Spanish Grand Prix 2011: 1st Qualifying session – Formula One highlights (Part 3)
Welcome back to the action from the Catalunya circuit. With the first qualifying session heading into its final third, there was a sense of urgency all round – One man’s success meant relegation for the other. Were we going to see some late drama before
the second qualifying session?
Moments later, Team Lotus’ woes continued to increase as Jarno Trulli was yet to run a timed lap due to some gearbox issues – Disappointing for the former Toyota F1 driver no doubt.
Another minute went by as Vitaly Petrov started another hot lap. The Russian looked in good shape and was set to finish in the Top 5. After a couple of corners, the Renault crossed the start-finish line and shot up to P1! – Beating Mark Webber’s time by
over half a second. However, it should be noted that Petrov was running on the soft compound tyres which were bound to heat up quicker and deliver more speed than Webber’s option tyres over the course of a single lap.
Maldonado looked to mimic Petrov’s tyre strategy and reaped instant rewards as the Williams slotted into 2nd. After persistent hard work on part of the Lotus mechanics, Trulli was all set to participate in the qualifying session after his gearbox
issues were addressed. D' Ambrosio also went out on track soon after.
Michael Schumacher set the fastest lap of the session – Surprised? However, on further inspection, it turned out that the German was also on the soft rubber.
Thanks to the soft compounds working their magic, a couple of drivers were able to shoot their way up with Rubens Barrichello leading the relegation zone as a result. Paul di Resta went 10th fastest while Nico Rosberg improved his position to
4th fastest. Felipe Massa ran a solid lap and slotted behind the Mercedes in 5th.
Kovalainen, after an improved lap managed to scrape his way into the second qualifying stint in 17th. Both the Ferraris and McLarens, along with Renault’s Vitaly Petrov and Mercedes Michael Schumacher, had used up a set of the allocated soft tyres
early which might haunt them in the following two rounds of qualifying.
At the end of the session, Michael Schumacher was fastest while Petrov and Maldonado were classified 2nd and 3rd respectively. Trulli, Barrichello, Glock, Liuzzi, Karthikeyan, D' Ambrosio and Heidfeld were the 7 drivers failing to make
the cut.
Stay tuned to Bettor.com for the highlights from Q2...
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