Webber scores maiden pole in Germany
Mark Webber has score his first pole position in qualifying for Sunday’s German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring.
Webber had looked strong in the free practice sessions and in an exciting qualifying session affected by intermittent rain he set a time of 1:32.230, beating Rubens Barrichello to the front of the grid by a bit over a tenth of a second.
Jenson Button will start third alongside local boy Sebastian Vettel on the second row.
After 132 Grands Prix this will be Mark Webber’s first time starting from the front of the grid and he is clearly fired up to continue the charge and win his first race:
This is a very special day for me. I’ve been close to getting pole a few times in the past, and now we’re here. The team has done a very good job; I’ve been quick all weekend, but we got really tested today. All the teams and drivers did in that second session – it was very chaotic.
But I’m now in a fantastic position to get my first win. Obviously the Brawns have had a strong season and will push us but we’re up for the fight – I certainly am – and I’m up for trying to win my first race.
McLaren didn’t quite produce the top three finish predicted by Eddie Jordan but a strong fifth and sixth place is a good result for the Woking based team. The German Grand Prix will be the last big push at developing the MP4-24 with the factory concentrating on next year’s car for the rest of the season.
While his team mate Heikki Kovalainen only had a new front wing, Lewis’s car also had a new diffuser which helped him to the top of the timesheets in free practice. From fifth on the grid Hamilton is eying a podium:
If it stays dry tomorrow then we’ll definitely be in a good position and we can shoot for the podium for sure. We could fight the Red Bulls even. I think it will probably be wet though.
Adrian Sutil will be one to watch if it rains. He produced Force India’s best ever qualifying result of seventh.
2009 Formula One German Grand Prix Qualifying Results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 01:32.230 |
| 2 | Rubens Barrichello | Brawn-Mercedes | 01:32.357 |
| 3 | Jenson Button | Brawn-Mercedes | 01:32.473 |
| 4 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 01:32.480 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 01:32.616 |
| 6 | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren-Mercedes | 01:33.859 |
| 7 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 01:34.316 |
| 8 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 01:34.574 |
| 9 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 01:34.710 |
| 10 | Nelson Piquet Jr | Renault | 01:34.803 |
| 11 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 01:42.310 |
| 12 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 01:42.318 |
| 13 | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams-Toyota | 01:42.500 |
| 14 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 01:42.771 |
| 15 | Nico Rosberg | Williams-Toyota | 01:42.859 |
| 16 | Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber | 01:32.190 |
| 17 | Sebastien Buemi | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 01:32.251 |
| 18 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India-Mercedes | 01:32.402 |
| 19 | Sebastien Bourdais | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 01:33.559 |
| 20 | Timo Glock | Toyota | 01:32.423 |
Update: Timo Glock drops to 20th after a 3 place penalty for blocking Alonso.
Image: Red Bull/Getty