Formula 1 News

Australian GP, Qualifiers: Lewis Hamilton on pole 

On the first qualifying session of 2008 season, Lewis Hamilton confirmed McLaren’s good pace and got the pole for Sunday’s race at Albert Park. BMW’s Robert Kubica, despite a slight mistake on his launched lap, got an excellent second place. The Polish driver was followed by Heikki Kovalainen on third, Felipe Massa on fourth, Nick Heidfeld on fifth and Jarno Trulli on sixth. Last year’s World Champion Kimi Raikkonen had a fuel pressure problem during Q1 and was forced to stop the session while Fernando Alonso struggled with his R28 and got knocked-out on Q2.

Q1: Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Bourdais is the first to get on the track. The French rookie, after two launched laps clocks a lap time of 1’27”446 and takes the temporary lead. Ten minutes later, Nico Rosberg takes the lead with 1’26”886. Six minutes before the end of Q1, the two Ferraris get on track. The Finn, manages to get the fifth time but his car starts to slow down while heading to the pits. Raikkonen’s F2008 halts before the pitlane’s start line and as per regulations he’s not allowed to continue the qualifyng session. Later on, Ferrari’s Press Officier Luca Colajanni, says that the Finn had a problem with the fuel pressure system. Drivers out in Q1: Fisichella, Bourdais, Sutil, Sato, Piquet jr and Davidson.

Q2: Sebastian Vettel gets on track and shows his great pace with a couple of fast laps. Eight minutes before the end of Q2, Mark Webber goes off the track and causes a red flag. Apparently, the Australian had a problem with RB4′s front right brake. As the session resumes, Hamilton takes the lead. Sebastian Vettel gets the sixth time and escapes the knock-out zone. Double World Champion Fernando Alonso confirms that Renault is still too slow as he gets only the 12th time. Drivers out in Q2: Barrichello, Alonso, Button, Nakajima, Webber, Raikkonen.

Q3: An oil pump problem prevents Vettel from taking part in Q3, leaving the German 10th. Hamilton gets on track and takes the provisional pole ahead of Massa, Kovalainen. Later on, the Briton improves his time and snatches the pole position. Robert Kubica gets the second place, Kovalainen the third, Massa the fourth.

Australian GP Final Qualifiers Standings:

(Pos – Driver – Team – Q1 – Q2 – Q3 – Laps)

1. Hamilton – McLaren-Mercedes – 1:26.572 – 1:25.187 – 1:26.714 – 14
2. Kubica – BMW Sauber – 1:26.103 – 1:25.315 – 1:26.869 – 15
3. Kovalainen – McLaren-Mercedes – 1:25.664 – 1:25.452 – 1:27.079 – 13
4. Massa – Ferrari – 1:25.994 – 1:25.691 – 1:27.178 – 12
5. Heidfeld – BMW Sauber – 1:25.960 – 1:25.518 – 1:27.236 – 16
6. Trulli – Toyota – 1:26.427 – 1:26.101 – 1:28.527 – 17
7. Rosberg – Williams-Toyota – 1:26.295 – 1:26.059 – 1:28.687 – 21
8. Coulthard – Red Bull-Renault – 1:26.381 – 1:26.063 – 1:29.041 – 18
9. Glock – Toyota – 1:26.919 – 1:26.164 – 1:29.593 – 17 *
10. Vettel – Toro Rosso-Ferrari – 1:26.702 – 1:25.842 – no time – 18
11. Barrichello – Honda – 1:26.369 – 1:26.173 – / – 13
12. Alonso – Renault – 1:26.907 – 1:26.188 – / – 10
13. Button – Honda – 1:26.712 – 1:26.259 – / – 13
14. Nakajima – Williams-Toyota – 1:26.891 – 1:26.413 – /- 13
15. Webber – Red Bull-Renault – 1:26.914 – no time – / – 8
16. Raikkonen – Ferrari – 1:26.140 – no time – / – 3
17. Fisichella – Force India-Ferrari – 1:27.207 – / – / – 9
18. Bourdais – Toro Rosso-Ferrari – 1:27.446 – / – / – 10
19. Sutil – Force India-Ferrari – 1:27.859 – / – / – 9
20. Sato – Super Aguri-Honda – 1:28.208 – / – / – 9
21. Piquet – Renault – 1:28.330 – / – / – 6
22. Davidson – Super Aguri-Honda – 1:29.059 – / – / – 9

* five-place grid penalty for changing gearbox + five-place grid penalty for blocking Webber