British GP – Qualifying: Webber on pole ahead of Vettel and Alonso

The British Grand Prix can sometimes hold many surprises. Last year, an internal controversy at Red Bull led Webber to signal to his team manager “Not bad for a number 2.” This year, regulatory changes are disrupting the qualifications.

The FIA has clearly decided to put obstacles in Red Bull’s way. But it’s Renault that seems the most penalized. The team places its drivers only 14th and 16th, while upfront, equipped with the same engine, Red Bull dominates and occupies the front row. Webber secures pole position ahead of Vettel.

The regulation changes on mapping and blown diffusers ultimately do not affect Scuderia Ferrari. Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa take advantage of this performance-wise to close in on the Red Bulls. Alonso is third, ahead of the Brazilian who has shown an undeniable resurgence in form over the past several Grand Prix.

The third force in qualifying is McLaren, who claim it with a Jenson Button at home but unable to fight for the pole. With a wet, slippery track and no grip, the McLaren driver ranks 5th but more than a second behind the leaders. His teammate Lewis Hamilton is in a rather complicated situation as well, as he is only 10th.

With these mediocre performances from the usual top 8 teams, teams like Force India and Williams are climbing the hierarchy. Di Resta in the Force India is in 6th place, the best performance of his career, while Maldonado, another F1 rookie, is in 7th place and also achieves his best qualifying position. Kobayashi is 8th. Rosberg in the Mercedes GP is in 9th place and shows that the FIA penalizes Renault engines as much as Mercedes engines. Michael Schumacher, as proof, is only 12th.

In 11th position, we find the second Force India of Adrian Sutil and the second Sauber of Pérez. Barrichello is 15th, between the two Williams and is unable to take advantage of the regulatory changes. The Brazilian is more than six-tenths behind his teammate.

At the back of the pack, Kovalainen created a surprise in Q1. The Team Lotus driver managed to qualify for Q2 and finished 17th, notably aided by the rain that appeared 5 minutes before the end of Q1, stabilizing the times well before the clock ran out. Victims of the rain, the Toro Rosso cars are only 18th and 19th. Ricciardo, in his first Formula 1 qualifying session, finished last but crossed the 107% mark, allowing him to participate in the race.

Only one yellow flag to report, in Q1 during an off-track incident involving Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard went straight on and drove through the dirt for about a hundred meters before abruptly returning to the track in front of a Red Bull.

Tomorrow, the British Grand Prix is expected to take place under the English sun, and the performances will undoubtedly be very different under mild conditions.

Results of the Qualifications – 2011 British Grand Prix: