Sebastian Vettel took yet another pole position in glorious sunshine in Valencia to seal his seventh pole in eight races. Vettel's time of 1:36.975 was the fast ever around the Spanish street circuit and he will once again head the field come race day. His nearest challenger was his team mate Mark Webber who was just under two tenths shy of Vettel's astounding pace. It could signal a return to form for Webber, who desperately needs to rival the pace of the sister Red Bull. Mclaren's Lewis Hamilton was best of the rest in his Mclaren and briefly topped the standings in Q3 with a 1:37.380 but was immediately blitzed by the reigning world champion. Fernando Alonso equalled his best ever qualifying here at his second home race with fourth, fractionally slower than Hamilton, and ran on a used set of option tyres. Both men pitted on their second run in Q3, favouring fresher rubber for tomorrow's race.
Felipa Massa, fastest in Q1, was fifth for Ferrari while Jenson Button completed the top six. Throughout qualifying, both Mercedes' appeared to be evenly matched and they filled out the fourth row with Nico Rosberg just ahead of Michael Schumacher. Nick Heidfeld and Adrian Sutil, who out-qualified team mate Paul di Resta for just the second time this season, did not run in Q3 and will start the race tomorrow in ninth and tenth, respectively.
The session was briefly halted in Q2 as Pastor Maldonado's stationary Williams brought out the red flag. Maldonado had looked quick all weekend but his qualifying was ended abruptly with suspected engine failure. His demise ensured he will start the race 15th tomorrow, with team mate Rubens Barrichello just ahead of him in 13th. Vitaly Petrov was the biggest name to not make the top ten shootout as he finished 11th, a mere 0.034 seconds down on Sutil's time. In spite of his limited running after test driver Nico Hulkenberg's crash in FP1, di Resta will line up a solid 12th on the grid tomorrow. Kamui Kobayashi was best of the Saubers in 14th ahead of the returning Sergio Perez in 16th. Sebastien Buemi was also eliminated from Q2.
For the third successive race, Jaime Alguersuari was unable to get into Q2 and start 18th tomorrow and one must wonder how thin Toro Rosso's patience is, with World Series by Renault and Red Bull backed driver Daniel Ricciardo waiting in the wings. Once again, Heikki Kovalainen was best of the new teams in his Lotus ahead of Jarno Trulli for the seventh time in eight races in 2011. The Virgins and Hispanias completed the running, with Vitantonio Liuzzi once again qualifying off the back row of the grid.
Despite the FIA's mid-season rule changes to ban adapted engine maps for qualifying, it did not hinder the pace of the two Red Bulls. Vettel has been peerless in qualifying in the past two seasons and to take his 22nd pole at just 23 is an extraordinary feat. With Webber still gunning for his first win of the year, we may see the two Red Bulls disappear into the distance. The Australian has had four fastest laps this season, indicating he can find the pace within the car. He will certainly need it if he is going to challenge Vettel tomorrow.
European GP grid positions
1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1min 36.975secs
2 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:37.163
3 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1:37.380
4 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1:37.454
5 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:37.535
6 Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren 1:37.645
7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:38.231
8 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes GP 1:38.240
9 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) Renault No Time
10 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India No Time
11 Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Renault 1:39.068
12 Paul di Resta (Gbr) Force India 1:39.422
13 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Williams 1:39.489
14 Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) Sauber 1:39.525
15 Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams 1:39.645
16 Sergio Perez (Mex) Sauber 1:39.657
17 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.711
18 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:40.232
19 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Team Lotus 1:41.664
20 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Team Lotus 1:42.234
21 Timo Glock (Ger) Virgin Racing 1:42.553
22 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Hispania 1:43.584
23 Jerome d'Ambrosio (Bel) Virgin Racing 1:43.735
24 Narain Karthikeyan (Ind) Hispania 1:44.363
Josh.
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