Hamilton on pole with title rivals off the front row
2012 Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying
Lewis Hamilton heads a McLaren lock-out of the front row on the grid for the Brazilian Grand Prix as he prepares to start his final race for the team.
The championship contenders start outside of the top three places with Sebastian Vettel fourth and Fernando Alonso eighth at the end of Q3.
Q1
A rain shower fell at the track ahead of qualifying but stopped before Q1 started. Caterham, Marussia and HRT sent their drivers out immediately and Timo Glock caught Heikki Kovalainen during his first flying lap, leading to a bit of position-swapping between the two.
The front-runners hedged their bets, waiting until the track had dried more before leaving the pits. When they did Hamilton quickly moved to the top of the times and stayed there, but Bruno Senna’s Williams separated the two McLarens at the top of the times.
Vettel cut it fine and was still in 21st place with four minutes to go before getting into the top ten.
Romain Grosjean’s session was ruined when he tried to overtake Pedro de la Rosa on the inside heading towards the start/finish line. The HRT driver appeared not to have seen the Lotus appearing on the left and the pair made contact.
Grosjean suffered damage to his front wing and after crawling back to the pits had one lap left to move up from 19th and gain a place in Q2. He failed to do so, and was eliminated along with the six drivers who had started the session immediately.
Drivers eliminated in Q1
| 18 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1’16.967 |
| 19 | Vitaly Petrov | Caterham-Renault | 1’17.073 |
| 20 | Heikki Kovalainen | Caterham-Renault | 1’17.086 |
| 21 | Timo Glock | Marussia-Cosworth | 1’17.508 |
| 22 | Charles Pic | Marussia-Cosworth | 1’18.104 |
| 23 | Narain Karthikeyan | HRT-Cosworth | 1’19.576 |
| 24 | Pedro de la Rosa | HRT-Cosworth | 1’19.699 |
Q2
Conditions remained stable as Q2 began. All the drivers took to the track straight away except for the McLaren and Red Bull pairs, who sat tight until there was five minutes remaining.
Fernando Alonso led the times initially but Hamilton, using medium compound tyres, beat it comfortably with a 1’13.398.
Vettel found almost two-tenths of a second to beat Hamilton with a 1’13.209 but he was aided, ironically enough, by Felipe Massa, whose Ferrari inadvertently gave him a tow heading towards the start/finish line.
The two Ferrari drivers only just made it into Q3, ending the session in ninth and tenth. But Michael Schumacher couldn’t make it into the top ten with his last effort, saying he made a small mistake at turn one, and qualified 14th for his final Grand Prix.
Pastor Maldonado made it into the top ten but was observed to have driven past a red light indicating he should pull into the weigh bridge during the session.
Drivers eliminated in Q2
| 11 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1’14.121 |
| 12 | Bruno Senna | Williams-Renault | 1’14.219 |
| 13 | Sergio Perez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’14.234 |
| 14 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1’14.334 |
| 15 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’14.380 |
| 16 | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1’14.574 |
| 17 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1’14.619 |
Q3
Nico Rosberg was the first driver out on track during Q3. He kicked off the final ten minutes with a steady lap, and although he later improved he ended up in tenth.
The battle for pole position was contested by McLaren and Red Bull but it was Mark Webber, not Sebastian Vettel, who got closest to the silver cars. He took provisional pole position with his final run, producing a lap of 1’12.581.
Both the McLaren drivers beat that with their last efforts, though there wasn’t much in it. Hamilton’s last run was a tenth of a second faster than Webber’s, and Button split the pair of them.
Vettel locked a wheel at turn four on his first lap, which left him behind Alonso initially. But his second run was better, and lifted him to fourth place.
Behind him came one of the Ferraris, but for the second race in a row it was Massa, not Alonso, who produced the quickest time. Alonso could only manage eighth, Maldonado and Hulkenberg separating him from his team mate, with Raikkonen ninth.
With Massa provisionally ahead of Alonso on the grid questions inevitably followed whether Ferrari would choose to incur a gearbox penalty on his car. Team principal Stefano Domenicali told Sky immediately after qualifying they would not.
Top ten in Q3
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’12.458 |
| 2 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’12.513 |
| 3 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1’12.581 |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1’12.760 |
| 5 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1’12.987 |
| 6 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1’13.174 |
| 7 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1’13.206 |
| 8 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1’13.253 |
| 9 | Kimi Raikkonen | Lotus-Renault | 1’13.298 |
| 10 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’13.489 |
2012 Brazilian Grand Prix
- Watching Brazil’s spellbinding F1 season finale
- Ferrari accepts FIA view on Vettel dispute
- FIA confirms Vettel’s pass on Vergne was legal
- F1 fans’ videos from the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix
- Top ten pictures from the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix
Image © Red Bull/Getty images
Hari (@hari) said on 24th November 2012, 18:29
A great pole lap from Hamilton yet only half-tenth faster than Button, don’t know where exactly Button lost the time. Last minute effort from Webber was paid off. Although Webber was saying that his focus is on his race tomorrow RBR will definitely be wanting him to help Vettel. Alonso was struggling in his car in comparison to Massa who was able to pull a couple of tenths out of his in the last few laps. Ferrari clearly denied that they have gone for any wet set-up. Really makes me wonder if it is Massa who’s improved his performance or is any of the new updates specific to Alonso’s car is making him work harder! The official F1 website predicts rain tomorrow, if that really happens then we are guaranteed for one of the epic races and championship battles in F1′s history!
HoHum (@hohum) said on 24th November 2012, 19:37
@hari, Webber can best help Vettel by being on the podium with the 2 McLarens.
Hari (@hari) said on 24th November 2012, 19:42
@hohum But the rain can change things.
Jason (@jason12) said on 24th November 2012, 22:15
If you mean anything can happen, you don’t even need rain for that.
Colm (@colm) said on 24th November 2012, 18:32
Christian Horner has to have broken the record for most interviews with the BBC at this stage. They always interview him at every GP!
S.J.M (@sjm) said on 24th November 2012, 18:55
I wonder if they might as well just do 1 interview with him and every time after just use that interview as ‘stock’ footage
John H (@john-h) said on 24th November 2012, 20:28
“Great job Christian” he says to himself after every one.
HoHum (@hohum) said on 24th November 2012, 19:39
@colm, Red Bull is not so much a drinks company as it is a marketing company, got to get that name and logo in front of as many people and as often as they can.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 24th November 2012, 19:54
@hohum I don’t understand why people complain about stuff like this. He’s the team principal of the outfit that’s just won the constructors’ championship for the third year in a row and his driver’s in the hunt for the drivers’ title as well. Of course BBC should be interviewing him. From what I’ve seen of their coverage they interview Marthin Whitmarsh and Stefano Domenicali often too.
Younger Hamii (@younger-hamii) said on 24th November 2012, 20:12
To add to what Keith was implying, Sky interview him as frequently as BBC do to say the least, so as much as i’m honestly perturbed with Horner constantly being interviewed by the broadcasters, it’s for comprehensive reasons, reasons which Keith mentioned in his comment.
HoHum (@hohum) said on 24th November 2012, 20:13
@keithcollantine, Absolutely, I totally agree, this is where the money for the racing comes from.
alexx_88 (@alexx_88) said on 24th November 2012, 20:20
What I don’t understand, and maybe people closer to BBC or Sky can shed some light on this: why is not Ferrari more present in their shows? I always see these big interviews with Martin Witmarsh or Christian Horner, no matter how good or bad their team has done in that event, but Ferrari didn’t appear much in the broadcasts until the closing stages of the season. I understand that they are based in Italy and RB and McLaren have lots of fans in the UK, but is that the only reason?
DaveF1 (@davef1) said on 24th November 2012, 21:40
I can only speak for Sky but Martin Brundle has done some really neat features with the Ferrari team this season.
However aside from that you are right that Ferrari not interviewed as often (and when they are it’s only ever Alonso) but I think its to do with the fact that they probably have something written down meaning that they do features with the Italian/Spanish media before the British.
I guess its also easier for communication as, aside from Rob Smedley, most of the major Ferrari staff have English as a second language while in Red Bull and McLaren, more of the top staff have it as their first.
HoHum (@hohum) said on 24th November 2012, 22:52
There is also a good chance that the Italian press get most of Ferraris time just by force of numbers.
infy (@infy) said on 25th November 2012, 2:23
Martin has said some horrid things about Alonso on live air, especially during the time when Alonso was fighting Lewis (Martins homey :P)
Since then, Alonso has pretty much blacklisted him. You can pickup on it during the gridwalks. Martin often hints at how Alonso will not speak to him.
Yobo01 (@yobo01) said on 24th November 2012, 18:32
About that missed weight check. I’m very surprised that they decided to do that with not much left in Q2. Maldonado was going into the pits, he had to change tyres and then try to get into Q3. That’s exactly what he did, but if he stopped for the weight check he probably wouldn’t have had a lot of time to do his job (I don’t know how much it takes to complete this kind of check, though).
It seems a bit unfair.
DT (@dt) said on 24th November 2012, 18:45
Hamilton has matched Vettel’s pole positions this year and if he wins the race tomorrow he would be at par with Vettel on race wins. If you include Spain then he would have been on pole and front row more than any driver this season. It’s a real shame his points doesn’t reflect that. He definitely should have been fighting for the championship this year. Whitmarsh will be answering some tough questions from key stakeholders.
Cosmas (@cosmas) said on 24th November 2012, 19:08
Hamilton has 7 pole positions (without that at Spain) VS 6 poles for Vettel.
If we hypothetical had the alternative points system with the medals (which once proposed) then in the scenario of both with 5 wins, Vettel still would be champion with 3x2nd places VS 0 for Hamilton.
DT (@dt) said on 24th November 2012, 19:46
cosmas you are right it’s. Whichever points system you use, i think vettel will still be in the lead. Hamilton’s pole and wins just goes to show how much points Maclaren has thrown away due to failures and pitstop errors
uan (@uan) said on 24th November 2012, 21:53
also shows that the RB8 isn’t necessarily the quickest car and the only thing giving an advantage to Vettel. Vettel is a very fast driver and qualifier. In fact, considering the pace in the McLaren last Saturday in Austin, Hamilton and Webber’s exchange about the quickness of the Redbull and then the pace Hamilton had in the race, I’d say Vettel’s pole last week was definitely down to the driver, not the car.
Mach1 (@mach1) said on 24th November 2012, 19:07
Ooooh that was my best prediction to date!!! Hamilton for pole with 01:12.453 only 5 thousands out :(
Great Qualifying, looking forward to tomorrow.
Anthony Bosley (@bosley) said on 24th November 2012, 21:07
It’d be good to see how the Mclarens perform tomorrow, since Lewis leads Jensen by only 10 points over their tally for their 3 year partnership.
Jason (@jason12) said on 24th November 2012, 22:29
Guess it’s fair to say the two have been neck and neck throughout the partnership :D
Vettel2 said on 24th November 2012, 23:18
So after all this big talk of Massa taking out Vettel in turn 1, sadly to say Vettel will just simply jump Webber at the start and maybe Jenson Button as well.
SafirXP (@safirxp) said on 25th November 2012, 2:03
Likely but those Ferraris are like dragsters. I’d be surprised if Seb’s ahead of Felipe at turn one. Other than the McLarens, the Hulkster & Felipe hold the key to the race & WDC. When it comes to rain, Lewis & Seb are both up there with Schumi! Can’t wait, gonna be an awesome race! I went through a whole pack of smokes last race. Guess it’ll be two packs this race! :)
infy (@infy) said on 25th November 2012, 2:27
If Massa does crash into Seb, he will undoubtedly be accused of doing it on purpose, even though his personality shows he would never do it.
Personally I’d be more worried about Vettel crashing into Alonso. Vettel is very hard to read.