Aug 27, 2011
Red Bull Racing have kept their 100% pole record in 2011 as Sebastian Vettel starts in P1 tomorrow at the Belgian Grand Prix – with Mark Webber right behind him in P2.
Amid changing conditions, and occasional ontrack chaos, the team and drivers remained calm, composed and focussed.
As you’d expect in the Ardennes it was an eventful qualifying session in which the weather paid almost as much a part as the drivers.
Christian said afterwards: “It was like playing roulette with the weather at different stages and it was crucial to be on the track at the right time on the right tyre. We made the right calls as a team today. It was a phenomenal lap from Seb for pole and Mark was right there as well, having been quick throughout the weekend.”
First to run out of luck (sadly as it’s 20 years ago this year since his debut here) was Michael Schumacher who hit the barriers and ended his afternoon before most cars had left the pits. Sad also for Jérôme d'Ambrosio who (theoretically) may not start his home race as his Q1 qualifying time was outside the 107% time of Jenson Button. The HRT drivers of Tonio Liuzzi and Daniel Ricciardo were also not quick enough to qualify, but there would be good claim for all of them to run given the conditions and previous runs.
Button’s Q1 finish was also a false dawn – he made 13th quickest and missed the Q3 cut. Q2 also saw a coming together of Hamilton and Maldonado which left the Williams driver unable to continue, while Lewis went on to split our drivers.
Apart from Sebastian and Mark, special mention goes to Jaime Alguersuari who not only made it to Q3, but will also start sixth – his best qualifying result in Formula One. And also to Bruno Senna. After a less than glorious Friday, his seventh place on the grid and bettering of his team-mate is far from unspectacular.
Tomorrow’s forecast is, so far, sunny intervals (As Seb said the only way to get an accurate forecast here is to look up at the sky). Whatever the weather it’s Spa, so the grand prix and its outcome is far from a racing certainty.
Credit: Red Bull Racing Formula one Team (www.redbullracing.com)
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