Webber captures Spa pole
Australian Mark Webber claimed his fifth pole of the year yesterday after setting the fastest time in qualifying for today’s Belgian Grand Prix. The 34-year-old Red Bull driver clocked one minute 45.778 seconds towards the end of Q3, less than a tenth...
Australian Mark Webber claimed his fifth pole of the year yesterday after setting the fastest time in qualifying for today’s Belgian Grand Prix.
The 34-year-old Red Bull driver clocked one minute 45.778 seconds towards the end of Q3, less than a tenth of a second quicker than Lewis Hamilton of McLaren.
Robert Kubica will start in third for Renault ahead of German Sebastian Vettel in the second Red Bull, with Hamilton’s team-mate Jenson Button completing the top five.
Webber said: “We knew the first lap was going to be crucial.
“The weather has been unique, even for Spa because it has been so on and off.
“So on the first lap I pushed to the limit and it was enough to get me pole halfway through the session.
“But it was one of those days when it could easily have gone wrong and had egg on your face.”
After congratulating Webber for a “fantastic job”, Hamilton said: “It was such a tricky qualifying session given the conditions.
“The second lap (in Q3) was a good lap, other than turn one where we lost some time.
“But the car feels pretty good here, and we’re in a good position to get some points.”
Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was sixth followed by his fellow Brazilian Rubens Barrichello of Williams.
Force India driver Adrian Sutil will start in eighth position ahead of fellow German Nico Hulkenberg of Williams and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.
“Not a good session, it will be a tough race tomorrow,” was Ferrari’s immediate post-race comment on Twitter.
Hulkenberg set the fastest time in the Q1 opening mini-session which saw rookie Russian Vitaly Petrov fail to set a time for Renault after spinning on the exit of turn nine on his opening lap.
Sauber drivers Kamui Kobayashi and Pedro de la Rosa joined Petrov on the casualty list after crashing out towards the end of the session.
Despite not making it to Q2, Italian Jarno Trulli of Lotus will start in 16th ahead of Nico Rosberg who has been given a five place grid penalty owing to a gearbox replacement. Kobayashi will start in 17th ahead of Hispania drivers Brazilian Bruno Senna and Japanese Sakon Yamamoto.