Lewis Hamilton delivered the perfect qualifying lap at the Nurburgring. Yet it was not enough to end Red Bull's stranglehold on pole position, as Mark Webber secured his second pole in a row at the Nurburgring by just 6/100ths of a second. Webber and Hamilton were joined by Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso in a thrilling four way scrap for second. However, as is their wont, the team from Milton Keynes were not to be denied their 11th pole position in a row.
Webber's ninth career pole was arguably one of his best, given the competition he faced today. For the second race in succession, he has usurped Vettel in qualifying and now must convert pole into victory if he is to mount any sufficient challenge for the second half of the season. The momentum appears to be shifting, if only slightly, and even with such an enormous lead the slightest erosion into Vettel's lead will galvanise the chasing pack. To finish off the front row for the first time this season, at his home event, will not have pleased the 2010 world champion.
The star of the show, though, was Hamilton. Resigned to a third season without a title and bemoaning the initial pace of his team's upgrades, his pace throughout qualifying was stunning. He was eighth in Q1, second fastest of those on the harder tyre, and was fastest of all in Q2. Given his complaints prior to qualifying, many will have deemed it as a red herring. But Lewis seems to revel in adversity and often outdrives the performance of his car.
However, this was truly extraordinary. The Mclaren MP4-26 is clearly still a difficult car to drive judging by Jenson Button's performance in Q3. Button was seventh, 1.2 seconds down on pole position and over a second slower than his team mate. Button will need a shower or two tomorrow to stay in the hunt but Hamilton may not. Confident of his car's race pace, the 26 year old will be Webber's biggest threat if he can manage his tyres and not be beaten by Vettel, Alonso or even fifth placed Felipe Massa at the start.
Further down the field, Kamui Kobayashi was the surprise drop out from Q1. Daniel Ricciardo did a sterling job to qualifying only 3/100ths down on team mate Vitantonio Liuzzi, but will bring up the rear tomorrow. Karun Chandhok, participating in his first Grand Prix since Silverstone last year, was nine tenths slower than his Lotus team mate Heikki Kovalainen. It was the first time the Indian driver had driven with DRS and Pirelli tyres. The two were split by a clearly aggravated Timo Glock; the Virgin driver showed his annoyance at his car's pace via the team radio.
In Q2, Adrian Sutil outqualified Paul di Resta for just the third time this season and made it into Q3, while Di Resta had to settle for 12th. Michael Schumacher narrowly scraped into the final part of qualifying at his home event, edging out fellow countryman Nick Heidfeld. The seven-time world champion will start tenth tomorrow, just behind Vitaly Petrov's Renault. Schumacher's team mate Nico Rosberg was over a second quicker and will line up sixth.
With the top four separated by four tenths of a second we are in for an intriguing battle tomorrow. Hamilton finds his Mclaren much more suited to racing conditions, as does Alonso in fourth. In first and third are the two Red Bulls, with Webber in front of Vettel. The German must clear Hamilton instantly but I'm not sure that will occur, such is his pace into turn one. Rain is predicted tomorrow, but with the front four so evenly matched, do we really need it?
German GP grid positions
1. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1m30.079s
2. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren + 0.055
3. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull + 0.137
4. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari + 0.363
5. Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari + 0.831
6. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes + 1.184
7. Jenson Button (Gbr) McLaren + 1.209
8. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India + 1.931
9. Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Renault + 2.108
10. Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes + 2.403
11. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) Renault + 1.217
12. Paul di Resta (Gbr) Force India + 1.562
13. Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams + 1.637
14. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Williams + 2.045
15. Sergio Perez (Mex) Sauber + 2.178
16. Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Toro Rosso + 2.548
17. Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Toro Rosso + 2.700
18. Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn)Sauber + 1.960
19. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Lotus + 3.773
20. Timo Glock (Ger) Virgin + 4.574
21. Karun Chandhok (Ind) Lotus + 4.596
22. Jerome D’Ambrosio (Bel) Virgin + 4.815
23. Tonio Liuzzi (Ita) HRT + 5.185
24. Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) HRT + 5.210
Josh.
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