Japanese GP – Qualifications: Vettel Edges Out Button by a Whisker!

Q1: Jarno Trulli opens the track for this first part of the qualifying session and sets an initial time of 1:36.571, far from the best, of course. Vitaly Petrov directly improves by two and a half seconds. Sebastian Vettel sets the first significant time with 1:33.055, followed by Webber with 1:33.135. Button, then Alonso, take the lead. Hamilton, hindered by some mistakes and traffic, takes the provisional sixth time, just behind Massa. Schumacher is seventh. All these drivers are on hard (medium – white) tires. Mid-session, Alonso leads with 1:32.817. Hamilton takes second place, just a few thousandths behind the Ferrari driver. With only seven minutes remaining, neither Rosberg, Senna (victim of an accident overnight), nor Liuzzi (victim of a mechanical problem overnight) have hit the track. The top drivers shouldn’t go back out, as they are all safe from the second-tier drivers. Sutil takes the lead with 1:32.761 on soft tires. Senna records the eighth time. Kobayashi delights the crowd by taking the lead with 1:32.626. Neither Liuzzi nor Rosberg have set a time: this should not be a problem for the Mercedes driver, who has set times well within the 107% rule, however, we will have to wait for the stewards’ decision for Liuzzi, who has completed only 12 laps this weekend. At the back, D’Ambrosio is ahead of Glock at Virgin, still behind the two Team Lotus cars.

Eliminated in Q1: Kovalainen, Trulli, D’Ambrosio, Glock, Ricciardo, Rosberg, and Liuzzi

Q2: It’s Adrian Sutil’s Force India that will kick off the second part of the qualifying session on hard tires. Vettel is also out, immediately on soft (yellow) tires. He is closely followed by Button. 1:31.424 for the Red Bull driver and 1:31.434 for the McLaren driver! But Hamilton takes the lead with 1:31.139. Webber and Alonso are three and four-tenths respectively away from the 2008 world champion. The leaders have already secured their qualification in Q3, with only Michael Schumacher missing, who sets the seventh-fastest time, just behind Felipe Massa. With five minutes remaining, the last three places in Q3 will be contested among the Toro Rosso, Force India, Lotus Renault GP, and Sauber teams. Pérez and Di Resta haven’t covered a single timed lap. All these drivers will head out for a final lap, except Pérez, who is no longer in his car. Maldonado knocks Alguersuari out of the top 10, while Kobayashi enters the top 10! Behind them, it’s the Lotus Renault GP of Petrov and Senna who take the eighth and ninth positions!

Eliminated in Q2: Sutil, Di Resta, Barrichello, Maldonado, Buemi, Alguersuari, and Pérez

Q3: It’s the local hero who starts directly! Kamui Kobayashi, the last to qualify in Q3, headed out on medium tires. Button leaves the pits in turn, on soft tires. The Japanese driver goes directly back to the pits. Hamilton clocks in at 1:30.617 and Button falls short by a tenth of his teammate with 1:30.736. Vettel takes third place, two-tenths behind, Webber fourth at five-tenths, and Massa fifth at six-tenths, with less than five minutes left in the session. Alonso, Kobayashi, Schumacher, and the LRGP are still in the pits. If these drivers decide to go out, they should do so at the same time as the five drivers who have already set a time. With two minutes to go, the Ferraris and Sebastian Vettel are the first to re-emerge. Schumacher, Kobayashi, Petrov, and Senna have not set a time and will not do so. Vettel makes an attempt to claim another pole this season: the German registers a 1:30.466, and Button falls short by nine-thousandths! Twelfth pole for Sebastian Vettel this season and fifteenth consecutive pole for Red Bull!

Japanese Grand Prix 2011 Qualifying Results:

Update: after verification by the race stewards, Kamui Kobayashi was actually classified seventh on the grid as he was the only driver without a time in Q3 to have attempted a flying lap, as stipulated by the regulations. The classification is therefore as follows: Kobayashi, ahead of Schumacher, Senna, and Petrov.