Completing the front row is Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi; a surprise result but not so much when you consider how fast Sauber have been all weekend! Even though practice yesterday was a washout and we never got to learn much, Sauber did still look strong and that continued in the dry in FP3 this morning. This marks Sauber's best ever Qualifying result and their first ever front row start! The team's hard work is clearly paying off and their great 2012 season is only getting better. Could they take yet another podium tomorrow? I see no reason why not!
Maldonado also had a strong session, indicated by his third place starting position compared to teammate Bruno Senna's 17th place start. We have seen strong Qualifying displays from Maldonado on several occasions now but it is his failure to convert those good starts into points that seems to be the problem at the moment. He will need to have a clean race from start to finish if he is to silence a few of his critics and prove his win in Barcelona wasn't just a 'fluke'. Overtaking is very possible in Spa so there is a chance he may get involved in an 'incident' or two. Let's hope that won't be the case...
UPDATE: Maldonado has a three place grid penalty for blocking Nico Hulkenberg during Qualifying meaning he starts the race from sixth; right in front of Lewis Hamilton.
The biggest surprise of the day, for me anyway, came from Sebastian Vettel. The German failed to make it through to Q3 by one-hundredth of a second! I'm sure the small margin would have made it much more painful. He said that there were no mistakes in his lap meaning that the car just did not have the pace required around this Spa circuit. His teammate Mark Webber, who qualified seventh but slips down 5 places for a gearbox change penalty, shared these sentiments. Their comments were slightly odd as there had been a lot of talk about Red Bull sacrificing downforce for straight-line speed for this race at Spa; something that suits sectors 1 and 3 of the circuit much more. Their race pace may be better than their pace over a single lap and Sebastian will be able to start the race on the tyre of his choice meaning the team will be able to dictate their own strategy so Red Bull's weekend isn't over yet! We still have to see what the team can do and whether they can optimise their own performance to retain a comfortable championship lead.
Lewis Hamilton also had a Qualifying to forget by his standards as he qualified in eighth place. He had gone for a different setup to pole sitter Button as he opted for higher downforce to benefit him in sector 2 of the circuit but he said the reason for the substantial difference was that he was running an older wing specification. He had tried the newer version but decided to change back to the version he was more comfortable with; something he may now regret!
Lotus had been hot favourites for pole and many had predicted that Kimi Raikkonen could get the first pole position of his F1 comeback this weekend. Sadly, it was not to be for the team that has already made significant progress this season. Instead Kimi qualified in 4th and Romain in 9th. both drivers move up by 1 place thanks to Maldonado's and Webber's penalties respectively! The result may not be what the team expected but I think they're probably used to that considering the way this season has been going so far.
So tomorrow's race is shaped up to be a thrilling one! So much will happen, as it always does in Spa, in the 44 laps and you can expect plenty of overtaking and position swapping.
Predictions? I'll choose Jenson for the win but the other two podium spots will be fought for and what a pleasure that will be to watch!
Aqsa, @aqsasformula
(Image 1&2)
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