Qualification: Hamilton signs the night pole, Barrichello falls asleep

Lewis Hamilton secured the pole position for the 2009 Singapore Grand Prix without much of a struggle. The qualifying session was prematurely halted by Rubens Barrichello’s accident. The last 10 drivers couldn’t complete their final qualifying laps, leaving Hamilton in the lead at this stage of the race. Red Bull will be one of the most serious competitors to the reigning world champion, while Brawn GP is not at its best. Alonso is 6th, Rosberg 3rd. Grosjean is only second to last, while Fisichella did not qualify the Ferrari in Q2.

For the anecdote, there were 26 seconds remaining when the session was stopped by a red flag. Once Barrichello’s car was cleared, the session resumed to finish its clock. None of the Q3 drivers obviously went back out.

It’s hot, and despite the late hour in Singapore, the thermometers show 33°C in the air with nearly 70% humidity. Fatigue affects the drivers, and Barrichello gives way in qualifying. In Brawn GP’s misfortune, Hamilton finds his fortune. He secures a new pole position, his third in the last four Grand Prix, and positions himself as the favorite to win the race tomorrow. Hamilton had an excellent qualifying session, setting most of the session’s fastest times. Sebastian Vettel will be one of Hamilton’s most serious competitors. The Red Bull driver will also start on the front row.

On the second row, we find one of last year’s Grand Prix strong performers: Nico Rosberg. The German had finished second in 2008 and qualifies third today in the Williams. He is ahead of Mark Webber’s second Red Bull Renault. The Australian, despite his accident yesterday, managed to set up his car well and surpass the time of Rubens Barrichello.

The Brazilian driver was ahead of Jenson Button for most of the qualifying session. Barrichello therefore secured the 5th fastest time but completely wrecked his car after a collision during his last flying lap in Q3. There were 26 seconds remaining, causing a red flag that was detrimental to the other pole position contenders. The championship was thus reignited, but Brawn GP’s number 2 driver will start with at least a 5-place grid penalty for changing the gearbox. If, unfortunately, the damage is too severe, he will have to start from the back row tomorrow or even from the pits… It was a dark day for the Brawn GP team as Button couldn’t participate in Q3. He will start only 12th and faces significant challenges in the championship.

Alonso had warned: he would be and is in the top 6 with his Renault. He therefore ranks on the third row and creates a significant gap with his teammate. Romain Grosjean was ill at the beginning of the weekend and had brake problems today. Unable to push, he is second to last but will do everything tonight to improve the car, even if it means starting from the pits. Second to last or last, it doesn’t change anything, he told TF1 during the qualifications.

More unusually, a Toyota slips into the top 10 and it’s not Trulli. Glock takes 7th place and shows his leaders that there is still hope. Trulli, on the other hand, is only 15th.

On the BMW side, the lap times are significantly better than in Europe. Heidfeld and Kubica are 8th and 9th respectively and will be able to fight for points tomorrow depending on their fuel load. Currently, Kovalainen is the most fuel-loaded. He will start 10th, ahead of Kazuki Nakajima in the second Williams-Toyota. The Japanese driver is marking one of his best qualifications in 2009 here.

Nothing is going right at Ferrari. The Scuderia has stopped the development of the F60, and the lap times reflect this. Räikkönen is only 13th and says he did everything possible, but nothing better was achievable. The same goes for Fisichella in his second Grand Prix with the team. He is 18th.

Buemi places his Toro Rosso in 14th place. Also equipped with a Ferrari engine, he closely follows the Finn and is the only one of the three rookies to make it into Q2… He is ahead of Trulli and Sutil in the first Force India. On circuits where aerodynamics are crucial, the VJM01s are losing speed and are far from the performances at Monza. Liuzzi is in a similar situation with the slowest time…

Results of the Qualifications – Singapore GP – Saturday, September 26, 2009: