British Grand Prix – Qualifying: P6 without KERS

Source: autosport.com | lotusf1team.com | twitter

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An incredible qualifying session for the British Grand Prix saw dry, intermediate and full wet conditions, a ninety minute break due to a waterlogged circuit and both E20s progressing to the top ten shoot out; but unfortunately only one taking a shot at pole.

Qualifying 1 – Key Moments:

0mins: Both drivers out on intermediate tyres; Kimi without the use of KERS
5mins: The team-mates nearly collide; very tight call with one of the Saubers
10mins: Kimi pits for fresh intermediates, emerging with 4mins remaining for a second run
20mins: Both progress to the second session; Kimi P12 Romain P8 at the flag

Qualifying 2 – Key Moments:

0mins: Full wets for both drivers; straight out of the box for initial runs
9mins: Red flags; intense rain stops the session. Green flags finally emerge after a 90min break; intermediates for Kimi and Romain
15mins: Kimi makes it through to Q3 in P7, Romain in P5; the latter spinning into the gravel on his final lap, thus being ruled out of the next phase

Qualifying 3 – Key Moments:

0mins: Kimi out on full wets, Romain in the garage; ineligible to take part
6mins: Pit stop; intermediates for the Finn in his final run
10mins: Chequered flag; Kimi takes P6, Romain confined to P10

Summary:

Impossibly tricky conditions for the pole position shoot out saw a mixture of tyre choices emerge as the drivers took to the track; Kimi opting for the full wet rubber.

Almost immediately it became clear that the intermediates were the faster choice; the Finn pitting for a fresh set of the green marked boots with three minutes remaining, providing just enough time for a final flying attempt.

A flurry of progressively faster times for every driver remaining in the fight brought a frantic end to the session. Kimi eventually brought his E20 home in sixth place – a fine performance given his lack of running on the intermediate tyres – with his team-mate of course remaining tenth after failing to set a lap.

• Raikkonen: Strategy limited potential

Pos--Driver----------------Team---------------Time----------Gap 
 1.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1m51.746s   
 2.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault     1m51.793s  + 0.047 
 3.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes             1m52.020s  + 0.274 
 4.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     1m52.199s  + 0.453 
 5.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari              1m53.065s  + 1.319 
 6.  Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault        1m53.290s  + 1.544 
 7.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault     1m53.539s  + 1.793 
 8.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes     1m53.543s  + 1.797 
 9.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes 1m54.382s  + 2.636 
10.  Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault        no time
Q2 cut-off time: 1m56.931s Gap **
11.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes 1m57.009s  + 2.112
12.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari       1m57.071s  + 2.174
13.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             1m57.108s  + 2.211
14.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m57.132s  + 2.235
15.  Bruno Senna           Williams-Renault     1m57.426s  + 2.529
16.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m57.719s  + 2.822
17.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari       1m57.895s  + 2.998
Q1 cut-off time: 1m47.105s Gap *
18.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1m48.044s  + 1.765
19.  Vitaly Petrov         Caterham-Renault     1m49.027s  + 2.748
20.  Heikki Kovalainen     Caterham-Renault     1m49.477s  + 3.198
21.  Timo Glock            Marussia-Cosworth    1m51.618s  + 5.339
22.  Pedro de la Rosa      HRT-Cosworth         1m52.742s  + 6.463
23.  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth         1m53.040s  + 6.761
24.  Charles Pic           Marussia-Cosworth    1m54.143s  + 7.864

Team Quotes:

Kimi Raikkonen – 6th: “We made a slightly wrong decision by using the full wet and I only had one lap in the restarted final qualifying session with the intermediates, otherwise I think it was possible to have gone faster. We also had a problem with the KERS which we tried to fix during the red flag break. We’re in sixth place, which is certainly not a disaster; but it could have been better. The weather makes it a bit tricky for everybody. It’s not easy, especially with the spray and this is even more difficult in race conditions when everyone is fighting for the same piece of track. On the plus side for the fans, it’s good fun to watch, even if it’s not the nicest weather if you’re in a grandstand.”