them.

    36. See Lewis has said Mclaren engineers told him to just do one q3 lap at the end of session so he didnt have any problem. Poor tactics from them really, again.

    37. The fastest car “Red Bull” is out there running and McLaren stay in the Pit for whatever reason…While they know how risky Monaco is.I just don’t get them sometimes…

    38. I ll tell you where did that lap time from schu came from, when he opened the drs at the begining of the corner… Did not see anybody else do that..

      1. I see trolling is alive and well

    39. Rubbish Q3. The nailbiting tension of not knowing whether Perez was okay was horrible (worst I’ve felt watching F1 in ages, probably since Massa’s accident) and the restart was just poor. I really wish Hamilton could’ve fought well because I genuinely believed he had a good chance of getting pole.

    40. Whatever everyone does Vettel will always steal the pole. This is his year unless he makes major mistakes and junk the race which is very unlikely. Vettel’s confidence cannot be matched and is growing stronger.

      When Alonso did well during all the practice sessions it was uplifting until Q3. What’s new.

      Hope race will be full of surprises.

    41. Hope Perez a quick recovery. Also very sad for Hamilton, he was looking good for front row start, i still expect a special race from him considering his form.

      Even Alonso agress Hamilton was the favourite for pole

      “Today, McLaren were very quick and I think Hamilton was probably favourite to get pole. I don’t think the result of Q3 represents the true order because the red flag mixed up plans for many of the drivers. For Hamilton it went badly, while everything was fine for Red Bull, with us at a halfway point”

      BTW anyone noticed Alonso’s Q3 lap of 1:14.483 was slower than his Free Practice 3 time of 1:14.433. What happened to him?

    42. People, when are you going to give Vettel some credit? He has shown steel nerves in the end of 2010 and today was another incredible qualifying performance, really incredible.
      Just a general observation. The guy was fast before he had the best car.

      1. +1 He proved himself a bit today on a type of circuit not seen to be his strongest.

      2. I don’t remember him being fast in the Toro Rosso. I think his was pretty much where buemi and algi are.

        1. @dlaird Then you didn’t pay attention. In 2007 Liuzzi scored 3 points and Vettel scored 6 while Vettel only drove half that season. In 2008 Vettel scored 35 points and a race win while Budais managed 4.

        2. Comedy gold.

    43. Very impressed with both Seb and Jenson, great job by both of them today.

      I was only 0.018 seconds out on predicting the pole time too. I had 1:13.574 and it was 1:13.556, soooo close lol.

      Glad Perez is okay, and I reckon Alonso will reach the podium tomorrow.

    44. Good to see that Nico after a big shunt like Perez recovered well with his car & the team did a good job with the car so that he can qualify in the top 10 which wasn’t too easy.Also for Michael he was pushing very hard today good to see he also had a good quali session.

    45. Can anyone tell me what time the broadcast of the Qualifying laps finished.
      I understand the qualifying was delayed by 40 minute

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