Abu Dhabi GP – Qualifying: 5th!

Source: autosport.com | lotusf1team.com | twitter

A solid overall performance in qualifying at the Yas Marina Circuit this afternoon will see Kimi and Romain take up P5 / P10 respectively on the grid for tomorrow’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Summary

• Rapidly cooling conditions as the sun began to fade saw distinct track variations as the sessions progressed
• Both drivers graduated safely to the second phase without using the yellow marked soft compound Pirelli tyre
• Clean running for the pair throughout proceedings gave a good chance to test the pace of the E20 un-hindered
• The stewards have chosen to investigate Romain for an unsafe release in Q2; result pending

Kimi Räikkönen, E20-05

Position: Q1 – P9 / Q2 – P5 / Q3 – P5
Best Time: Q1 – 1:42.222 / Q2 – 1:41.532 / Q3 – 1:41.260
Laps Completed: Q1 – 8 / Q2 – 6 / Q3 – 6

Key Moments:
Q1 – 02mins: Puts in an early banker lap on fresh medium rubber
Q1 – 06mins: First competitive run; goes P2
Q1 – 14mins: Second stint; another set of new mediums
Q1 – 20mins: Progresses to Q2 in P9

Q2 – 00mins: Straight out on brand new soft tyres
Q2 – 03mins: Goes quickest with opening effort; knocked off shortly afterwards by his team-mate
Q2 – 10mins: Second stint on fresh soft rubber; again mixing it at the front
Q2 – 15mins: Chequered flag; takes P6 secure a place in Q3

Q3 – 00mins: Eager to hit the track; waits for the green light at the end of the pit-lane with a set of scrubbed softs
Q3 – 08mins: Impressive last gasp attempt to move firmly into the top five as the remaining cars crossed the line
Q3 – 10mins: Final result; P10 on the grid for the Finn

Pos  Driver                Team                 Time          Gap   
 1.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes     1m40.630s
 2.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault     1m40.978s  + 0.348
 3.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     1m41.073s  + 0.443
 4.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault     1m41.226s  + 0.596
 5.  Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault        1m41.260s  + 0.630
 6.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1m41.290s  + 0.660
 7.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1m41.582s  + 0.952
 8.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             1m41.603s  + 0.973
 9.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari              1m41.723s  + 1.093
10.  Romain Grosjean       Lotus-Renault        1m41.778s  + 1.148  
Q2 cut-off time: 1m41.907s                                   Gap **
11.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes 1m42.019s  + 1.118
12.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari       1m42.084s  + 1.183
13.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes 1m42.218s  + 1.317
14.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes             1m42.289s  + 1.388
15.  Bruno Senna           Williams-Renault     1m42.330s  + 1.429
16.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari       1m42.606s  + 1.705
17.  Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m42.765s  + 1.864
Q1 cut-off time: 1m43.582s                                    Gap *
18.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m44.058s  + 2.561
19.  Heikki Kovalainen     Caterham-Renault     1m44.956s  + 3.459
20.  Charles Pic           Marussia-Cosworth    1m45.089s  + 3.592
21.  Vitaly Petrov         Caterham-Renault     1m45.151s  + 3.654
22.  Timo Glock            Marussia-Cosworth    1m45.426s  + 3.929
23.  Pedro de la Rosa      HRT-Cosworth         1m45.766s  + 4.269
24.  Narain Karthikeyan    HRT-Cosworth         1m46.382s  + 4.885

Lotus team quotes:

Kimi Raikkonen – 5th: “Qualifying was good. The car hasn’t felt fantastic all weekend but we decided we weren’t going to change the car’s set-up from where it was for the last race. It was the right choice because in the end the circuit came to us in qualifying where the car was the best it has been so far here. We’ll give tomorrow our best shot; Let’s see if we can make a good start to get right behind the Red Bulls, and then we’ll see what happens after that.”

Romain Grosjean – 10th: “It wasn’t a great qualifying lap for me today, and P10 is not where we want to be on the grid. In the last run in Q3 I had no grip so wasn’t able to find more pace. The car had felt fine before that and we looked good through the other qualifying sessions. It just means I have some more work to do in the race and I think there’s more to come from me and the car.”