Vettel takes commanding pole in Shanghai

Sebastian Vettel achieved his hat trick of pole positions at the Shanghai International Circuit with an impressive lap (one minute. 33.706 seconds) in the flying Red Bull RB7.

The world championship leader remained unbeatable in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix, maintaining his strong form that saw Vettel top all three practice session followed by his fourth successive pole.

With one Red Bull on the front row – with a margin of seven tenths of a second clear of the McLarens of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton – the other car will start Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix down in a disappointing P18.

For Mark Webber, his bad luck continued with a technical issue with the KERS unit during the final practice session and then, in the first stage of qualifying, the Australian was eliminated when Michael Schumacher and Pastor Maldonado improved.

It seems the team made a strategically decision in keeping Webber on the hard ‘Prime’ tyres in order to save a set of soft ‘Option’ tyres for the main race. This tactic back-fired not only for a lack of grip but the problem with the KERS meant the Australian was unable to use the device to gain extra straight-line speed and in the end, he was knocked out in Q1.

McLaren’s Jenson Button was the only challenger to the reigning world champion, but was still 0.7 seconds adrift of pole position. At least Jenson is ahead of his team-mate Lewis Hamilton, by a small margin of 0.042 seconds.

Taking the fourth position on the grid is Nico Rosberg for Mercedes GP, while forming row three are the Ferraris of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa.

The upper midfield pack was shuffled by a late red flag in Q2, caused by Vitaly Petrov’s Renault grinding to a halt on track at Turn 6.

That happened with two minutes remaining, at which point the Toro Rossos and Force Indias were inside the top ten. Unlike the Saubers, Williams, Mercedes and Petrov’s team-mate Nick Heidfeld.

In the scramble once Petrov’s car was removed, both Toro Rosso drivers and the Force India of Paul di Resta were able to keep their Q3 positions. The same cannot be said to team-mate Adrian Sutil, who was again out-qualified by the former DTM champion and will start the race in P11.

It was another solid performance by Paul di Resta and by starting eighth, in between Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi, the Scot has a good opportunity to score points in the race.

A mistake at the hairpin left Mercedes GP’s Michael Schumacher in P14, as for Nick Heidfeld – who damaged his Renault’s front wing in practice sessions one and two – the German could do no better than P16.

Williams suffered another frustrating qualifying session with Rubens Barrichello only in P15 with team-mate Pastor Maldonado two places behind.

And at the back of the grid, not including Mark Webber’s Red Bull, are the usual suspects with Team Lotus, Virgin Racing and Hispania.

Jerome D’Ambrosio out-qualified his Virgin Racing team-mate Timo Glock for the first time this season, while both Hispanias were comfortably within the 107 per cent margin.

Qualifying times from Shanghai:

1.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     1m33.706s
2.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1m34.421s
3.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes     1m34.463s
4.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             1m34.670s
5.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1m35.119s
6.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari              1m35.145s
7.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m36.158s
8.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes 1m36.190s
9.  Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m36.203s
10.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault              No time
11.  Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes 1m35.874s
12.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari       1m36.053s
13.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari       1m36.236s
14.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes             1m36.457s
15.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth    1m36.465s
16.  Nick Heidfeld         Renault              1m36.611s
17.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth    1m36.956s
18. Mark Webber            Red Bull-Renault     1m36.468s
19. Heikki Kovalainen      Lotus-Renault        1m37.894s
20. Jarno Trulli           Lotus-Renault        1m38.318s
21. Jerome D’Ambrosio      Virgin-Cosworth      1m39.119s
22. Timo Glock             Virgin-Cosworth      1m39.708s
23. Tonio Liuzzi           HRT-Cosworth         1m40.212s
24. Narain Karthikeyan     HRT-Cosworth         1m40.445s

107 per cent qualifying time: 1m41.941s

12 thoughts to “Vettel takes commanding pole in Shanghai”

  1. By taking his third pole position in the first three races of the 2011 season, Sebastian Vettel has commented that he is not taking anything for granted despite his strong qualifying performance. Autosport.com has the details.

    Sebastian Vettel says he is taking nothing for granted for the Chinese Grand Prix despite another dominant pole position on Saturday.

    The Red Bull driver secured his third pole position in three races, finishing over seven tenths of a second ahead of McLaren’s Jenson Button.

    Despite the run of poles and the gap to his rivals, Vettel said it had not been easy, and insisted he is “starting from zero” again tomorrow.

    “It is not easy. It all starts again from zero but people tend to forget that. I am very happy with the team at this stage and the way we all remain focused so I think we did a very good job today. We are happy but tomorrow is a new day so I am looking forward to that.”

    He added: “Obviously we did it again but I try to keep reminding myself and the team every single time it is tough. Today was not as straightforward as I planned. In Q2 I wasn’t 100% comfortable but I was confident and in Q3 we improved quite a lot.

    “We have to go step by step and it all starts from zero again. Today we did a good job one more time but all it is is eight metres tomorrow. We are looking to score some points tomorrow. It’s a long race.”

    He also denied Red Bull will have it easy during the rest of the season, and he is expecting his rivals to catch up during the European season.

    “As I said earlier, we have to go step by step,” he said. “Teams like McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes they are not as happy as they want to be, they are pushing very hard, so to stay where we are, we have to push harder than them to stay there.

    “We are all aware of that, and since 2009, halfway through 2009, we had a very, very competitive car and we are enjoying to run on the front, but we have not forgotten how it feels to run at the back.”

    The German also explained why he sat in his car for so long after the end of qualifying, adding: “With the new regulations and the fixed weight regulations, the FIA has the chance to check that, and unless I get a thumbs up from an official I can’t get out of the car, otherwise if I get out I might get in trouble. Maybe I didn’t see them the first way around, so I ended up waiting, then someone said it was good to get out.”

  2. For Red Bull Racing team-mate Mark Webber, this was a frustrating qualifying session not helped by the KERS being unreliable. In addition, by using the harder ‘Prime’ tyre, not enough heat went into the Pirelli meaning a lack of grip and that ultimately cost the Australian a decent grid position. Autosport.com interviews team principal Christian Horner on the subject and can be read below:

    Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says Mark Webber’s disastrous qualifying session in China, which saw the Australian dumped out of Q1 and placed 18th, was down to the prime tyres fitted to his car not being up to temperature.

    Horner dismissed suggestions that the team should have given the Australian a set of softer option Pirellis to try and save his session – after his first attempt on the primes proved not enough to keep him in – insisting that Webber’s pace through the weekend had shown he could hit the target on the harder rubber.

    “We thought there would be enough performance there to do it on the prime,” Horner explained to the BBC. “Everything that we have seen previously, and from this morning, suggested that he should be able to do it on the first lap on the prime.

    “We shouldn’t needed to have run the prime, it’s very easy with 20/20 hindsight to say that was a mistake and we should have gone on the option.

    “It was the team’s call because it looked like another set of primes should have been more than enough given the pace that we saw this morning even with Mark’s short amount of running – it should have been enough to comfortably make it through.

    “But with the tyres not being up to temperature it has obviously compromised him. He has just had rotten luck this weekend, but I am sure that he can race very well from there.”

    Webber’s day began badly after his morning practice session was compromised by a fault in the wiring loom which affected the Red Bull’s KERS. It’s unclear whether the system was available to the Australian in qualifying.

    “It’s been a rotten day for Mark today,” added Horner. “This morning he had an electrical issue and then a massive effort from the entire crew, including the mechanics from Sebastian [Vettel’s] car to get the car ready for qualifying.

    “His first run wasn’t great so we went to run again on the prime and unfortunately those tyres weren’t quite up to temperature for his optimum first lap. He missed out so it’s just one of those things.

    “It’s disappointing for Mark and the team that we don’t have both cars up where we want them to be.”

    Webber’s views on qualifying were fairly succinct: “Very frustrating day. Did one lap in P3, and tried to get into things in Q1, but we got caught out on the first set [of tyres] and were not quick enough at end of day. There were a few plates spinning in background, and we paid the ultimate price today for that.

    “I thought we had enough to get through. Turns out the second set of primes… that is the way it goes.”

    Mark Webber says he was “cool” with Red Bull’s decision not to use the ‘option’ tyres during his final run in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix.

    The Australian endured a disappointing day after being knocked out in the first qualifying segment for the first time since the 2009 season.

    Webber was running with the harder tyres in his final stint, a decision which prompted questions about why Red Bull had not chosen the soft ones to help his cause.

    Webber had been hit by problems in final practice, where he didn’t get any significant running, and then was unable to use KERS during qualifying.

    The Red Bull driver admitted the decision to use ‘primes’ was okay with him, but he simply ran out of time to get a good lap in.

    “The team’s, mate,” said Webber when asked who had made the decision to use the harder tyres for the final run.

    “I was pretty cool with it, but obviously we all started to panic a bit at the end when we knew we weren’t going to get two laps. The tyre should have been enough, but on one lap it wasn’t enough. And that was where we snookered ourselves really.

    “You pay a big price in qualifying. I don’t know the last time a Red Bull guy was out in Q1, but it has been a long time. That was our first time since 2009, for sure – as we didn’t do it last year.”

    When asked what had gone wrong, he added: “One lap in P3. That doesn’t help. We were a little bit on the back foot and just got the car together minutes before qualifying. We threw it together and went out – my first run was probably half a second shy of where it needed to be.

    “Obviously KERS as well on top of that. We were on the bubble and then decided to go for another run on the prime to have a few laps at it, but we never got out quick enough so we only had one timed lap and added to that we had tyres that were not up to temperature. So that second set was a bit more difficult to get the job done.”

    The Australian insisted it was easy to judge Red Bull’s decision after qualifying.

    “When any top team goes out in Q1 we can all put the hindsight goggles on and say we should have done this or should have done that. In the end, for sure, option would have made life easier – and it is completely obvious that we could have made that decision. But we didn’t as a team.

    “And we all thought we would get enough laps on the prime to get the two timed laps in, but obviously we were a bit late going out and then it turned out we were on the wrong tyre as well – because of the timing.”

    Webber also said the team was still puzzled about its problems to get KERS working properly.

    “Don’t know. If you can tell us, you could have a job,” he said.

  3. With a margin of seven tenths of a second to Sebastian Vettel, McLaren’s Jenson Button has admitted that his rival’s pace was too much to challenge for pole position. Autosport.com has the details.

    Jenson Button admitted that Sebastian Vettel’s blistering pace in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix dashed any hopes the McLaren driver might have had of challenging for pole position in Q3.

    The 2009 world champion, who starts Sunday’s race from second on the grid – his first front row start of the season – revealed after qualifying that he had harboured hopes of challenging for pole after a strong run in Q2. But despite using two sets of the softer option Pirellis, could not get within half a second of Vettel’s first effort.

    “In the heat of the moment you always hope it is possible,” said Button. “But the pace of Sebastian and Red Bull was phenomenal in Q3. In Q2 it looked like it was possible, that is why I tried to run with two sets of tyres in Q3 and give it a try, then I saw Seb’s time and realised we were fighting for second place.

    “It has been a reasonably good day for us, yesterday I don’t think we had the perfect balance, we were not extracting best out of it,” he added. “Today we made some good changes, especially overnight, and the car was more consistent and I think we extracted what we could have out of it today.

    “We don’t know what his [Vettel’s] pace is going to be like in the race, if it’s one second quicker [than us] then it’s not possible to race with him, if it’s four tenths quicker and we have KERS it is possible, we have to see where we stand tomorrow.

    “If you’re talking about start, there is a short period before Turn 1, even if he doesn’t run KERS – which I am sure they will – during the race they are very quick anyway, look at Malaysia, a lot of race he didn’t use it and his pace was still very good.”

    Button added that while the performance gap between Red Bull and McLaren appears to remain quite large, the Briton is confident that McLaren can close it down enough to challenge RBR as the season rolls on.

    “We are in a better position to challenge the Red Bulls,” he said. “This is a team that will never give up, they have fought for so many championships, they have the resources and the manpower to really fight for it. They will do what we can to catch RBR sooner rather than later.

    “I have been racing in F1 for 12 years and more often than not there was a guy out front and he was normally wearing red. F1 is a very competitive sport, the last five years there has been a different champion – it is not depressing because you work as a team, you win as a team, lose as a team.

    “We need to get more out of car and take the fight to Red Bull. But it is three races in and 17 races to go.”

  4. As for Lewis Hamilton, the McLaren driver has said he focused more on the race strategy compared to qualifying in order to save a set of Pirellis. Autosport.com has the details.

    Lewis Hamilton said he prioritised the race over qualifying in China after saving tyres in Q3.

    The McLaren driver saw a potential podium in Malaysia turn into eighth place as he struggled with tyre wear a week ago, so this time chose to only make one Q3 run. He qualified third, just behind team-mate Jenson Button.

    “We are in quite a strong [tyre] position: the options I just qualified on, a new set of options and a new set of primes and a decent set of options as well,” Hamilton said. “I just wanted to increase chances for the race because that is what counts.”

    He added: “The strategists say it is quite simple but the race is never simple, you have the start, all the stops you want to do, and looking after tyres. It will be tricky again tomorrow but I want to put myself in a decent spot. I feel I am in position to have a good opportunity in the race. I didn’t have the best opportunity last race.”

    Although Sebastian Vettel put Red Bull on pole again by 0.7 seconds, Hamilton said he was satisfied with how McLaren was progressing.

    “We are doing our best to catch up, and it’s encouraging to be on the second or third row in the first two races considering where we were during winter testing,” he said.

    “It is clear since 2009 that [Red Bull] have had a ridiculously fast car and it’s a great job done by the team and Sebastian. We are pushing as hard as we can to close the gap. It is possible but it will take several races to get to where they are, and I am sure they will take many steps forward.

    “We’ll continue the chase and hope our development rate is at least as good as theirs, if not better.”

  5. Nico Rosberg says it only took ‘simple changes’ to unlock the potential of the Mercedes W02 after taking a breakthrough fourth on the grid in China.

    Despite showing good form right at the end of winter testing, Mercedes has languished in the lower part of the top 10 at best so far this season.

    But at Shanghai today Rosberg got up to the second row, within a few tenths of the McLarens.

    “It’s a positive day for us,” said Rosberg. “It’s been very difficult the last couple of weeks, but today we’ve improved the car, that’s clear, and just with very simple, basic things – and a lot of hard work – and that’s nice to see.

    “We’re not where we want to be but we’re close to McLaren and we’re way ahead of Ferrari, today at least, so that’s a good thing. Even on race pace tomorrow there’s a good chance I can do a good race because we’ve improved our race pace too.”

    He is optimistic that he can challenge the McLarens in the grand prix.

    “I think we can put some pressure on them. It’s going to be difficult, but we will see,” said Rosberg.

    “When you start fourth, a podium is never out of the question. It’s a bit optimistic, but why not?”

    Source: Autosport.com

  6. After setting the fourth quickest time in Q2 to make it through to the top ten shootout, Vitaly Petrov’s Renault grinded to a halt with a technical problem. Without that issue, the Russian believed he could have qualified ever higher than tenth. Autosport.com has the story.

    Vitaly Petrov feels the technical problem that saw his stricken Renault cause a red flag at the end of Q2 in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix cost him a chance to place much higher on the grid than the tenth position he will start from.

    The Russian set the fourth fastest time of Q2 before his car ground to a halt just before Turn 6, with less than three minutes of the session to go.

    Having retired from the segment, Petrov was unable to participate in the top ten shoot out and felt that he had missed out on capitalising on his car’s potential.

    “I don’t know, after the second or third corner something started to be wrong with the car,” Petrov explained to the BBC.

    “I tried to go full throttle but the car was not working, I tried to change the gears and that didn’t work also. We need to check to analyse what happened.

    “But to be honest I am very, very disappointed because we made a big step on set-up. We improved quite a lot from yesterday because it was really nice to drive the car. It would have been very interesting to see what would have happened in Q3.”

  7. Fernando Alonso says he is more confident about his prospects for the Chinese Grand Prix after another low-key performance in qualifying on Saturday.

    The Spanish driver will start the race from fifth position for the third time in a row, after finishing nearly 1.5 seconds of pole-setter Sebastian Vettel.

    Alonso admitted he is expecting to be in better shape in the race, and insisted the podium was his main target.

    “We are more confident over the race pace than qualy,” said Alonso when asked by AUTOSPORT about his race prospects. “We saw in the first two races.

    “On Saturday we struggle a little bit more, so I expect tomorrow we’ll have a little bit more of a competitive car and starting fifth anything can happen.

    “The podium is still the target for us, the dream for us. If we can do it, okay, and if not fourth will be okay, if not fifth will be okay.”

    The Ferrari driver was nonetheless satisfied with his performance, conceding there was nothing more to extract from the car.

    “I think we did okay, and fifth and sixth at the moment is the maximum we can do with what we have in our hands. We delivered today what we are supposed to deliver.”

    Source: Autosport.com

  8. With both Toro Rossos qualified in the top ten, Jamie Alguersuari was pleased by the team’s performance in Shanghai. Autosport.com has the story.

    Jamie Alguersuari hailed his Toro Rosso team’s performance in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix after both cars made it into the top ten.

    Alguersuari qualified in a career-best seventh position, with team-mate Sebastien Buemi two places behind.

    “Getting Sebastien and myself into Q3 is definitely a success for the whole team as it was no easy task,” said Alguersuari after qualifying. “We did not really expect to be there, to be honest, looking at the speed of some of our rivals and the red flag in Q2 definitely helped us.

    “Tomorrow I think there is a possibility to pick up a good amount of points and I am optimistic because today, we chose a car set-up better suited to the race than to do a quick lap in qualifying.

    “It’s true we are not used to starting from this position and I might have to run a defensive race and see how our tyres perform, as this will again be a key factor.”

    Buemi was also delighted for the team, although he admitted he was disappointed not to qualify higher up the grid.

    “I am very happy for the team result, with two cars in the top ten,” he said. “As for myself, I am a bit disappointed that, for the sake of half a tenth I have dropped from seventh to ninth. The team can be very pleased with this performance and with the result we have not seen for a while.

    “Whatever the circumstances today, I know the team has worked very hard at the track and back at the factory to do the very best it can and in general we look much more competitive than we were last year. I hope it will be good enough to get us in the points tomorrow.

    “It will be an important race for us, given we have these good grid positions. The first thing will be to make sure we get all the way to the end and if we do that, then I think it could be a good grand prix for us.”

  9. Michael Schumacher said another problem with his Mercedes’ DRS cost him the chance to join team-mate Nico Rosberg in the top five on the Chinese Grand Prix grid.

    While Rosberg gave Mercedes a breakthrough fourth place, Schumacher will start only 14th, as the moveable wing system continued to prove unreliable on his car.

    “What a shame for me today as we have clearly demonstrated this weekend that as a team we have improved a lot,” said the former champion. “Nico proved that strongly with his fourth place which was our realistic target.

    “I didn’t quite get my lap together in Q2 and since then we have found out that my rear wing was not functioning correctly as I was braking into Turn 14.

    “I am obviously hoping to have a strong start and that we have good race pace tomorrow so I can hopefully make up some positions.”

    Team boss Ross Brawn said he was disappointed that Schumacher had been unable to show what he could really do.

    “The car has been much better this weekend and both drivers were in a good position going into qualifying today,” Brawn said.

    “It’s a shame for Michael this afternoon as it didn’t quite work out with the red flag and then his rear wing malfunctioned at the end of his crucial lap costing valuable time.”

    Source: Autosport.com

  10. Paul di Resta continues to impress in his maiden season in Formula One. To qualify in the top ten was a great result for the Scot, as he explains to Autosport.com.

    Paul di Resta said he could not have wished for a better result in qualifying for the Chinese Grand Prix after reaching Q3 for the first time.

    The Force India driver continued to show strong form in his debut season, finishing as ninth fastest and outqualifying team-mate Adrian Sutil for the third time in a row.

    The Scot is now eyeing his third consecutive points finish.

    “I could not have wished for more today and it’s nice to get into Q3,” said di Resta. “After missing the whole of FP2 yesterday we knew that it was going to be difficult this morning, but we’ve got a small upgrade here and it certainly improved the performance today.

    “Luckily I did my quickest lap in the second running in Q1, as I just struggled a little bit with balance in the others. Our race pace seems to be not too bad, so fingers crossed we can pick up some points again tomorrow as we have in the previous two grands prix.”

    Sutil was also happy with his day, despite missing out on the top ten, the German qualifying in 11th.

    “It was a good qualifying and I am looking forward to the race tomorrow,” he said. “This weekend has so far been much better than the last ones, with no real problems so it looks good for us.

    “It was a little bit difficult at the end of the session when the red flag came out and I missed out on a final flying lap, but overall I am very happy and our car performance is improving well.”

  11. Jerome D’Ambrosio expressed delight at having out-qualified his more experienced Virgin team-mate Timo Glock in China.

    The Belgian, competing in his third career grand prix in Shanghai this weekend, will line up 21st on the grid after outpacing the German by nearly half a second, but said that he still had plenty more to come from himself.

    “I’m very happy,” said D’Ambrosio. “What I take away from today is that I continue to improve, and although I still have a lot to learn, I’m going in the right direction.

    “That’s the most important thing for me. It’s still the beginning and I have a lot to do, but the way I’m working – and how everyone in the team is working – is good and the results are showing that the direction we are following is the right one. It was a good Saturday.”

    Glock remains downbeat about Virgin’s progress having struggled to get any heat into his Pirelli tyres.

    “Overall a better day than yesterday because we were at least able to complete our programme, but we were not able to get the best result in qualifying which is disappointing,” said Glock. “I had some warm-up issues on the first run and the tyres were not working really at all on the second, so I have to think the changes we made between free practice and qualifying were not for the better.

    “I think overall we went a little too conservative, but who knows? That might help us in the race. We’ll have a good look at the data now and see what that tells us, then look to a good strategy for tomorrow and aim for the chequered flag.”

    Source: Autosport.com

  12. Renault’s Nick Heidfeld was left frustrated by traffic which affected his qualifying session. Autosport.com has the details.

    Nick Heidfeld blamed traffic during his only qualifying run in Q2 for his disappointing position ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix.

    The German opted to do just one run in the second qualifying segment, but Renault team-mate Vitaly Petrov caused a red flag with two minutes to go because of a problem with his car.

    The incident meant all drivers were on a mad rush to set a time in the final two minutes, and many found traffic during the flying laps.

    Heidfeld was left frustrated after qualifying in 16th place.

    “It’s quite frustrating to be starting from P16 because I don’t think it’s a fair reflection of our pace,” said Heidfeld. “We were always going to do one run on the soft tyres in Q2, but the red flag made the last few minutes on Q2 very busy.

    “You really needed to be first in the queue at the end of the pitlane because there was not much time to get around and cross the line before the end of the session. I managed to do one final lap, but I was stuck in traffic and I couldn’t get a clean lap.

    “As I said, our race pace is definitely better than our grid position, but starting from P16 is not going to be easy. I think it’s a track where you can overtake so hopefully I can make a good start, like in the previous two races, and fight for points.”

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