Red Bull remain dominant in Q2, Australian Grand Prix
Red Bull and McLaren were yet again the quickest in the qualifying session of the Australian Grand Prix, at Albert Park in Melbourne. Both teams finished in the top four of Q2, with Sebastian Vettel topping the time sheets.
Red Bull showed a lot of pace during the pre-season testing and they were expected to be quick in this season as well. The reigning champion Sebastian Vettel was quickest in Q1 and he continued his good form, taking the provisional pole in Q2.
McLaren-Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton gave a tough time to Vettel in both Q1 and Q2. The British driver struggled a lot during the winter testing and he wasn’t expected to match the pace of the Red Bull team in this season. However, some late minute changes
to the car setup proved to be productive for McLaren, as Hamilton clocked the second fastest time of Q2.
The local driver Mark Webber didn’t perform well in the first session of qualifying. He finished ninth fastest overall compared to his team-mate’s pole position. Q2 proved to be a better session for the Australian, as he ended up as third fastest.
Webber was followed by Jenson Button, who also had a tough time during Q1. His team-mate Hamilton had a good time in both qualifying sessions, but Button had to work hard.
Ferrari were expected to post a serious threat to Red Bull at the top, but the scarlet car struggled to match the pace of their competitors and they were also out paced by the Mclaren-Mercedes team, as Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa only managed to finish
fifth and eighth respectively in Q2.
Splitting both Ferrari’s were two surprise performers Kamui Kobayashi and Vitaly Petrov. They ended up at sixth and seventh with competitive times. Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Buemi completed the top ten in Q2, who will go into the final session of qualifying.
The biggest shock of the morning came from Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher, who failed to make it to Q3. The seven time Formula One champion was only 11th quickest and was yet again out paced by his team-mate. However, he will be eying a better
result when he comes out to race tomorrow.
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