I'm sure it escaped no one that the top three places on the grid went to three drivers fighting for their place in Formula 1 next season, Trulli and Heidfeld and three teams with uncertain futures.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the last time two Italians qualified on the front row of a Grand Prix was at the 1953 French Grand Prix when Alberto Ascari was on pole in a Ferrari 500 next to Felice Bonetto in a Maserati. Seems incredible, any historians out there?
Meanwhile, Button seems to have totally crumbled under pressure, despite his protestations to the contrary. Getting shellacked by Barrichello in the same car does not look too good for a potential champion.
The Mclarens are in trouble on a track with long fast corners but the real surprise is Red Bull who must be concerned about engines blowing up.
Raikkonen looks pretty racy, it will be interesting to see the qualifying weights later.
Check out Fisichella and Force India's historic lap.
Here are the weights, Force India is running light but so are Glock and Kubica, Barrichello is even lighter. Trulli, Raikkonen, Heidfeld and Webber are on the same strategy while Rosberg and Vettel are running heavy.
And here is the rest of it.
Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3
1. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:45.102 1:44.667 1:46.308
2. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:45.140 1:44.503 1:46.395
3. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:45.566 1:44.709 1:46.500
4. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:45.237 1:44.834 1:46.513
5. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:45.655 1:44.557 1:46.586
6. Raikkonen Ferrari (B) 1:45.579 1:44.953 1:46.633
7. Glock Toyota (B) 1:45.450 1:44.877 1:46.677
8. Vettel Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:45.372 1:44.592 1:46.761
9. Webber Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:45.350 1:44.924 1:46.788
10. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:45.486 1:45.047 1:47.362
11. Sutil Force India-Mercedes (B) 1:45.486 1:45.119
12. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:45.239 1:45.122
13. Alonso Renault (B) 1:45.767 1:45.136
14. Button Brawn-Mercedes (B) 1:45.707 1:45.251
15. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:45.761 1:45.259
16. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:45.705
17. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:45.951
18. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:46.032
19. Grosjean Renault (B) 1:46.307
20. Badoer Ferrari (B) 1:46.359
All Timing Unofficial
Here are the weights, Force India is running light but so are Glock and Kubica, Barrichello is even lighter. Trulli, Raikkonen, Heidfeld and Webber are on the same strategy while Rosberg and Vettel are running heavy.
Pos Driver Weight (kg)
1. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 648.0
2. Trulli Toyota 656.5
3. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber 655.0
4. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 644.5
5. Kubica BMW-Sauber 649.0
6. Raikkonen Ferrari 655.0
7. Glock Toyota 648.5
8. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 662.5
9. Webber Red Bull-Renault 658.0
10. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 670.0
11. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 678.5*
12. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 693.5*
13. Alonso Renault 684.4*
14. Button Brawn-Mercedes 694.2*
15. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 697.0*
16. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 685.0*
17. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 704.5*
18. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 706.1*
19. Grosjean Renault 704.7*
20. Badoer Ferrari 691.5*
* declared weight
And here is the rest of it.
This has the potential to become a very exciting and surprising race. Barrichello could win again, destroying Red Bull's hopes. It will be interesting to see if Fisichella can perform just as good during the race. And of course, Spa, the track itself, can always bring a few surprises.
ReplyDeleteI have NEVER seen F1 cars this fast at Spa, especially through Eau Rouge. They were exiting Eau Rouge at about 305-310KPH and are getting to 325-330kph top speed. Thats just balls fast.
ReplyDeleteSo remind be again, why don't we have two or three F1 races at Spa a year??? And why Bernie seems to ignore this track?
yeah and I'[m sure you all noticed that at the end of the Camel straight they are hitting the brakes at about 75 meters!!! that it just unreal.
ReplyDeleteCrazy change up in Q2 - I was surprised to see the McLarens so off-pace compared to the last race. However, I'm hopeful BMW pulls out a podium finish as it walks out the door, try and end on some high notes.
ReplyDeleteSo did Button just get a better car earlier in the season or what? He's really taken a hit on his performance the last few races and seems to be closer to his BAR Honda performances than Brawn earlier this season. If Red Bull pulls it together they could start to reel him in for the championship.
two issues with Button: 1, Pressure, 2. Brawn's big advantage at the start of the season because of their "creative" interpretation of the rules which allowed JB to build up such an advantage. Now Barrichello has figured out the car and others have caught up in speed....
ReplyDelete