The Brazilian Grand Prix - Qualifying

With the two previous practice sessions troubled by rain, it was looking set to be a great qualifying session.

It was always going to be an emotional affair, with fairwells being said to Felipe Massa from Ferrari, Sergio Perez from Mclaren, Pastor Maldonado from Williams, Daniel Ricciardo from Torro Rosso and of course Mark Webber from Red Bull and the sport in his final qualifying session in Formula 1.

We also say goodbye to an initially unwanted but ultimately lovable old friend; the 2.4litre naturally-aspirated V8 engine. Brought in to replace the screaming V10's of the 90's and early-mid 2000's, the Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying is the last time we will hear these V8 engines in anger, as well as it being the last time an engine will exceed 15,000rpm for potentially a long time. May these engines rest in peace, with the high-pitched concerto marking the end of an era.

QUALIFYING 1:

The weather forecast showed that the conditions should remain relatively constant, although this wasn't to be...

 The conditions were such that intermediates were the order of the session, with some dry patches developing around the circuit. Because this was the last race of the year, people were a little more care-free with their engines, allowing their drivers to queue for longer at the end of the pit-lane than usual. Hamilton was heading the queue in front of the two Caterhams, with Kovalainen not far behind. In an effort to make the most of the conditions, Bianchi forced his way out in front of Kovalainen, pushing the Finn towards the pit-wall in haste. 

Hamilton topped the time-sheets early in the session. Red bull held off for a couple of minutes after the green light before venturing out, which initially looked to be a mistake, with the track only getting wetter. Vettel managed to stay within a tenth of Hamilton, while Webber was held up by Alonso on his first quick lap, putting him near the dropzone, however he managed to pull it together and get back up into provisional 9th place

A few minutes in, the intensity of the rain increased, and for a while it looked as though the best of the conditions had passed. Few managed to improve; most attention was of course to the latter-midfield places at the cusp of the dropzone, with Gutierrez and Vergne looking in danger at points during the session. Grosjean found himself held up by a wandering Marussia in the middle sector, signalling his disapproval with a hand gesture, whilst team-mate Kovalainen was held up by van der Garde, and then later held up by Charles Pic, hampering Kovalainen's efforts to get convincingly clear from the dropzone. Eventually Kovalainen managed to get away from the bottom 6, but not by much, getting up to provisional 14th. 

During the typical lull before the final hot laps of the session, with around 7 minutes to go, Gutierrez made the most of the clear track, staying out but not improving, remaining a little over a second down from his personal best.  The rain intensity dropped with around 4 minutes remaining, but the damage to most was done; Both Vergne and Gutierrez improved, for Gutierrez it wasn't enough, and he was out of qualifying for the weekend, joined by Maldonado, who had been pushed down by Vergne's advancement. 

Drivers Eliminated:

Pos.	Driver	Team	Time
17.	Pastor Maldonado	Williams Renault	1m 27.367s
18.	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber Ferrari	1m 27.445s
19.	Charles Pic	Caterham Renault	1m 27.843s
20.	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham Renault	1m 28.320s
21.	Jules Bianchi	Marussia Cosworth	1m 28.366s
22.	Max Chilton	Marussia Cosworth	1m 28.950s

QUALIFYING 2:

The Mercedes both head the way at the end of the pitlane, with Rosberg in front of Hamilton, a good half a minute before the green light. The rain was constant, but showed potential to worsen, so it made sense to get a lap in the bag just in case. 

With around 12 minutes remaining, Vettel set the early pace with a 1:26.515, a tenth clear of Nico Rosberg, with another four-tenth gap to Lewis Hamilton. Shortly afterwards, Webber, despite seeming to have little grip, displaced Hamilton, moving him down to 4th. 

Two minutes later, as the rain steadily fell, Adrian Sutil showed signs of struggling through the Senna 'S', having a bit of a tail-out moment. To the team's relief, he managed to regain control. Kovalainen also had a bit of a moment, getting two wheels on the grass through the Curva do Laranjinha, but again managing to keep his head. Moments later, Di Resta got crossed up on the way into Bico de Pato, confirming speculation that Force India were running a lower downforce configuration in the hope for a dry race the following day. 

Ferrari's form in the last few races has been lacklustre, reinforcing the opinion that the team's focus has shifted to 2014. Halfway through Q2, Alonso and Massa were in provisional 6th and 9th respectively, seemingly struggling for traction on corner-exit.

Hulkenberg found himself in provisional 16th before entering the pits for some fresh rubber. Around two minutes later, Lotus had their two cars queued in the pitlane to fit fresh rubber, ready for a renewed assult with the belief of heavier rain approaching the circuit. With four minutes remaining, Vettel managed to pull a further half a tenth clear of Rosberg, while Felipe Massa managed to pull himself up to 6th with a good first sector. 

Hulkenberg, with his fresh tyres, improved on his time but not by much, putting himself up into the provisional top ten. With two minutes to go, Romain Grosjean surprised by putting his car on provisional pole by a notable three-tenths. 

By this stage, both the Mclarens were in trouble having opted to run lower downforce, with Perez and Button occupying 14th and 15th respectively, ruing the decision to save tyre through the course of the preceding practice sessions. The rain intensified, and it was looking bleak; first to cross the line was Jensen Button, who failed to improve. At almost the same moment, team-mate Perez made sure he wasn't going to improve by giving it too much, dipping a wheel on the kerb through the exit of turn 5 and putting his Mclaren into the wall. a smashed front wing and badly damaged right front and rear suspension was the net consequence. This brought out the yellow flags and effectively ended the session.

Drivers Eliminated:

Pos.	Driver	Team	Time
11.	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Renault	1m 27.456s
12.	Paul di Resta	Force India Mercedes	1m 27.798s
13.	Valtteri Bottas	Williams Renault	1m 27.954s
14.	Jenson Button	Mclaren Mercedes	1m 28.269s
15.	Sergio Perez	Mclaren Mercedes	1m 28.308s
16.	Adrian Sutil	Force India Mercedes	1m 28.586s

QUALIFYING 3:

The start of Q3 was delayed as the marshals cleared the wreck of Perez's Mclaren. As they did so, the rain got heavier, drenching the track and delaying the session further. By the start of the session, the track had been allowed to drain but was still treacherous enough to need the wet tyre.

This time it was Red Bull who were most impatient, with both Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel first to queue. The Torro Rosso, figuring that Red Bull might know something they didn't, sent out Daniel Ricciardo to complete the queue. Once the green light was given, Hulkenberg followed the trio out less than half a minute later. 

Webber was first to cross the line with a 1:29.215, with Vettel following and knocking nearly half a second off. Grosjean decided not to complete his lap and immediately pitted for intermediates; Red Bull followed suit shortly after. Rosberg and Hamilton managed to sandwich themselves between the two Red Bulls, with a 1:29.021 and 1.29.181 respectively. 

A mad rush for intermediates ensued, with both Mercedes and Ferrari double-stacking their drivers. There was a fear that Grosjean had made the switch too early, with the possibility of wearing out the intermediates before they'd be at their best. He immediately went quicker by over a second with a 1:27.773, with Webber following and beating Grosjean by a tenth, only for Vettel to then cross the line with a full second in his pocket, setting a 1:26.479. Rosberg managed to split the Red Bulls with a 1:27.555, only for Ferrari's Fernando Alonso to surprise with a 1:27.539, pushing Rosberg down to third. 

As the flag dropped, first over the line was Grosjean, who didn't manage to improve on his time and stayed in provisional 6th. Rosberg, not to be outdone, then managed to knock another half a second off Alonso's time to get into 2nd. Webber in his last qualifying session in Formula 1 was unable to improve and stayed in 4th. Massa couldn't match his team-mate's pace and was sitting in 9th. Hulkenberg, who had held pole position here previously in similar conditions and an inferior car, was seemingly in difficulty, unable to get within a second of Massa's time and languishing in 10th.

The final classifications were:

Top Ten

Pos.	Driver	Team	Time
1.	Sebastian Vettel	RBR Renault	1m 26.479s
2.	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1m 27.102s
3.	Fernando Alonso	Scuderia Ferrari	1m 27.539s
4.	Mark Webber	RBR Renault	1m 27.572s
5.	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1m 27.677s
6.	Romain Grosjean	Lotus Renault	1m 27.737s
7.	Daniel Ricciardo	STR Ferrari	1m 28.052s
8.	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR Ferrari	1m 28.081s
9.	Felipe Massa	Scuderia Ferrari	1m 28.109s
10.	Nico Hulkenberg	Sauber Ferrari	1m 29.582s

Q2 Knockout

Pos.	Driver	Team	Time
11.	Heikki Kovalainen	Lotus Renault	1m 27.456s
12.	Paul di Resta	Force India Mercedes	1m 27.798s
13.	Valtteri Bottas	Williams Renault	1m 27.954s
14.	Jenson Button	Mclaren Mercedes	1m 28.269s
15.	Sergio Perez	Mclaren Mercedes	1m 28.308s
16.	Adrian Sutil	Force India Mercedes	1m 28.586s

Q1 Knockout

Pos.	Driver	Team	Time
17.	Pastor Maldonado	Williams Renault	1m 27.367s
18.	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber Ferrari	1m 27.445s
19.	Charles Pic	Caterham Renault	1m 27.843s
20.	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham Renault	1m 28.320s
21.	Jules Bianchi	Marussia Cosworth	1m 28.366s
22.	Max Chilton	Marussia Cosworth	1m 28.950s

The race looks to be an exciting one; mixed conditions, the top three occupied by three different teams. Changeable weather conditions, an Australian hungry for a last hurrah in the sport, with the fast charging Grosjean and Hamilton behind. It's looking to be a real thriller.



Article by Chris Kinsman
MyF1World Journalist.