07/05/2011
NEWS STORY
Ever since China, many have opined that qualifying in 2011 isn't quite as important as it used to be. Indeed, looking at Mark Webber amazing come back in Shanghai - courtesy of superb strategy and some ballsy driving - appeared to prove their point.
However, nobody really wants to make life difficult for them self, so it is unlikely that we'll see anybody totally ease off this afternoon in the hope that they can turn things around tomorrow.
With almost ideal weather conditions and the Pirellis not showing particularly excessive wear, it's unclear whether tyre strategy today will be quite as important as in China, besides which other teams and drivers will now adopt similar strategies thereby negating the advantage Hamilton and McLaren had in Shanghai.
Therefore, what will be worth watching for today and tomorrow is driver error and mechanical issues. The notoriously bumpy track surface has already caught out several drivers this weekend, while a number of teams, particularly Ferrari, have been suffering reliability problems. Then there's Red Bull's ongoing problem with KERS which raised its ugly head again this morning.
In this morning's session, Vettel edged out Schumacher by just one-thousandth of a second, as Mercedes shows signs of a real revival. The McLarens were up there, though hurting from the bumps, while, not forgetting Webber in third, Petrov had the advantage over the Ferraris. Speaking of which, the Maranello outfit has opted to change the engine in Massa's car while Alonso's car has been completely stripped down and rebuilt.
As we await the start of Q1, the air temperature is 18 degrees C, while the track temperature is 36 degrees. It is bright and sunny, barely a cloud in the sky. Wind speed is 4.4 mps while humidity is 30%.
It's widely thought, that with an eye on tomorrow, some drivers will opt for just one run should they get through to Q3.
The lights go green and Kobayashi leads the way followed by Liuzzi and d'Ambrosio.
Having gone quickest in the first two sectors, Kobayashi eases right off, indeed, he grinds to a halt shortly before the pitlane entrance. Game already over for the Sauber driver.
D'Ambrosio posts 1:32.251 and Liuzzi 32.524, only to be leapfrogged by di Resta who goes almost three seconds quicker (29.420).
On his second lap, di Resta improves to 29.223, as Sutil goes second ahead of d'Ambrosio, Glock and Barrichello.
Vettel, Alonso, Schumacher, Massa, Rosberg, Webber, Hamilton and Button leave the pits.
A 27.039 sees Vettel go straight to the top of the timesheets, as Schumacher gets in the way of Hamilton, the German having posted a 27.697 to go fourth.
As Buemi goes second, Rosberg goes quickest in S1, finally crossing the line at 27.514 to go second. Moments later, Webber posts a 27.090 to make it a Red Bull 1-2, shades of 2010.
Alonso goes fifth, ahead of Schumacher and Alguersuari, as Massa (28.491), can only manage twelfth.
Replay shows Schumacher getting in Hamilton's way earlier. Will it lead to a penalty for the controversial German?
Button fourth goes quickest in S2, however, a poor final sector means he fails to improve on his position.
With 6:00 on the clock, Heidfeld and Petrov have yet to post a time, though both are on track. Petrov goes fifth on his first flying lap 27.475) as Perez goes quickest overall in S3. Heidfeld can only manage eleventh.
With less than four minutes remaining, Massa, surprisingly goes out on a brand new set of softs. The Brazilian is currently fifteenth.
As the clock counts down, the top eight remain in their garages. Maldonado, on a late charge, goes fifth with a 27.396 as di Resta goes tenth with a 27.625.
Massa goes quickest with a 27.013, but is it worth a set of softs. As if to prove the point, Alonso, on the hard tyre, posts 27.349 to go fifth having been quickest in S2.
Sutil goes seventh with a 27.392, and despite a brave, brave effort, Kovalainen fails to make the cut.
Quickest in Q1 was Massa, ahead of Vettel, Webber, Hamilton, Alonso, Button, Sutil, Maldonado, Petrov and Rosberg.
We lose Kovalainen, Trulli, d'Ambrosio, Liuzzi, Glock, Karthikeyan and Kobayashi.
The lights go green for Q2 and Schumacher is first out, the German facing possible punishment for the incident involving Hamilton. Soon, Webber, Rosberg, Petrov, Barrichello and Sutil are on track.
Schumacher crosses the line at 27.458 as Mike Gascoyne reveals that the reason for Trulli's lack of pace - certainly compared to his Lotus teammate - was due to his DRS not working.
Rosberg takes second with a 28.873, but is soon leapfrogged by Petrov and Sutil.
Webber goers straight to the top of the sheets with a 26.075, but moments later his teammate eclipses this with a 25.610.
Hamilton splits the Red Bulls with a 26.066 as Button takes fourth with a 26.485.
A 26.152 is enough for Alonso to take fourth, while teammate Massa posts 27.211 to go sixth.
Perez raises spirits at Sauber by taking eighth with a 27.244, his teammate consigned to the back row for tomorrow's race.
With 5:50 on the clock, Schumacher, Petrov, Maldonado, Alguersuari, Sutil, Heidfeld and di Resta are in the drop zone. Buemi and Barrichello are hovering.
Petrov improves to sixth with a 26.654, as Schumacher is told "magic paddle" whatever that means. The German responds with a 26.121c which puts him fourth, the magic paddle having done its work.
Rosberg posts 25.802 to go second thereby dropping Massa into the danger zone. However, the Brazilian responds with a 26.395 to go seventh.
A late charge sees Heidfeld go tenth, thereby dropping Barrichello to the drop zone, the Brazilian failing at the second hurdle along with Sutil, di Resta, Maldonado, Perez, Buemi and Alguersuari.
Quickest was Vettel, ahead of Rosberg, Hamilton, Webber, Schumacher, Alonso, Massa, Button, Petrov and Heidfeld.
Petrov is first out for Q3, the Russian, on a new set of soft as one would expect. Vettel, Webber, Hamilton and Button are also eager to get to work.
Petrov crosses the line at 26.411 but Webber and Alonso are both on hot laps.
Button goes quickest (25.982), but almost instantly Alonso crosses the line at 25.851.
Webber posts 25.454 but all eyes are on his teammate. Hamilton takes second with a 25.618 but Vettel has posted purples in the first two sectors, finally crossing the line at 25.049.
As Massa, Schumacher, Rosberg and Heidfeld go out for their sole run, Hamilton and Button go out for a second. Alonso and Petrov also opt to give it another bash. The Red Bull duo look on, indeed, Vettel climbs out of his car such is his confidence.
Rosberg goes third with a 25.574, however, his Mercedes can only manage eighth. Not even a hint of a purple, indeed, Hamilton and Button both ease off.
For reasons we shall no doubt learn later, Massa fails to post a time, while there are no major shock, indeed, the final moments of the session are something of an anti-climax.
Vettel takes pole, ahead of Webber, Rosberg, Hamilton, Alonso, Button, Petrov, Schumacher, Heidfeld and Massa.
Not for the first time, Vettel has a significant advantage over his rivals, while Schumacher can only shake his head in disbelief.
Not wishing to take anything away from Sebastian's performance, it was all a bit formulaic, let's hope for some fireworks tomorrow.
To check out our Istanbul qualifying gallery, click here.