Q1
With Pirelli having brought its soft and super-soft
compounds to the Korean International Circuit, convention would usually dictate
that everyone but the bottom three teams would at least begin the session on
the soft tyres. Red Bull instead opted to send both Vettel and Mark Webber out
on super-softs in order to preserve a set of softs for the race, yet curiously both
were off the pace – the time of 1’39.1 that they both set was three tenths
slower than Button’s first effort on softs and a full eight tenths slower than that
of Hamilton. The Red Bull pair were also outpaced by Ferrari, Fernando Alonso
and Felipe Massa splitting the two McLarens as well, whilst even Nico Rosberg’s
Mercedes was faster than the Milton Keynes-built cars. Hamilton proceeded to
slash a further eight tenths off his best time to post an impressive 1’37.5,
consolidating his grip on P1, though Button was able to find similar gains to
re-claim second from Alonso. Vitaly Petrov for Renault was able to slot himself
third with a 1’38.4 on the super-softs, though he was the only midfield runner
to get himself among the top teams once on super-softs. Williams established
themselves as the slowest midfield team on this occasion; as such the battle to
avoid elimination was fought between Rubens Barrichello and Pastor Maldonado.
Once again, Barrichello found himself out-paced by his far less experienced
teammate, and as such lines up a lowly eighteenth place ahead of the usual six
stragglers. It should be noted however that an unspecified car problem
prevented Daniel Ricciardo from setting a lap time.
Eliminated – Rubens Barrichello (Williams), Heikki
Kovalainen (Lotus), Jarno Trulli (Lotus), Timo Glock (Virgin), Jerome D’Ambrosio
(Virgin), Vitantonio Liuzzi (Hispania), Daniel Ricciardo (Hispania)
Q2
Once more, Hamilton was the first of the pole challengers to
take to the track, and opened the session with a 1’36.5 on the super-soft
compound. Again Button’s pace was found wanting in comparison to his teammate’s
to the tune of eight tenths, though the same was the case for both Red Bull
drivers who could do no more than match Button’s time. Alonso was a further
tenth behind, which to begin with left him fifth, but this became sixth after
the other Ferrari of Massa made a dramatic improvement on his time to equal
Button and the Red Bulls. Whilst being a full 1.4 seconds of Hamilton’s pace,
Rosberg’s performance would be enough to see him through to Q3, but on the
other hand the sister Mercedes of Michael Schumacher was allegedly experiencing
vibration problems which hindered his attempts to make the top ten. A 1’38.4
from the seven-time champion would not be enough as he slipped from ninth to
twelfth as the session ended. Petrov was able to secure one of the three
remaining slots in Q3, whilst the other two went to the Force India drivers of Adrian
Sutil and Paul Di Resta, leaving Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersauri eliminated and
in eleventh place on the grid.
Eliminated – Jaime Alguersauri (Toro Rosso), Michael
Schumacher (Mercedes), Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso), Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber),
Bruno Senna (Renault), Pastor Maldonado (Williams), Sergio Perez (Sauber)
Q3
Unlike last time out at Suzuka, not only was Q3 a veritable
pole-position showdown, but it featured all but one of the ten remaining cars
(only Adrian Sutil remaining in the pits throughout). Hamilton was on top
during the first ‘half’ of the session, his 1’36.1 enough to beat Vettel’s time
by a tenth. Webber was three tenths slower than his teammate but a tenth
quicker than Button, who in turn enjoyed a margin of four tenths back to the
Ferrari of Alonso; Massa, Rosberg and Petrov rounded out the top eight with
both Force Indias at this stage showing no signs of leaving the pits. After a
short interlude, the second half of the session got underway. Webber was first
on the road but abandoned his flying lap, while Hamilton improved on his
already-rapid time by a further three tenths. Massa climbed to fifth after his
second lap ahead of Alonso, who along with Di Resta and Petrov abandoned his
lap. Button was able to briefly overcome both Red Bulls with a 1’36.1, but Vettel
improved his earlier time sufficiently to put himself back on the front row by
a tenth. Alas, it wouldn’t be enough to deny Hamilton, who took his first pole
position since last year’s Canadian Grand Prix.
Top Ten – Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), Sebastian Vettel (Red
Bull), Jenson Button (McLaren), Mark Webber (Red Bull), Felipe Massa (Ferrari),
Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Vitaly Petrov (Renault),
Paul Di Resta (Force India), Adrian Sutil (Force India)
My Prediction
Such was Hamilton’s form in qualifying trim that, barring
another poor mistake from the former champion, he will be difficult to topple
come tomorrow’s race:
1. Hamilton, 2. Button, 3. Vettel, 4. Alonso, 5. Webber, 6. Rosberg, 7. Petrov, 8. Schumacher, 9. Sutil,
10. Alguersauri
Tyre wear will mean Button will make it a McLaren one-two;
Alonso will surpass Webber for fourth for the same reason. The hapless Massa is
overdue a retirement, whilst Schumacher will make up several places from his
starting position to bring home good points behind Petrov. Di Resta’s
inexperience will finally get the better of him after a string of good results,
allowing Alguersauri to haul himself into the points behind the other Force
India of Sutil.
Limited dry running throughout the weekend however has made
this one of the harder races to predict. Make sure you check back here tomorrow
for a full lowdown of events from what promises to be another gripping grand
prix.
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