Australian GP: Qualifying – Red Bull Gives Wings to Sebastian Vettel

During Q1, Vitaly Petrov is the first to cross the timing line, before other drivers join him. The two Virgins lap in under 1’31, positioning them mid-session qualified for the race, unlike the HRTs who are far behind. Hamilton takes the lead on hard tires, before Sebastian Vettel regains the top spot. Both Saubers surprise by lapping in 1’25, ranking third and fourth. At the end of the session, Felipe Massa fights to get into P2 with his soft tires and qualifies at the last moment… to the dismay of Nick Heidfeld, eliminated after being hindered in his last two laps. It’s a shame for Lotus Renault who show great potential, as Petrov’s third place demonstrates. The Lotus and Virgin teams are also eliminated but can take part in the race, while the HRTs exceed the 107% rule and should not be able to participate in the race tomorrow morning!

Eliminated from Q1: Heidfeld (LRGP), Trulli, Kovalainen (Lotus), Glock, D’Ambrosio (Virgin), Karthikeyan, Liuzzi (HRT).

From the start of Q2, Barrichello makes an error and spins into the gravel, triggering a yellow flag that shortens the session time. Vettel sets the best time of the session on soft tires, 1 second ahead of Button’s best time, also on softs. Both Ferrari drivers seem to really struggle with their cars to set a decent time, while Kamui Kobayashi. Sutil spins out dramatically on the straight. Schumacher attempts to qualify but fails by a tenth against Sébastien Buemi, who suffers from tire wear. Sebastian Vettel consolidates his position by setting a time half a second ahead of all the other drivers. It seems unlikely to see any driver other than Vettel in pole position at this moment.

Eliminated from Q2: Schumacher (Mercedes), Alguersuari (Toro Rosso), Perez (Sauber), Di Resta (Force India), Maldonado (Williams), Sutil (Force India), Barrichello (Williams)

From the start of Q3, Vettel annihilates the competition by setting a lap time of 1’23’529, while Webber only manages a time of 1’24’395. An impressive gap between the two teammates. Massa makes a mistake again when exiting the pits, the Ferrari seems very difficult to control. Some drivers wait until the last moment like Petrov, who sets the sixth fastest time in a single lap. Hamilton takes second place, behind a totally out-of-reach Sebastian Vettel, 7 tenths faster than his closest opponent.

Vettel therefore continues to excel in qualifying sessions ahead of an impressive Lewis Hamilton who slots in between the two Red Bulls. The two HRTs will not be able to take part in the race tomorrow morning.