Now That Is What I Call A Qualifying Session…

Normally I never post in this manner, but that qualifying session, only the second of the season was so exciting, that I had to put my hands on the key board. Here are the results, and let me be the first to admit I was on the edge of my seat. At one point it looked like Sebastian Vettel was doomed (he is a 3-time drivers champion, did I really think that, no but that’s the way it looked for a little while). Lewis Hamilton was about to turn the F1 world upside down -again- with pole (he had it provisionally after the first set of inters in Q3) and then we have a resurgent Felipe Massa , for the 4th time in a row he has out qualified one Fernando Alonso to start on the front row which has not happened since sometime in 2010…
Here is the starting order for Sunday’s race
Qualifying
Pos |
Driver |
|
Team |
Time |
|
1 | Vettel | Red Bull | 1’49.674 | ||
2 | Massa | Ferrari | 1’50.587 | ||
3 | Alonso | Ferrari | 1’50.727 | ||
4 | Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’51.699 | ||
5 | Webber | Red Bull | 1’52.244 | ||
6 | Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’52.519 | ||
7 | Räikkönen | Lotus | 1’52.970 | ||
8 | Button | McLaren | 1’53.175 | ||
9 | Sutil | Force India | 1’53.439 | ||
10 | Perez | McLaren | 1’54.136 | ||
11 | Grosjean | Lotus | 1’37.636 | ||
12 | Hülkenberg | Sauber | 1’38.125 | ||
13 | Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1’38.822 | ||
14 | Gutiérrez | Sauber | 1’39.221 | ||
15 | di Resta | Force India | 1’44.509 | ||
16 | Maldonado | Williams | – | ||
17 | Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1’38.157 | ||
18 | Bottas | Williams | 1’38.207 | ||
19 | Bianchi | Marussia | 1’38.434 | ||
20 | Pic | Caterham | 1’39.314 | ||
21 | Chilton | Marussia | 1’39.672 | ||
22 | van der Garde | Caterham | 1’39.932 |
What is the most exciting for me (and every other Ferrari, Fernando, and Felipe fan is that the car (the 138) looks genuinely fast. Take into account it’s race pace and Ferrari and Alonso and now it looks like Felipe as well are moving in the right direction. The race will be long and I have heard some talk about 4 stops. Notice Kimi Raikonen is starting 7th, was that not his starting position in Australia as well, hmm….
-jp- (and I can barely wait ’til Sunday)