Source: autosport.com | lotusf1team.com | twitter
A good performance from Lotus F1 Team in Qualifying for the European Grand Prix saw both drivers make the top five for the second time this season; an encouraging sign with the strong race pace of the E20 sure to make for an interesting day on Sunday.
Qualifying 1 Summary:
Perfect conditions to kick off the first qualifying session as Kimi and Romain emerged for their first runs on fresh sets of the white marked medium compound Pirelli tyres.
Initial laps put the Finn and Frenchman into P2 and P4 respectively. Both E20s remained parked until the final few minutes as the times started to tumble.
Second stints on another new set of medium tyres saw the pair move through to the second phase of qualifying without having to use the soft compound.
Qualifying 2 Summary:
Scorching temperatures as the E20s joined the circuit for the second phase of qualifying, both drivers opting for the soft tyres.
First runs put the pair firmly in the top five as Kimi leads Romain round before returning to the garage to observe the competition.
With moments to spare, Romain emerged for a second run as the field bunched up to within thousandths of a second. Kimi remained boxed, confident that his initial attempt would be strong enough to progress.
The Frenchman produced a fantastic lap to clinch P1 as the chequered flag dropped. Both driver progressed to the grand finale; Kimi with two fresh sets of soft tyres to burn.
Qualifying 3 Summary:
After a tense second session which saw the field separated by thousands of a second, the pole position shoot out would prove relatively calm.
With two fresh sets of soft tyres available, Kimi made two attempts at hitting the front while Romain remained parked until the mid-point of running before emerging for a single flying effort.
The Frenchman made a small mistake on his hot lap, but nonetheless brought his E20 home in P4. Kimi’s second run was the stronger of his two efforts, with the Finn narrowly being shaded into P5 by his team-mate.
Pos--Driver---------------Team-----------------Time-----------Gap 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m38.086s 2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.410s + 0.324 3. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m38.475s + 0.389 4. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m38.505s + 0.419 5. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m38.513s + 0.427 6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m38.623s + 0.537 7. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m38.741s + 0.655 8. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m38.752s + 0.666 9. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m38.801s + 0.715 10. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m38.992s + 0.906 Q2 cut-off time: 1m38.703s Gap ** 11. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m38.707s + 0.218 12. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m38.770s + 0.281 13. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m38.780s + 0.291 14. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m39.207s + 0.718 15. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.358s + 0.869 16. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m40.295s + 1.806 17. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m40.358s + 1.869 Q1 cut-off time: 1m40.087s Gap * 18. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m40.203s + 1.378 19. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m40.395s + 1.570 20. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m40.457s + 1.632 21. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m42.171s + 3.346 22. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m42.527s + 3.702 23. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m42.675s + 3.850
Kimi Raikkonen – 5th: “It was very close in qualifying, especially in Q2, so it’s good to be fifth on the grid. The car felt good. If we could have improved just a little bit on my last lap then we could have gained a couple of places, but it is an improvement on last time out so I’m very happy with that. We found a few good things with the setup this morning to make the car easier to drive. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. The car usually goes well in the race when it’s hot, so let’s see what we can do.”
Romain Grosjean – 4th: “Today we got pretty much the most out of the car that we could have. P4 is a good position for the start of the race but of course you want always more and to do better. Sebastian did an unbelievable lap and today we could not have matched it. We have improved our qualifying performance but there is still room to do better. Tyre degradation will be more important than what we saw at the last race. There will be 57 laps in hot conditions on Sunday; we will see what we can do for a good race tomorrow.”
Alan Permane, Director of Trackside Operations:
Q. How do you assess today’s qualifying performance?
AP: “We’re very happy with today’s performance and both drivers have done an excellent job. Fourth and fifth positions on the grid are excellent places to start and we know the E20 has demonstrated very strong race pace at the majority of circuits this season. I’m sure tomorrow will be no exception.”
Q. Has there been a particular focus on qualifying this weekend?
AP: “We haven’t done anything radically different from our approach at previous grands prix. We’ve certainly had a smoother weekend so far than we did last time out in Montreal, and we seem well suited on the soft tyres. We’ve looked at the data and given greater consideration to qualifying pace, but our race preparations remain the same.”
Q. What are the strategy considerations for tomorrow?
AP: “We’ve come from much further back on the grid than P4 or P5 and finished very well, so we have good confidence heading into tomorrow’s race. That said, overtaking is very difficult here even with DRS, so we’re not expecting an easy race from that perspective. It’s likely to be a very hot race which will give the tyres a hard time and we’re confident in those conditions. It’s open for a one, two, or three stop strategy tomorrow, so let’s see what happens.”
FUCK ISRAEL 
Nice….i’d be dissappointed without a podium…
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