Qualifying at the Nürburgring

The green lights came on for Q1 and it seemed that many of the drivers were in no hurry to get out on track as most of the were walking around in their respective pits. That was until Force India's Paul di Resta took to the track followed by Marussia's Jules Bianchi. Who was swiftly followed by teammate Max Chilton.

Five minutes in and only one driver had set a time (which soon changed). But there was still no movement within the top teams garages. As that thought passed, Nico Rosberg joined the racetrack for a run.

The talk during Q1 was all about tyres and possible outcomes. Off of last weekends tyre issues, Pirelli took the week to create and manufacture over 1000+ tyres and brand new compounds. They certainly did not want a repeat of Silverstone. Some teams took the opportunity to poke fun at the whole situation, but Pirelli was taking it quite serious. After what Bridgestone ended up preparing for Formula one (tyres that certainly did not need to be changed during the race out of ware, only out of regulations). And so, Pirelli sent out their new tyres with a warning that all could see.

With five minutes left, the Red Bulls finally made it on track. Bring close to a busy first segment and here is the all-important elimination list:

17) Valtteri Bottas 1:31.693s
18) Pastor Maldonado 1:31.707s
19) Charles Pic 1:32.937s
20) Jules Bianchi 1:33.063s
21) Giedo van der Garde 1:33.734s
22) Max Chilton 1:34.098s

It was a tight end to Q1 for McLaren's Sergio Perez and it was only after the flag fell that he posted a time to get him through. Looking back at Silverstone, five out of the six dropped driver's qualified the exact same position here at the Nürburgring. Only Maldonado qualifying lower in Germany than Great Britain.

Q2 started and within four minutes, all the drivers were out on track. All but the Red Bulls and McLarens. Seven minutes left and the McLarens made it out on track, making the track come alive and looking to cause a bit of traffic with most of the driver's bunched together. 

As Q2 starting coming to and end, the track temperature crested the 40 degrees mark, making for better runs for the Lotus' and the Ferrari's. It seemed that when the Red Bull boys heard that, they put their foot down. Immediately setting a time for a one - three. But that did not last long. Ferrari came up with a one - two. And by the end of Q2, Räikkönen had set himself comfortably between the pair of Ferrari's.

As the checkered flag waived, huge disappointment in the Mercedes pits as Hamilton made it through to the top ten shoot out but the team was too late and Rosberg (the hometown hopeful) was pushed out of the top ten. 

An amazing end to the segment as one of the potential polesitters is dramatically kicked out of the session!

11) Nico Rosberg 1:30.326s
12) Paul di Resta 1:30.697s
13) Sergio Perez 1:30.933s
14) Esteban Gutiérrez 1:31.010s
15) Adrian Sutil 1:31.010s
16) Jean-Éric Vergne 1:31.104s

The Top Ten Shootout and nine of the ten drivers were out on track setting times within the first three minutes. Looking at the possibilities, the temperature predicts that the Lotus or a Ferrari will get pole (and within the Ferrari garage, Massa has been consistently faster than Alonso all weekend) but not one single driver is going to let the temperature hamper their times. 

But as the time ticked by, only five of the ten drivers had posted a time. But as it always happens, with only two minutes left on the clock, all the drivers were out on track, setting up to be the last across the line once the flag waives. 

Eight of the ten driver's managed to make it across the line before the time ran out. Unfortunately though, for McLaren's Button and Sauber's Hülkenberg set no time and thus, will start in P9 and P10 respectively.

So it's Hamilton versus the Red Bulls, with the Lotus drivers ready to pick up the pieces, while the Ferraris and Rosberg are further down the order.

But all in all, it is set to be a fantastic race tomorrow at the Nürburgring!

Lewis Hamilton	P1
Sebastian Vettel	P2
Mark Webber	P3
Kimi Räikkönen	P4
Romain Grosjean	P5
Daniel Ricciardo	P6
Felipe Massa	P7
Fernando Alonso	P8
Jenson Button	P9
Nico Hülkenberg	P10
Nico Rosberg	P11
Paul di Resta	P12
Sergio Perez	P13
Esteban Gutiérrez	P14
Adrian Sutil	P15
Jean-Éric Vergne	P16
Valtteri Bottas	P17
Pastor Maldonado	P18
Charles Pic	P19
Jules Bianchi	P20
Giedo van der Garde	P21
Max Chilton	P22