As the Formula One season approaches its dramatic climax with three critical races for the four championship contenders, it was McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton who managed to rise to the occasion with a stunning lap in the final moments of qualifying to steal pole position away from team-mate Fernando Alonso.
Initially, the whole session was subject to delay as the appalling wet weather conditions around Mount Fuji fail to improve after the race organisers forced the abandonment of third practice due to fog. It seem that the qualifying hour was heading the same way – with fears it might be put on hold until Saturday evening or at worst, Sunday morning – but in the event, the conditions were deemed acceptable and qualifying took place on schedule.
It has been thirty years since Formula One raced at the Fuji Speedway – scene of James Hunt winning his only drivers title. The Toyota-owned race track is a stark contrast to Suzuka, as this re-profile circuit offers a good chance of overtaking thanks to that mile-long start/finish straight.
As ever, qualifying is essential for drivers looking to score points and Lewis Hamilton not only manage to beat his main championship rivals in the session, but also gain physiological advantage over Alonso with his fifth pole position of the year. The British rookie has won from this top grid position three times and if Hamilton manages to win at Fuji on race day, he will extend his slim championship lead as we head into the final two races of the season.
McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso looked to be the driver to start in the top spot after setting the pace with a lap time of one minute, 25. 438 seconds. But right at the end of Q3, Hamilton banged in an amazing do-or-die lap time of one minute, 25. 368 seconds to grab pole position and head another McLaren front row.
The Ferraris were left trailing with Kimi Raikkonen in third (one minute, 25.516 seconds) and team-mate Felipe Massa fourth (one minute, 25.765 seconds). The performance between the F2007 and the MP4-22 should be fascinating as it’s still to close to call on who has the advantage on race day. The lap times between the four drivers in the top two cars are separate by a matter of tenths of a second.
Behind the usual suspects is Nick Heidfeld in the BMW-Sauber, who continues his impressive consistence in the F1.07 by again out-qualifying his team-mate Robert Kubica (the Polish driver will start in ninth).
Williams-Toyota’s Nico Rosberg originally qualified in sixth but due to an engine change in Friday’s practice session, the German will drop back ten places on the grid. This promoted Jenson Button in the Honda, who was sublime in the wet conditions. The British driver achieved his best-ever starting position after a year-long of frustration in the Earth-livery Honda. He was significantly quicker than team-mate Rubens Barrichello – a driver who is exceptionally good in the wet – and yet, the Brazilian struggled with P17.
Row four goes to the Red Bull drivers of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, with the latter arguably the star of the qualifying session. The German rookie was extremely impressive in the slippery conditions, and by qualifying in eighth he earns the Toro Rosso squad their first-ever top ten start in Formula One.
Rounding out the top ten is Kubica in the second BMW-Sauber with Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella. As for the Japanese drivers racing in their home Grand Prix, it was a day of disappointment for Takuma Sato and Sakon Yamamoto in the Super Aguri and Spyker respectively. Sato lacked pace in the wet conditions and got knocked out in Q1 (will start in P21), meanwhile Yamamoto will start his home race last thanks to Ralf Schumacher colliding into him in the Toyota…
The weather forecast remains unsettled for Sunday, and at this moment in time the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji has the look of one of those races in which anything could happen.
Japanese Grand Prix grid
1. HAMILTON McLaren 1:25.368
2. ALONSO McLaren 1:25.438
3. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1:25.516
4. MASSA Ferrari 1:25.765
5. HEIDFELD BMW 1:26.505
6. BUTTON Honda 1:26.913
7. WEBBER Red Bull 1:26.914
8. VETTEL Toro Rosso 1:26.973
9. KUBICA BMW 1:27.225
10. FISICHELLA Renault 1:26.033
11. KOVALAINEN Renault 1:26.232
12. COULTHARD Red Bull 1:26.247
13. TRULLI Toyota 1:26.253
14. LIUZZI Toro Rosso 1:26.948
15. SCHUMACHER Toyota 1:27.191
16. ROSBERG Williams 1:26.728*
17. BARRICHELLO Honda 1:27.323
18. WURZ Williams 1:27.454
19. DAVIDSON Super Aguri 1:27.564
20. SUTIL Spyker 1:28.628
21. SATO Super Aguri 1:28.792
22. YAMAMOTO Spyker 1:29.668
*Drops ten places due to an engine change penalty