Italian GP: Qualifications – Vettel Stuns the Competition

Q1: The session quickly began with the smaller teams heading out first, as times dropped rapidly by almost 8 seconds between the first driver to start, Jérôme d’Ambrosio, and Jaime Alguersuari after 5 minutes into the session. Mark Webber was ultimately the only one not to set a time immediately, while Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel exchanged fastest laps, with the German leading the Briton. The first mistake of this session was due to Pastor Maldonado, who spun out at the Parabolica, causing a spin that destroyed his front wing before returning to the pits. It was later learned that the driver had opened his DRS too early. Lewis Hamilton then took the fastest time, becoming the first to go under the 1:24 mark without setting any of the best sectors. Mark Webber eventually went out in the last ten minutes and posted a good time. The Williams driver was able to go back out with 6 minutes remaining, his teammate Rubens Barrichello was 13th at that moment. Kamui Kobayashi was pushed back to 18th place by Senna, but managed to set a good time as the times tumbled in the pack after the checkered flag!

It’s ultimately Barrichello, Buemi, Alguersuari, and Kobayashi who find themselves in the danger zone, and it is finally Jaime Alguersuari who gets knocked out in Q1 along with the three small teams. Jarno Trulli also outpaces Heikki Kovalainen, while Daniel Ricciardo is ahead of his experienced teammate at HRT.

Eliminated from Q1: Alguersuari, Trulli, Kovalainen, Glock, d’Ambrosio, Ricciardo, Liuzzi.

Q2: Pastor Maldonado is the first to head out in this second session, before being quickly overtaken by Bruno Senna in the LRGP. But the frontrunners, led by Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel, put on the soft tires, with the Red Bull driver clocking an excellent first time of 1:23:105. It’s the fastest we’ve seen all weekend, and even faster on his second lap, 1:22:914! Mark Webber is nearly 5 tenths behind midway through the session, while Nico Rosberg slips between the two Red Bulls! Jenson Button also makes good use of his momentum, just a tenth behind Sebastian Vettel, the Briton losing two in the last sector. Fernando Alonso clocks the 4th time ahead of Mark Webber, while Michael Schumacher takes the 6th place. For the moment, only the top five teams in the championship are in the top 10. But Paul di Resta eliminates Bruno Senna with a very good lap, as the Scottish driver was getting to know the track Friday afternoon. Lewis Hamilton clocks the 3rd time behind his teammate, while Bruno Senna goes for a final lap to oust Paul di Resta from Q3 by just six thousandths. The Brazilian finishes 10th, 4 tenths behind his teammate.

**Eliminated from Q2:** Paul di Resta, Adrian Sutil, Rubens Barrichello, Pastor Maldonado, Sergio Perez, Sebastien Buemi.

Q3: The two Ferrari drivers are the first to leave the pits during this session before being followed by the McLaren drivers. As a reminder, only the Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes, and Lotus Renault drivers are in Q3.

Fernando Alonso achieves a small feat by breaking the 1:24 mark, but the McLaren drivers surpass him, and Sebastian Vettel takes the lead with a time of 1:22:613. Most of these drivers return to the pits as Mark Webber goes out, and Nico Rosberg takes to the track with medium tires. Evidently, Keke’s son wants to save a set of soft tires for the race, while Sebastian Vettel has KERS problems. All the drivers, except Bruno Senna, hit the track in the last two minutes. The Brazilian driver will not set a timed lap. Nico Rosberg, with medium tires, records the fastest time in the first sector before Michael Schumacher improves it, but Fernando Alonso pushes it further. Sebastian Vettel extends his lead to a full half-second ahead of Lewis Hamilton, who returns to the pits along with Jenson Button. What a blow from Sebastian Vettel to the two McLaren drivers. Mark Webber only records the fifth-fastest time, while Michael Schumacher surpasses Nico Rosberg between the two LRGPs.

Sebastian Vettel signs off with a pole position that was unexpected before this weekend, on a circuit seemingly unsuitable for the Red Bull Renault on paper. He will be alongside Lewis Hamilton while Mark Webber starts only fifth.