Girls Like F1 Too!: Qualifying At Shanghai International Circuit

The 2012 season has not only been a complete turn around for the teams and drivers but for the fans at home. Being in Canada, we do not have any issues with Formula One coverage (Sky vs. BBC) but there is still something wrong. Though the coverage remains nearly the same , the commentators are wrong. I like turning on the television and enjoying the talking as much as the driving. With the 2012 season, the voices are all wrong. I miss David Coulthard and Martin Brundle getting into discussions that have absolutely nothing to do with the race (case in point being the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix and being so focused on the Red-winged Black Bird). This year, it is all about the racing. With that being said, let's get back to qualifier.

Q1 and normally we are able to see the back-marker teams out on track but with the issues at Ferrari, Felipe Massa was out on track within the first 5 minutes. With Ferrari out so early, many of the other teams were sending out their drivers. 15 minutes into Q1 and the stewards were set to investigating an incident between Williams' Pastor Maldonado and Caterham's Heikki Kovalainen after the Caterham complained that their driver was blocked by the Venezuelan.

Eddie Jordan puts it best: "I just don't understand how one of three new teams hasn't made a move. If you look at Caterham and Timo Glock in particular at Marussia, they just need to find more speed."

Q2 and Kobayashi wasted no time and was right out onto track to set a time. With Sauber being on the up (due to a second place finish for Perez in Malaysia) the team and drivers were out to set themselves a very competitive time.

With 6 minutes left in Q2, Vettel was hear on the radio asking the team if he were able to come in. His team advised him to stay out and get a quicker lap, which we were all able to see had no affect on his position. Once the flag fell and times kept coming in, the world witnessed the youngest ever, double world champion, slowly find himself on the outside of the top ten. Ending his qualifying at the Shanghai International Circuit in P11, Sebastian Vettel was show up by his teammate Mark Webber (who ended Q2 in P1).

When asked what had happened, Vettel responded, "It was not good enough, it’s that simple. There was nothing fundamentally wrong and I felt pretty comfortable in the car, but the last couple of tenths didn’t drop and this is the result. Regrettably, it wasn’t enough."

Q3 and it turned in to a true shoot out. All the driver's were on track fighting for pole position. All of the laps and drivers were looking good and when Rosberg completed his 'perfect lap', everyone knew it was over. With just over two minutes left on Q3, Nico Rosberg was out of his Mercedes and heading down the pit lane by himself to the FIA weighing area. As Lewis Hamilton finished second fastest he is demoted because of his five-place penalty, Schumacher will move up for an all-Mercedes front row. Making it Mercedes first pole position since they returned to the sport and first since 1955. Well done Rosberg!

Ross Brawn on the Mercedes front row lock out: "It's very good, a fantastic achievement. At the back of our mind, we know we've got to put the race together on Sunday. It was an exceptional lap from Nico. He's not had a great first couple of races. We saw today what he can do. His middle sector was incredible. Michael's lap was very good. We backed off when we realised his place was safe [for second] because of Lewis' penalty. We wanted to save a set of tyres."


Nico Rosberg	P1
Michael Schumacher	P2
Kamui Kobayashi	P3
Kimi Räikkönen	P4
Jenson Button	P5 Fan's Choice To Win
Mark Webber	P6
Lewis Hamilton	P7
Sergio Perez	P8
Fernando Alonso	P9
Romain Grosjean	P10
Sebastian Vettel	P11
Felipe Massa	P12
Pastor Maldonado	P13
Bruno Senna	P14
Paul di Resta	P15
Nico Hulkenberg	P16
Daniel Ricciardo	P17
Jean-Eric Vergne	P18
Heikki Kovalainen	P19
Vitaly Petrov	P20
Timo Glock	P21
Charles Pic	P22
Pedro de la Rosa	P23
Narain Karthikeyan	P24