Chinese Grand Prix 2011: 3rd Qualifying session – Formula One highlights (part 1)
China braced itself for the third and final qualifying session of the Chinese Grand Prix from the Shanghai circuit.
The top 10 drivers heading into the shootout were; McLaren Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, Mercedes GP’s Nico Rosberg, Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi, Force India’s Paul di Resta and Renault’s Vitaly Petrov.
The first qualifying session was a 20-minute affair while the second stint was a 15-minute stand. The third and final qualifying period is a 10-minute fight for starting positions for the race afterwards. Surviving the first two qualifying session could be interpreted differently for dissimilar teams. For the likes of Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren, it could simply be a passport into round 3 – A battle that would ensure one top runner’s dominance over the other.
Since the three aforementioned teams are somewhat balanced when it comes to on-track performance, position on the grid really matters for their respective ambitions to oust the other for the race that follows. However, for a mid-table team; along the lines of a Mercedes, Renault and Toro Rosso, it could be an insurance policy to get amongst the points with respect to the race that follows.
The 3rd and final qualifying session kicked off.
Jenson Button was the first driver to head out on track – Clearly McLaren were taking it seriously and wanted nothing left to chance. Soon after, Red Bull responded by sending their only remaining driver; the current Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel. Both cars started their respective warm up laps – Who was going to top the timesheets? Who was going to set the bar for the remaining 8 drivers to match?
Jenson Button went first. Soon after, Vettel started his hot lap and used the Kinetic Energy Recovery System to his advantage as the Red Bull was seen slingshot its way past the start finish line. Moments later, the McLaren took P1 but the roar from the team supporters was silenced by the reaction from the Red Bull camp as Vettel immediately beat the Briton’s time. The Red Bull man effectively became the first driver all weekend to get into the 1 minute 33 second range – An excellent start to Q3 as the elites of the game braced themselves for a dogfight heading into the race.
Continued in part 2...
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