A JOB WELL DONE FOR LEWIS. (OR NOT!)

My God, what a qualifying session that was! Just like the others before it this season, qualifying in Spain threw up some many unexpected grid positions and I'm finding it quite difficult to digest it all!

Looking at the front row Lewis Hamilton will be starting from the coveted pole position, despite not being fastest during the practice sessions. He was, however, consistently fast through all three qualifying sessions and, going in to Q3, seemed like the man to beat. This wasn't the big surprise of the day though. Pastor Maldonado is the man responsible for shocking and delighting Formula 1 fans the world over as he got his Williams car on to the front row; he'll be starting in 2nd. He experienced a hugely contrasting qualifying to his teammate Bruno Senna, who failed to make it through to Q2. As a result, he will start 18th on the grid.

Fernando Alonso didn't disappoint his home fans and proved that the updates Ferrari have introduced have been useful. Well for Alonso anyway as his teammate Massa starts in 17th. The Spaniard qualified 3rd; his best performance all season and where better to do it than in Spain. Fernando is a consistently great starter, see Spain 2011, so look out for him when the lights go out- he could climb his way in to the lead before the first corner. Lewis Hamilton will need to be on the throttle and get the best start possible if he is to avoid losing the lead. Maybe those folks at Red Bull can give him a drink to wake himself up...

Speaking of Red Bull I am definitely surprised at the grid positions Vettel and Webber achieved. They'll be starting from 8th and 12th respectively; something no one expected after they looked so strong on Friday and in FP3 on Saturday morning. Webber admitted that it was a team error that led to him not making it to Q3 as they thought his time would be safe enough to take him through. Sebastian Vettel, who was my pick for pole yesterday, did run in Q3 but didn't set a timed lap. This means he starts ahead of Schumacher and Kobayashi who didn't set timed laps either. All these drivers will benefit from fresher tyres, a factor which has proved to be crucial in how the race plays out. They may not be starting as high up as they'd like to but they must not be written off yet.

Experiencing a similar fate to Mark Webber is the pole-man's teammate Jenson Button. Interestingly enough, Hamilton had tipped Button to get pole position in Spain! Jenson complained of oversteer and then of understeer in his continuous battle to get to grips with his McLaren and despite seeming quite content with the set-up on Friday, Button just couldn't drive the McLaren as well as Lewis. He will be having words with his engineers tonight, I'm sure. Another note on McLaren; you probably noticed Lewis stopping after his flying lap. No confirmation has yet been given on what the problem is or what effect it will have on his race tomorrow but we do know that it is a technical issue.

Lotus seem to be getting better and better with their drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean qualifying 4th and 5th. They were in contention for the top slot but shouldn't be too disappointed with these positions. This pair are most definitely proving themselves to be the comeback kings! Starting behind the Lotus duo will be Sergio Perez. An impressive performance from the Mexican and his Sauber team means they have a great chance of picking up a lot of points on race day.

I told you it would be difficult to digest everything but I think I've covered the main points. There will be so much going on at the start of the race and so much to look out for throughout. Who will benefit from having newer tyres and who will suffer as a result of not? Can Fernando take the lead before the first corner? Can Maldonado convert a strong Saturday into a good points result tomorrow? And can Red Bull and Jenson Button bounce back from their lacklustre performances today? Could we have five different winners in five races?

There's no doubt about it; the unpredictability this season is set to rise and you'll only have to watch the race tomorrow to witness that! I'm sure everyone enjoyed qualifying as much as I did and I'm positive that all 66 laps of the Spanish GP will have us sitting on the edges of our seats. Expect more from me on the race tomorrow but until then, enjoy the rest of your Saturday! I can think of a couple of people over in Spain who definitely will!

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

(Image 1: BBC Sport, Images 2,3: dailymail.co.uk)


UPDATE: As I mentioned Lewis Hamilton stopped immediately after completing his timed qualifying lap with no reason given as to why! We now know that it was because the car didn't have enough fuel to drive back to the pits and give the required 1 litre fuel sample to the FIA. As a result, Hamilton and McLaren spent a lot of time with the stewards who have decided that there were no "technical issues" to blame, as Martin Whitmarsh suggested, and that Hamilton must be penalised. The penalty they chose is to exclude Lewis from Qualifying and he will therefore start the Spanish GP from the very back of the grid. Now doesn't that make things a lot more exciting and tense? It is definitely a harsh penalty but the rules are clear. Another thing that is clear; McLaren must sort out these issues that can and must be avoided if they are to contend for the Championships this year.

Hamilton's penalty means Pastor Maldonado gets a surprising pole position for Williams. He is also the first Venezuelan to ever get pole. Well done to him and the team!