UpdateF1 >> Formula 1 News > Vettel takes first pole

Kimi and Lewis flounder

All the talk this weekend has been of the dreadful weather at Monza, and as qualifying got underway in a steadily increasing downpour we were within our rights to expect something very unusual at the end of the hour. We would be proved correct.

The first session went according to plan, but with one notable exception.

While the Honda duo failed to progress, as is expected these days, and nelson Piquet did his usual lacklustre job – Kazuki Nakajima was hardly a surprise faller either – although Adrian Sutil didn’t get any further, his Force India team mate did. For the first time, Giancarlo Fisichella put the tiny teams car into the last fifteen, a fine effort if ever there was one.

Heikki Kovalainen had looked good all weekend and came home at the top of the sheets with his teammate Lewis Hamilton second but struggling to match his Finnish teammate. The fastest Ferrari was that of Felipe Massa, in a somewhat confused and concerned sixth position.

Going into the second part of qualifying the rain was coming down harder again, hence it was a surprise to see McLaren send Hamilton out on intermediates as opposed to the full wet tyre that the rest of the field settled for. He duly returned to the pits for a set of wet boots, but what followed was curious in the extreme.

Lap after lap Hamilton toured around well off the ultimate pace – and a full three seconds off that of his teammate. Similarly slow was Kimi Raikkonen, the world champion struggling to get any pace out of the Ferrari.

Up front, notably, Sebastien Vettel was comfortably heading the field, the STR performing to great effect, and the driver handling the conditions very nicely indeed. His teammate, Sebastien Bourdais, also looked comfortable, and slotted into a promising fifth place, with Kovalainen, Nico Rosberg in the Williams and Jarno Trulli’s Toyota between them.

As the session neared its close the Hamilton McLaren continued to circulate, as did the two Ferrari’s, but none of them particularly quickly.

When all was done, Hamilton registered 15th fastest, Raikkonen 14th, and Fisichella – in the Force India – 12th, and quicker than both of them. David Coulthard also outstripped the two front-runners and will start 13th, alongside Raikkonen.

Robert Kubica was another faller in this session, the Pole never looking at ease with the BMW this session, and he starts 11th.

The weather seemed as though it would let up as the final session began, but it soon became clear it would not.

Nick Heidfeld never figured, and will line up tenth for BMW, while Timo Glock had a session peppered with lock ups and starts alongside the Toyota, with his team mate Jarno Trulli on the row ahead, Fernando Alonso in the Renault next to him.

Neither Toyota nor Renault had expected much from this weekend, so the starting positions will be considered a bonus.

First to go fastest was Kovalainen, but pretty soon he was pipped by Vettel. Driving beautifully, the German put all his laps in the same time bracket, and his fastest – 1:37.555 – was only approached by Kovalainen who put everything into his last effort.

Pole position for an STR, at Monza, is particularly poignant, given that this is –essentially – the Minardi team of old, and an Italian one to boot.

In the dying seconds Mark Webber put in a superb lap to take third place, and the Red Bull part monopoly was confirmed by the presence of Sebastien Bourdais – in the second STR – in an excellent fourth position.

Nico Rosberg did his usual best to qualify fifth, and Felipe Massa can consider himself lucky to start 6th in the fastest Ferrari.

Fuel levels, and the weather, will play a bog part tomorrow, and this could be a prime chance for Massa and Ferrari to gain points over Hamilton and McLaren.

All eyes will be, however, on Vettel and STR, as F1’s acknowledged rising star starts his first race at the head of the pack. For the tifosi, some consolation – the car in front may not be a Ferrari, but it has a Ferrari V8 in the back.

Written: Sat, 13 Sep 2008 13:28:28