Vettel shines in Valencia qualifying

Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) could put an end to the series of different winners this season. The German achieved the 33rd pole of his career (his third of the season after Bahrain and Montreal) on the Valencia circuit (third in a row) by more than three tenths ahead Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), while the peloton was fighting by thousandths for the best positions on the grid. Pastor Maldonado (Williams) fails six hundredths behind the Briton and takes third position on the grid in front Romain Grosjean (Lotus) always so consistent in qualifying. The Frenchman, who notably achieved the best lap in Q2, is ahead of his teammate Kimi Räikkönen who is placed on the third row alongside Nico Rosberg (Mercedes). Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) grabs seventh place ahead Nico Hulkenberg, Jenson Button (McLaren) and Paul di Resta. The Briton, placed between the two Force India drivers, will have to prove tomorrow that he has resolved the problems on his MP4-27.

Qualifying was disappointing for many drivers trapped by the small gaps during this session. There Team Ferrari is one of the disappointed with Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa who failed at the gates of Q3 being separated by Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) who also hoped for a better place on the grid. Bruno Senna (Williams) and Sergio Perez (Sauber), respectively 14th and 15th, could also aim for a better position given the performances of their teammates. Toro Rosso still can't climb the hierarchy, Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne even had to lose to the Caterham CT01 of Heikki Kovalainen. Mark Webber (Red Bull) was only able to qualify in 19th position despite his soft tires, the Australian having again suffered from DRS problems on his RB8. Charles Pic (Marussia) qualified in last place behind the HRT drivers, his teammate Timo Glock having been unable to take part in qualifying following stomach aches.