Mark Webber Takes Pole Position in an Average 2011 Spanish Qualifying

Well, I wouldn’t say that today’s qualifying was as dull as the last event in Turkey as we got a different man on pole, and great performances from Fernando Alonso and Heikki Kovalainen.

However, for the second straight Grand Prix weekend we also saw two men in first and second exit their cars before the final session was even over.

As I said, there were flashes of excitement, but I’m afraid my overall summary of the Spanish Qualifying would be that it was disappointing (And frankly that applies to 2011’s qualifying in general).

Qualifying One

Nick Heidfeld’s car caught fire during the final practice session and so it was touch-and-go as to whether the Renault could make it to qualifying.

Now, when something like this has happened before, qualifying one has effectively been decided. (This is due to the fact that of the 7 drop out places, 6 of them are regularly occupied by the ‘newest teams’. This of course means that if a ‘non new team’ has an issue, the chances of any drama are significantly reduced.

Narain Karthikeyan set the first time of 1:28:981, but it wasn’t long before the usual front runners took over on top.

With half the session done, Heidfeld still hadn’t had his floor fixed to the car and it was looking like game over for the Renault man and the session.

However, Felipe Massa was having real issues and had slipped to the bottom end of the standings. In fact, Mercedes and Ferrari both felt uncomfortable enough to use a set of precious soft tyres in order to survive.

My eyes were fixed on Heikki Kovalainen, though. The Lotus driver had been as high as P13 and was only dropping down the standings slowly.

In the end it became clear that Fernando Alonso and both Mercedes drivers had wasted a set of tyres, but Massa needed them to survive!

I’d love to tell you that Kovalainen’s raw pace saw him survive Q1 for the first time this season, but I think it was probably more due to the fact that Rubens Barrichello failed to make a significant impact with gear issues. Still, a great performance from the Lotus man.

Q1 Top three:

Michael Schumacher

Vitaly Petrov

Pastor Maldonado

(Notice a lack of Red Bulls? Well, they were confident and fast enough not to waste a set of soft tyres)

Out:

Jarno Trulli, Rubens Barrichello, Timo Glock, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Narain Karthikeyan, Jerome D’Ambrosio, Nick Heidfeld

Qualifying Two

Both Red Bulls set times very early, and to be honest, Q2 was the dullest session of them all.

Sebastian Vettel set the first time of 1:21:540, and returned to the garage having done all he needed to. It’s definitely worth mentioning that this was done without KERS!

Mark Webber joined his team mate on the front row (P2), and then in the garage.

The McLarens were the best of the rest and it was interesting to see both Mercedes finish ahead of the Ferraris.

The only other point of interest was the fact that Kovalainen was able to finish ahead of both Force Indias, though this was due to the fact that Lotus had used a set of softies, whilst Force India had decided to save a set for race day.

Q2 Top Three:

Sebastian Vettel

Mark Webber

Jenson Button

Out:

Sebastien Buemi, Sergio Perez, Jamie Algursuari, Kamui Kobayashi, Heikki Kovalainen, Paul Di Resta, Adrian Sutil

Qualifying Three

The McLarens were out first and although Jenson Button set the first time of 1:21:996, Lewis Hamilton was fractionally faster.

But these two drivers paled into insignificance when Vettel crossed the line with a 1:21:181. The only man who could possibly beat him was Mark Webber a few seconds behind on track.

There was a welcome jolt of excitement when Webber stormed to pole with a 1:20:981, but it was also daunting to see yet again how much faster Red Bull are than everyone else!

The Red Bulls returned to their garage and dully exited their cars! Now, if these new tyres weren’t so precious perhaps we might have seen an ultimate showdown between Webber and Vettel. This would have been strategic suicide though...great show, huh?

I think my personal highlight of the day came when Fernando Alonso stormed into P4 splitting the McLarens. It was a genuine shock and only further cements my view that Alonso can find speed where few other drivers can.

Other than that, not a lot to report really!

What does this all mean for tomorrow then?

I think we’re looking at a Red Bull one/two. My guess would be Webber on the top step if Vettel continues to suffer with KERS.

I think the real race will be between Alonso and the McLarens. Lewis Hamilton starts ahead of Alonso, but the McLaren man crucially flat spotted his tyres hugely on his fastest laps.

This means that Hamilton will be starting on the back foot, but of course, Alonso has the issue of starting in a McLaren sandwich.

All that we can do now is wait for those red lights to go out….

Qualifying positions:

1 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 1:20.981

2 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1:21.181

3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.961

4 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:21.964

5 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.996

6 Vitaly Petrov Renault 1:22.471

7 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:22.599

8 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:22.888

9 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1:22.952

10 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:22.671

11 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 1:23.231

12 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1:23.367

13 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 1:23.694

14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:23.702

15 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1:25.403

16 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:26.126

17 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:26.571

18 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1:26.521

19 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:26.910

20 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:27.315

21 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1:27.809

22 Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1:27.908

23 Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1:28.556

24 Nick Heidfeld Renault