Sebastian Vettel gives first ever pole to Red Bull
Strong showing from Red Bull Racing drivers
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel has given the first ever pole position to Red Bull Racing during the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying session at the Shanghai International Circuit. The young German showed great pace and confidence at the wheel of the RB5 as he was fastest both in Q2 and Q3 with only one run.
Vettel clocked a best time of 1:36.184 and was followed by Renault’s Fernando Alonso (1:36.381) and team mate Mark Webber (1:36.466).
Brawn GP duo, Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button, finished fourth and fifth respectively ahead of Toyota’s Jarno Trulli (1:36.835), Williams’ Nico Rosberg (1:37.397), Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen (1:38.089), McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton (1:38.595) and Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi (1:39.321).
There were a few surprises during the qualifying session. BMW’s Robert Kubica struggled with the tyres – the Pole lamented poor grip even with the softer tyre compound – and got knocked out early in Q1, while team mate Nick Heidfeld in Q2. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa instead, failed for the second consecutive time to qualify to Q3. The Brazilian was able to come up only to P13.
Toyota’s Timo Glock managed to finish only 14th but following a gearbox change on his car after the final free practice earlier this morning, he will be given a five-place grid penalty.
2009 Chinese Grand Prix, Qualifying Session results:
| Pos. | No | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | Sebastian Vettel | RBR-Renault | 1:36.565 | 1:35.130 | 1:36.184 | 11 |
| 2 | 7 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 1:36.443 | 1:35.803 | 1:36.381 | 21 |
| 3 | 14 | Mark Webber | RBR-Renault | 1:35.751 | 1:35.173 | 1:36.466 | 19 |
| 4 | 23 | Rubens Barrichello | Brawn-Mercedes | 1:35.701 | 1:35.503 | 1:36.493 | 21 |
| 5 | 22 | Jenson Button | Brawn-Mercedes | 1:35.533 | 1:35.556 | 1:36.532 | 19 |
| 6 | 9 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 1:36.308 | 1:35.645 | 1:36.835 | 21 |
| 7 | 16 | Nico Rosberg | Williams-Toyota | 1:35.941 | 1:35.809 | 1:37.397 | 23 |
| 8 | 4 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:36.137 | 1:35.856 | 1:38.089 | 19 |
| 9 | 1 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:35.776 | 1:35.740 | 1:38.595 | 17 |
| 10 | 12 | Sebastien Buemi | STR-Ferrari | 1:36.284 | 1:35.965 | 1:39.321 | 21 |
| 11 | 6 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 1:36.525 | 1:35.975 | 14 | |
| 12 | 2 | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:36.646 | 1:36.032 | 10 | |
| 13 | 3 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:36.178 | 1:36.033 | 11 | |
| 14 | 10 | Timo Glock | Toyota | 1:36.364 | 1:36.066 | 14 | |
| 15 | 17 | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams-Toyota | 1:36.673 | 1:36.193 | 13 | |
| 16 | 11 | Sebastien Bourdais | STR-Ferrari | 1:36.906 | 10 | ||
| 17 | 8 | Nelsinho Piquet | Renault | 1:36.908 | 10 | ||
| 18 | 5 | Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber | 1:36.966 | 8 | ||
| 19 | 20 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 1:37.669 | 10 | ||
| 20 | 21 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India-Mercedes | 1:37.672 | 10 |
2014 F1 Australian Grand Prix
2014 F1 Brazilian Grand Prix Results