Formula 1

VETTEL NOW MEANS POLE POSITION!—

 

In wet conditions qualifying took place for the last race of the 2013 season.  Lewis Hamilton led the way with a 1:25.342 with Sebastian Vettel hot on his heels.  Jean-Eric Vergne needed to get out of the drop zone with his team mate, Daniel Ricciardo on the verge of falling into it.

Heikki Kovalainen who was filling in for Kimi Raikkonen at Lotus managed to set the fifth fastest time.

Out in Q1 were:  Pastor Maldonado,  Esteban Guterriez, Charles Pic, Giedo Van Der Garde  Jules Bianchi,  Max Chilton

Times got slower in Q2 as rain got heavier.  Vettel set a time of 1:26.515 with Nico Rosberg 0.111 seconds behind.

McLaren duo Jenson Button and Sergio Perez were struggling in Q2 whilst Felipe Massa was looking to go out on a high in his last qualifying with Ferrari.

With the session ended Perez spun hitting the wall in what was a disappointing way to end his time at McLaren.

Q2 losers were: Heikki Kovalainen, Paul Di Resta, Valterri Bottas, Sergio Perez, Jenson Button, Adrian Sutil

World Champion continued to dominate setting the pace in Q3, but Romain Grosjean and Mark Webber were looking to make a last ditch attempt for pole position.

With a minute remaining Rosberg was a second adrift from Vettel, but then Fernando Alonso managed to take second, before Rosberg took it back.

 

Pos Driver                Team                 Time          Gap   
 1. Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     1m26.479s
 2. Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             1m27.102s  +0.623s
 3. Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1m27.539s  +1.060s
 4. Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault     1m27.572s  +1.093s
 5. Lewis Hamilton        Mercedes             1m27.677s  +1.198s
 6. Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault        1m27.737s  +1.258s
 7. Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m28.052s  +1.573s
 8. Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m28.081s  +1.602s
 9. Felipe Massa          Ferrari              1m28.109s  +1.630s
10. Nico Hulkenberg       Sauber-Ferrari       1m29.582s  +3.103s
Q2 cut-off time: 1m27.441s                                   Gap **
11. Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault        1m27.456s  +1.295s
12. Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes 1m27.798s  +1.637s
13. Valtteri Bottas       Williams-Renault     1m27.954s  +1.793s
14. Sergio Perez          McLaren-Mercedes     1m28.269s  +2.108s
15. Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1m28.308s  +2.147s
16. Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes 1m28.586s  +2.425s
Q1 cut-off time: 1m27.209s                                    Gap *
17. Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault     1m27.367s  +2.025s
18. Esteban Gutierrez     Sauber-Ferrari       1m27.445s  +2.103s
19. Charles Pic           Caterham-Renault     1m27.843s  +2.501s
20. Giedo van der Garde   Caterham-Renault     1m28.320s  +2.978s
21. Jules Bianchi         Marussia-Cosworth    1m28.366s  +3.024s
22. Max Chilton           Marussia-Cosworth    1m28.950s  +3.608s