2009 Chinese GP Qualifying: Red Bull Stops Brawns

A very competitive Qualifying Round, everyone expected Brawns to make it to the front row, but having Vettel & Alonso on the front row makes it more interesting for me. People are already asking, can the Brawns win tomorrow? Can Button make three in a row?  We will only find out tomorrow...

I'd like someone like Vettel to win, if he does then all the talk from 'diffuser haters' will fall flat. Also we need someone to compete with Brawns and this will keep the Championship open & interesting.

My comments on each team’s performance today:

Red Bull: Fantastic performance by Red Bull!! Vettel (P1) & Webber (P3) are both good drivers, and for sure they have a very good car. Even without the magic-diffuser they are keeping up with the so called 'diffuser gang'. BTW I won't be surprised if they are on 3 pits stop, that way you can minimize the impact of the super-soft tyres. Great job!!

Renault: Few upgrades, and a great drive from Alonso (P2) and he put the car on the front row. May be removing the KERS system was the right thing to do. But I have a doubt on how much fuel he has in the car, he too may have opted for 3 stop. And about Piquet? Most likely he is having problems because either the team does not back him fully or he is simply not fast enough. I think Renault have a modified diffuser.

Brawn: Not a bad performance from the 3 B's. Button (P5) & Barrichello (P4) would have loved to make it third time in a row, but they won't be too unhappy about where they are on the grid. I have a feeling that they may be carrying a little more fuel, if that’s the case, then they should be strong in the race.

Toyota: Average day for Toyota, on one hand Trulli (P6) did a nice job and Glock (P19) had all sorts of problems with his car, including change in his gear box and hence a five grid penalty. They should do well in race tomorrow, since their race pace has so far proven to be good.

Williams: Not a bad day for them either. Rosberg (P7) did good job he should be looking for a strong finish in point tomorrow. Nakajima (P14) needs to up his game this year.

Ferrari: The Reds are still struggling, but it seems they have closed some gap with few updates...but still long way to go. Kimi (P8) did a good job, but his problem has been finishing the race. And with Massa (P13) struggling I think the team will be happy if they finish in points tomorrow. BTW they are not running KERs.

McLaren: With only Hamilton (P9) running the new upgrades it was no surprise to see Kovalainen (P12) struggle. They too would be happy to pick up any points come their way, and Kovalainen would be happy just to finish the race... hopefully not on this first lap again.

Scuderia Toro Rosso: Very good day for them, finally they get more upgrades which makes their cars look more like Red Bull. Buemi (P10) did a great job, Bourdais (P15) needs to up his game...or Toro Rosso might replace him with another 19 year old next year.

BMW-Sauber: They had a pretty disappointing day, I don't think KERS is helping Heidfeld (P11) as he could not make it to Q3 and Kubica (P17) struggling with his car all day. KERS so far is only proving to be a waste; I hope that would change or wise all that money spent on KERS would make them look silly all year.

Force India: This is the best that VJM02 can do for now, until they get their upgrades in Spain. Both drivers are complaining of lack of aero grip. Even with those upgrades I doubt if they will be doing any better as other teams are also working very hard to improve. Sutil (P18) and Fisichella (P20) both would be happy just to finish the race.

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