UpdateF1 >> Formula 1 News > Vettel pips Button for pole

Red Bull and Brawn dominate

Qualifying for the Turkish Grand prix threw up a few surprises, the biggest one being that Jenson Button is not on pole position. That honour goes to the young upstart, Sebastian Vettel, who has put the Red Bull RB5 at the front of the pack for the second time this year, relegating Button to second place in the dying seconds of the session.

Vettel’s time of 1:28.316 undercut the championship leaders Brawn by just over one tenth of a second, and writing this before the weights are released means one can only speculate as to the difference in fuel loads. Traditionally the Brawn runs heavier than the Red Bull, and with Rubens Barrichello in third place another tenth behind Button it may be that the Brazilian is running heavier still.

Mark Webber shades Barrichello by a fraction and joins him on the second row, while Jarno Trulli’s Toyota and the fastest Ferrari – that of Kimi Raikkonen – will start on the third row of the grid. Row four sees Felipe Massa line up alongside Fernando Alonso in the Renault, and the top ten is completed by Nico Rosberg, disappointing on the day for Williams, and Robert Kubica who somehow made it through to the final shoot out in the BMW.

Further back the McLaren’s will start in 14th and 16th positions, Heikki Kovalainen ahead of Lewis Hamilton, with the Force India of Adrian Sutil, running the same engine, between them – dire days indeed for McLaren.

Written: Sat, 06 Jun 2009 12:13:02