Formula One Highlights: Singapore Grand Prix, Q2
The blow by blow feature of qualifying at Singapore continues.
Welcome to the 2nd qualifying session…
Q2 kicked off with another 7 cars to be eliminated in the 15 minute session before the final showdown in Q3. It promised to be a bumpy ride. Who would make it and which driver shall be left behind?
The session got underway as Petrov led the way with the rest of the pack on his heels – all 17 cars were on track. Perhaps, it was a show of the remaining teams’ conservation as they deemed it best to post competitive laps as early as possible before another
potential Massa-like incident limited the 15 minute session.
Petrov and Alguersuari were the first to begin their hot laps.
Moments later, Alonso was heard over the team radio for complaining about some engine related issues. Could both Ferrari’s be suffering the same problems? Had Fernando Alonso exhausted his engine? The Spaniard should have been a touch more cautious during
the practice sessions and Q1, conserving his machinery. An engine change at this point of time would have meant not only a downright bottom position for Q2 qualifying, but also incurring a penalty for the switch.
Kubica, Alguersuari and Petrov were able to set their respective times – Petrov stopped on track and the yellow flags were out.
Effectively, 14 drivers had set their times till then. The top 3 featured Sebastian Vettel for Red Bull, Robert Kubica for Renault and Mark Webber making it two Red Bulls on the podium.
On further inspection, replays suggested that Petrov had spun out on track which had resulted in a damaged right rear suspension.
In the meantime, Lewis Hamilton went fastest – a good four tenths quicker than Sebastian Vettel. Alguersuari and Petrov were close to the relegation zone in 9th and 10th respectively as Kobayashi, Sutil, Hulkenberg and Michael Schumacher
were all capable of bashing the top-ten party.
With only 3 cars making the rounds, the track was relatively empty. The remaining 14 were heading back on track after their pit stops, evidently rearing to set their final lap times for the session.
The top 3 drivers at that point in time were Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button. Disappointingly, Webber clearly hadn’t displayed the same racing pace as his teammate for the weekend.
Michael Schumacher was able to manage a snail’s pace with 1 minute 57.901 seconds on his Mercedes. The German driver’s time was an entire 6 seconds off 15th place Liuzzi and remained on track to make amends and try to make it through to Q3.
Vettel started his hot lap, setting the fastest S1, S2 and was able to maintain his advantage as he ran three tenths quicker than Alonso and effectively took 1st – this was one of the fastest ever laps around the Singapore track.
Alonso dived into the pits as it was evident that the Spaniard had done enough to see him through – despite not claiming top spot this time, the Ferrari camp finally saw it best to conserve the engine to be able to push in the final qualifying session. Schumacher,
who was still classified 17th, finished his flying lap and took 9th spot, not completely out of the woods.
Since all drivers were nearly through their hot laps, the picture for Q3 was clearing up. Sutil, Liuzzi and Alguersuari were out on track looking to make a final attempt to make it through. Neither Force India’s drivers were able to nick in though. Liuzzi
came in 16th while his teammate scored a bottom-of-the-line 17th – a rather disappointing outcome for the dark horses of the 2010 season.
Michael Schumacher’s 9th place proved to be good enough in the end – This was the first time in 5 races that the German made it through to Q3. Kobayashi did extremely well to get his BMW Sauber to the final qualifying session – His first time
in 7 races.
The drivers knocked out in Q2 were: Alguersuari, Hulkenberg, Petrov, Buemi, Heidfeld, Sutil and Liuzzi.
Coming up Next… The final qualifying session.
Stay tuned…
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