Sebastian Vettel is refusing to believe his latest pole position will automatically lead to a third consecutive European Grand Prix victory tomorrow.

Unlike what we can expect from the race which has lacked thrills and spills in the past, qualifying at the Valencia Street Circuit was at least a spectacle.

Come the end of the second 15-minute session in particular, the top 13 were separated by a virtually unheard of 0.291 seconds, such were the tight margins between success and failure.

Remarkably, in the top-10 shoot-out, Vettel then blew his rivals away to finish 0.324secs clear of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.

It was Vettel's 33rd pole of his Formula One career, moving him up to third in the sport's all-time list alongside double world champion Jim Clark and four-times king Alain Prost.

It only leaves Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna ahead of the 24-year-old German, but with 68 and 65 apiece respectively, it means Vettel has some way to go before overhauling either.

For now, tomorrow's race is paramount, one where Vettel has triumphed from pole the last two years in which he has led all but one lap.

However, after leading away the field in Canada a fortnight ago only to finish fourth, Vettel knows he cannot count any chickens just yet.

"In the end it was a surprising gap (to Hamilton), but all in all I have felt good this weekend," said Vettel, three points adrift of Hamilton in the championship.

"Of course it would be nice to win, no doubt, but it's going to be a difficult race, difficult to predict.

"We have seen too much this year to sit here on Saturday and predict what's going to happen.

"It's probably easier to guess the results of the football (in Euro 2012) than for tomorrow's race.

"There will be a lot of cars to look out for tomorrow. Ferrari has been very competitive and Williams have been quick on their long runs.

"Then there's Lotus. They proved in Bahrain, the first time we had hot conditions, that they're up there.

"This year grid position is important, but maybe not as important as it used to be."

For Hamilton, who has finished second three times in four years in Valencia, it appears at this early stage as if runner-up is the best he can hope for.

Asked to assess how he could potentially achieve victory around a circuit renowned for its lack of overtaking, his response was simple as he said: "Make a good start. That's all I can do."

In fairness, Hamilton has already suggested this season that in a year when collecting consistent points will be key to winning the title, finishing second again will not be a disappointment.

"It would be a big plus for me to be honest," said Hamilton.

"When the weekend started I wasn't expecting to be as high up as I am now given the way I have struggled with the set-up of the car.

"This is also a very tough circuit for tyres, and it will be tomorrow, so the initial target is to finish where I'm starting.

"Beyond that will be a positive."

Hamilton will have behind him Williams' Pastor Maldonado, the Venezuelan enjoying his return to Spain after triumphing from pole in the Spanish Grand Prix last month.

Of greater danger perhaps are the Lotus duo of Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen starting from fourth and fifth, followed by the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg.

Disappointingly, Jenson Button starts from ninth, whilst Paul di Resta is 10th, the latter making a mistake on his final run in his Force India he feels cost him six to seven places.

A dejected Button, with just two points from his last four races, is not expecting a massive haul tomorrow as he said: "It's going to be difficult.

"It's not a place famed for its fantastic overtaking manoeuvres, so I think we're pretty much stuck with what we've got at the moment because you can't overtake around here."

Directly behind the British duo are Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and team-mate Felipe Massa sandwiching seven-times champion Michael Schumacher.

Alonso, two points behind Hamilton in the standings, described the result as "a cold shower", believing the race will now be "naturally tougher".

It will be worse for Red Bull's Mark Webber who starts 19th as he was hampered by a lack of DRS that resulted in him failing to make it out of Q1 for the first time in 24 races.

Race stewards, meanwhile, have taken no action against Hamilton after a complaint was made by Mercedes that Rosberg was held up by the Briton before starting his final flying lap.

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