GP – Qualifying: Hamilton takes first pole of 2008!
Lewis Hamilton secured the first pole position of the 2008 Formula 1 season in the McLaren MP4/24. The British vice-world champion snatched pole from Robert Kubica, in the BMW, in the very last seconds of Q3, therefore marking a strong performance on the front row. Heikki Kovalainen in the second McLaren took third place in […]
Lewis Hamilton secured the first pole position of the 2008 Formula 1 season in the McLaren MP4/24. The British vice-world champion snatched pole from Robert Kubica, in the BMW, in the very last seconds of Q3, therefore marking a strong performance on the front row. Heikki Kovalainen in the second McLaren took third place in the Australian qualifying in Melbourne, while Räikkönen was only 16th!
See the live – Qualifications
Lewis Hamilton achieved the best performance of his initial 2008 qualifying, notably with a clean and error-free lap. The Englishman was thrilled after the session ended, but still on his final flying lap, he snatched the pole position from Robert Kubica in the BMW. The F1.08 proved to be very compliant today, and BMW is rising high in the hierarchy.
Heikki Kovalainen secures the third fastest time, marking his best qualifying performance, and can be pleased with being ahead of the Ferraris, who were the favorites this weekend. Massa is only 4th, while the reigning world champion, Kimi Räikkönen, is not in the top 10. The Finn suffered a fuel pressure problem in Q3. He stopped before the pit lane entry and was helped by his mechanics to reach his garage. This practice is prohibited, and the No. 1 was not allowed to take part in Q2, whether the car was repaired or not. He is therefore 16th, with no time recorded.
The session was marked by a large number of mistakes from the drivers, undoubtedly facilitated by the removal of traction control. Spectacular session. Robert Kubica went too wide in the final corner of his flying lap. He lost a few thousandths in the process, probably costing him pole position by 55 thousandths. His teammate, Nick Heidfeld, will occupy 5th place on the grid, confirming the strong performances of the Bavarian team, already at the top during free practice 3.
Surprisingly, both Toyotas made it into Q3. Trulli is 6th while Glock, the 2007 GP2 champion, is in 9th place on his return to F1 qualifying. Seven different teams are in the top 10. Williams, Red Bull, and Toro Rosso all managed to get a driver into Q3. Rosberg, plagued by several mechanical issues since the beginning of the weekend, is 7th, ahead of Coulthard (Red Bull). Sebastian Vettel also puts in a strong performance with the 10th fastest time in the Toro Rosso STR02-B, a still unreliable 2007 car, as he couldn’t set a time in this last part of qualifying due to an oil pressure issue…
Renault could not participate in Q3. The French team was disappointing and seems to be going the way of 2007. Fernando Alonso qualified for Q2, unlike his young teammate Nelson Piquet, and could only complete one timed lap in the session, missing Q3 by 15 thousandths.
Renault is even outpaced by Honda as Barrichello takes the 11th position, just ahead of the Spanish driver. Button follows in 13th position.
Nakajima is only in 15th position. More was expected from Williams, while Webber, who was in good form during previous sessions, had a brake problem with 8 minutes remaining in Q2. He was only able to set one lap time before going off track without any serious consequences. Nevertheless, he caused one of the few red flags of the session and will start ahead of Kimi Räikkönen.
Fisichella, Bourdais, and Piquet did not qualify for the second parts of qualifying. They are 17th, 18th, and 21st respectively, with the Renault driver unable to keep up with the pace and will start sandwiched between the two Super-Aguris.
2008 Australian Grand Prix – Qualifications – Results
