Japan GP Qualifying

First off, let me apologize for the massive delay in the qualifier report. I managed to stay awake till shortly after 2 am (when qualifier was over) but the moment that the computer sat in front of me, the mind went blank and sleep started to set in.  I apologize...

Q1 started off with one of the best sights that I could personally think of.  Jarno Trulli being first on the track, the audience was able to see his complete installation lap from the on board camera. I know that there are many people that do not think of Trulli in the same way I do (Responsabilità e Coraggio). Yet we have to agree that when a back marker gets any airtime, it's a great thing.

Within 10 minutes of Q1, the media were already rueing tyre ware.Causing Pirelli to jump to immediately launching into a forum asking the fans how they would like qualifier to run. (Make sure that you check it out and comment!) But the biggest surprise in Q1 was that Rosberg did not manage to post any time. It was said that he had mechanical issues and was only able to preform and outlap and immediately pitted.

For a delight to all the local fans, Kamui Kobayashi went out on a late lap and secured himself P1 coming out of first qualifier. As all the top teams and drivers pitted, there were two men still on track. Timo Glock and Jérôme d'Ambrosio.  The Virgin's were on a team vs. team shoot out for P20 and P21. d'Ambrosio managed to take P20 from his teammate with 0.068 of a second quicker time.

Q2 started with an onboard with Sutil. But unlike Q1, Q2 was now where near as exciting... One thing that I did notice was the fact that on a close up of Brunno Senna, you can see the fighting spirit of his uncle Ayrton, in his eyes.  And when the camera's looked over the back of the black and gold Renault, with the yellow helmet / green strip sitting in the cockpit, there were flashes of the 1986 F1 season coming to mind.

Again, in the final seconds of Q2, Kobayashi pleased his home country crowd by making it into the top 10 shootout.

Q3 proved only one thing. Either that tyre ware was a much larger issue amongst the teams (as only 6 drivers set times) or that qualifier really does not count anymore.

Sebastian Vettel	P1
Jenson Button	P2  Fan's Choice To Win
Lewis Hamilton	P3
Felipe Massa	P4
Fernando Alonso	P5
Mark Webber	P6
Kamui Kobayashi	P7
Michael Schumacher	P8
Bruno Senna	P9
Vitaly Petrov	P10
Adrian Sutil	P11
Paul di Resta	P12
Rubens Barrichello	P13
Pastor Maldonado	P14
Sébastien Buemi	P15
Jaime Alguersuari	P16
Sergio Perez	P17
Heikki Kovalainen	P18
Jarno Trulli	P19
Jérôme d'Ambrosio	P20
Timo Glock	P21
Daniel Ricciardo	P22
Nico Rosberg	P23
Vitantonio Liuzzi	P24