World Class Pole for Hulkenberg in Tricky Brazilian Grand Prix Conditions

In all my time as an F1 fan I have never been disappointed by the Brazilian Grand Prix and today’s qualifying session was no different.

I will concede that the first two sessions seemed pretty dull (despite big name drop outs and difficult conditions). However, the last few seconds of qualifying three were more exciting than some of 2010’s two hour races!

Qualifying One

Rain from earlier in the day meant that the Brazilian circuit was far from dry but with a clear day predicted tomorrow all of the teams were on dry weather set ups.

The session started with a Brazilian buzz as the lights went green and the fans roared. Adding further to the excitement was the threat of rain. This meant that most of the drivers desperately rushed out on track to get a reasonably secure time in.

Sebastian Buemi set the pace with a 1:22:744, but it was clear early on that the Red Bulls and Fernando Alonso were the ones to beat in Q1.

Both Williams also looked fast in the early stages of Q1 and although the McLarens looked as if they would comfortably make it into the second session, it didn’t look as if they would provide much of a challenge.

Of course, very quickly the new teams found themselves in the drop out zone and it looked pretty certain that one of the Force Indias would be joining them.

It was interesting to watch Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi battle it out to survive, but ultimately Q1 was a pointless and predictable as any other opening session this year.

Sutil eventually lost out to his teammate by the way. With a five place penalty hanging over the German and an unsecured future in F1, it was clear to see the worry in the driver’s eyes when he came to be interviewed by the media.

Q1 Top Three

Alonso

Webber

Vettel

Out

Sutil (dropped five places due to dangerous driving in Korea), Glock, Trulli, Kovalainen, Di Grassi, Klien, Senna

Qualifying Two

Despite Alonso’s last gasp pole in Q1, the Ferrari team seemed to drop off in Q2, just as Hamilton found some real form.

Again Buemi set the pace with a 1:20:257, and again the Red Bulls quickly knocked their sister team down.

As the session developed it was clear that three drivers in particular were struggling. These were Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button and Felipe Massa.

I would argue that on the whole Q2 was a bit of a "non-event" but it was close enough around the P10 position to keep me from feeling too restless.

At one point Button looked safe, then Rosberg popped up, and all the while it looked as if we were waving goodbye to Massa. Ironically, it was the Ferrari man who eventually found the speed to limp through whilst championship contender Button was left questioning his tyres (the McLaren’s front right tyre didn’t look right), and Rosberg just wasn’t fast enough.

Q2 Top Three

Webber

Vettel

Hamilton

Out

Button, Kobayashi, Rosberg, Alguersuari, Buemi (dropped five places due to dangerous driving in Korea), Heidfeld, Liuzzi

Qualifying Three

It was refreshing to enter Q3 genuinely having no idea who would finish first…and I bet no one seriously predicted the eventual outcome!

Although Alonso led the pack out for the final session the championship leader never looked quite right and struggled to make much of an impact.

The positions after all of the drivers had set their first times were as follows:

Hamilton, Schumacher, Vettel, Webber, Alonso, Petrov, Kubica, Hulkenberg, Massa, Barrichello

The real excitement began when with about five minutes left, teams began to dive into the pits for dry tyres. It looked as if we wouldn’t see slicks in qualifying at all so when the drivers left the pits, they did so tentatively!

Again, the Ferraris did nothing and although the Red Bulls were fast, it seemed as if pole position belonged to Hamilton. But what was this? Nico Hulkenberg lighting the screens up in the first sectors? Surely not…

Yes! With one minute left Hulkenberg’s Williams crossed the line in P1 with a 1:16:373!

A few seconds later Hamilton put in a pole time, then out of nowhere Alonso stole pole! But Hulkenberg was still fast!

The German stormed into P1 with a 1:15:462 and Alonso fell down the positions thanks to the Red Bulls. The only man who could stop Hulkenberg was Hamilton, but the McLaren man couldn’t do it and when Hulkenberg went faster still on his last lap it was clear who the day belonged to.

So what does this all mean? Well, primarily I think it shows that if Hulkenberg looses his seat next year due to a lack of funds, F1 is frankly broken. However, just as significant is the effect this pole will have on tomorrow’s race and the Championship.

I’m sure we’d all love to see Hulkenberg win, but most of us believe that it is unlikely. With the other championship contenders bunched up behind the Williams though I can only imagine how exciting turn one will be, let alone the race as a whole!

Will the 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix be as special as always? Hell yes!

1 Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1:14.470

2 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1:15.519

3 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 1:15.637

4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:15.747

5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:15.989

6 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:16.203

7 Robert Kubica Renault 1:16.552

8 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP 1:16.925

9 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:17.101

10 Vitaly Petrov Renault 1:17.656

11 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.288

12 Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1:19.385

13 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP 1:19.486

14 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 1:19.581

15 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 1:19.847

16 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1:19.899

17 Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1:20.357

18 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:20.830

19 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:22.130

20 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1:22.250

21 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1:22.378

22 Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1:22.810

23 Christian Klien HRT-Cosworth 1:23.083

24 Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 1:23.796