Qualification: Barrichello takes pole in an endless Brazilian session

Rubens Barrichello secured pole position at home during the Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying. The rain once again caused disruptions and put Button, Hamilton, and Vettel out of contention before the race. Webber is second, ahead of Sutil in the Force India.

The session begins under the rain, which was not expected today. After 4 minutes in Q1, a first red flag is deployed following Giancarlo Fisichella’s spin. The Italian already abandons his car and will start from the last row tomorrow. The red flag lasts 12 minutes, the time needed for weather conditions to improve. The marshals give the green light again and times are now 12 seconds faster; the track drying.

Vettel emerged from Q1 to improve his time. He was a second faster than his competitors before the end of his lap, but the rain picked up significantly, preventing the German from setting a quick lap in Q1. He is therefore only 16th and will still have to secure a second place tomorrow to keep his title chances alive. Kovalainen, Hamilton, and Heidfeld were also caught out by the weather. The McLaren drivers are additionally handicapped by setups intended for dry conditions, as rain was not initially expected for the race. Heikki Kovalainen, for his part, made several mistakes in his fast lap, including at turn number 5.

During the 5-minute interlude between Q1 and Q2, the rain violently flooded the track. Once the green flags were deployed for Q2, Liuzzi was the first to get caught in the trap. He went into aquaplaning on the start-finish straight and couldn’t control the Force India while braking. He hit the wall and slid along it until he struck the tire wall. The car was destroyed, and Q2 was under red flag.

Liuzzi is unharmed but the FIA wants to stop the bleeding. The rain delay drags on and will last more than an hour and a half… during which drivers and teams focused on adjustments in the pits. The marshals only gave their permission to run once the sky cleared… There were therefore 12 minutes left in the session on a track clearly improving.

Button then attempted to go out on wet tires while most were using intermediate tires. Button (Brawn GP) lost his gamble and was eliminated from Q2 in 14th place. He will start behind rookies Kobayashi (Toyota), Alguersuari (Toro Rosso), and Grosjean (Renault).

Once Q3 started, the remaining 10 drivers battled for pole position one after the other, taking advantage of the improved grip second by second. Barrichello took provisional pole twice before being overtaken each time by Webber. Sutil finished ahead in the last stint before being definitively beaten by Webber, then Barrichello. The Brazilian, at home, ends the session beautifully. He leads the Red Bull of Webber and the Force India of Adrian Sutil. The German is good in wet conditions and finishes ahead of Trulli and then Räikkönen.

Sébastien Buemi also had an advantage since the start of the weekend. He will eventually start 6th ahead of Rosberg, Kubica, and Nakajima. The two Williams drivers are in Q3 but hoped to be better placed. They couldn’t maintain their good pace from the previous sessions in the rain. Alonso rounds out the top 10.

In this scenario, Barrichello is the most likely to maintain his chances for the title. Button doesn’t score any points, and Vettel would be out of the race. So nothing is decided yet in the drivers’ championship!

Results of the Qualifications – Brazilian GP – Saturday, October 17, 2009: