2008 Chinese Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton takes crucial pole position
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton took his seventh seasonal pole position – 13th career pole – for Sunday’s 2008 Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit. The Briton clocked a best time of 1:36.303, preceding by 0.342 seconds Kimi Raikkonen’s F2008 (1:36.645) and by 0.586 Felipe Massa’s (1:36.889). Fourth place, behind the two Ferraris, for Renault’s Fernando Alonso (1:36.927) ahead of McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen (1:36.930).
Red Bull’s Mark Webber managed to clock the sixth time but following an engine change, he will drop ten-places and will start tomorrow’s race from the 16th spot. BMW’s Nick Heidfeld beat this time his teammate and clocked the 7th time (sixth on Sunday’s grid after Webber’s penalty) ahead of Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel (1:37.685), Toyota’s Jarno Trulli (1:37.934) and Sebastien Bourdais (1:38.885).
Championship contender Robert Kubica had a disappointing qualifying as he struggled with his car’s setup through qualifying and got knocked out in Q2 failing to enter Q3. The Pole clocked the 12th time, but will be able to climb up to 11th after Webber’s engine change penalty.
2008 Chinese Grand Prix, Qualifying Session results:
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:35.566 | 1:34.947 | 1:36.303 | 15 |
| 2 | 1 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:35.983 | 1:35.355 | 1:36.645 | 15 |
| 3 | 2 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:35.971 | 1:35.135 | 1:36.889 | 16 |
| 4 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 1:35.769 | 1:35.461 | 1:36.927 | 18 |
| 5 | 23 | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:35.623 | 1:35.216 | 1:36.930 | 16 |
| 6 | 10 | Mark Webber* | Red Bull-Renault | 1:36.238 | 1:35.686 | 1:37.083 | 19 |
| 7 | 3 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 1:36.224 | 1:35.403 | 1:37.201 | 17 |
| 8 | 15 | Sebastian Vettel | STR-Ferrari | 1:35.752 | 1:35.386 | 1:37.685 | 16 |
| 9 | 11 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 1:36.104 | 1:35.715 | 1:37.934 | 19 |
| 10 | 14 | Sebastien Bourdais | STR-Ferrari | 1:36.239 | 1:35.478 | 1:38.885 | 18 |
| 11 | 6 | Nelsinho Piquet | Renault | 1:36.029 | 1:35.722 | 12 | |
| 12 | 4 | Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber | 1:36.503 | 1:35.814 | 14 | |
| 13 | 12 | Timo Glock | Toyota | 1:36.210 | 1:35.937 | 16 | |
| 14 | 17 | Rubens Barrichello | Honda | 1:36.640 | 1:36.079 | 15 | |
| 15 | 7 | Nico Rosberg | Williams-Toyota | 1:36.434 | 1:36.210 | 15 | |
| 16 | 9 | David Coulthard | Red Bull-Renault | 1:36.731 | 7 | ||
| 17 | 8 | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams-Toyota | 1:36.863 | 9 | ||
| 18 | 16 | Jenson Button | Honda | 1:37.053 | 9 | ||
| 19 | 20 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Ferrari | 1:37.730 | 9 | ||
| 20 | 21 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India-Ferrari | 1:37.739 | 9 |
*: Driver will drop ten places (16th) following an engine change
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