Europe – Qualification: Vettel on pole in Valencia

Timo Glock will not take part in the qualifying session, as the German driver is unwell. His participation in the race will therefore depend on the stewards’ discretion.

Q1: The qualifying session begins and the first to hit the track is Daniel Ricciardo, driving his Toro Rosso. He is quickly followed by Pastor Maldonado, in his Williams, and Charles Pic driving his Marussia, the only one on track thus far.

Daniel Ricciardo is the first to set a lap with a time of 1:40.707. Almost all the cars are on track at the start of this session, except for the Red Bull, McLaren, Caterham, and HRT. However, following his issue this morning, Mark Webber eventually takes to the track because the Australian driver has work to do.

15 minutes from the end, it’s Felipe Massa who takes the lead with a 1:39.634, the first one under the 1:40 mark during these qualifications. Meanwhile, Mark Webber is back in the pits for what was an installation and verification lap.

Sebastian Vettel is the last man not to have started with 13 minutes remaining in Q1. The German driver may already be trying to save tires for the race. Meanwhile, Michael Schumacher takes the lead with a 57 thousandths of a second advantage over Massa’s Ferrari.

For his first clear lap, Lewis Hamilton sets the fastest time followed by Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, with Massa taking 2nd place and Alonso 3rd. Sebastian Vettel takes to the track while there are only 9 minutes left in Q1. As the reigning world champion crosses the line for his timed lap, Mark Webber leaves the pits to try and qualify. He opts directly for the Soft tires.

First lap for Webber and only the 16th time. While many are going out on Softs, Romain Grosjean goes out on Mediums and provisionally ranks sixth. Paul di Resta takes the lead with a three-tenths advantage over Hamilton, he is on Softs. His teammate, Nico Hülkenberg, moves into second place. Maldonado takes the lead while Webber struggles. The Australian driver finishes 18th, allowing Heikki Kovalainen to advance to Q2.

Eliminated in Q1: Vergne, Webber, Petrov, de la Rosa, Karthikeyan, Pic, Glock

Q2: Pastor Maldonado is the first to take the track followed by Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa. Meanwhile, at Red Bull, they are working on Mark Webber’s car to fix a DRS issue. Almost all drivers have taken the track, except for Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, and Heikki Kovalainen.

Maldonado sets the first time at 1:39.924, slower than in Q1, while Alonso does better with a 1:39.245. But this time is quickly beaten by Paul di Resta with a 1:38.922; the Force India driver is on Soft tires compared to Alonso’s Mediums.

After the first round, Rosberg leads Räikkönen and Button for the top 3. Fernando Alonso is back on track with Softs this time. Heikki Kovalainen is strapped in his car and ready to go even though the Finnish driver may not complete a lap to try to save tires for the race. Alonso secures 6th place after his first timed lap.

Romain Grosjean sets the fastest time and in the process eliminates Fernando Alonso, his former teammate at Renault. Big disappointment for Ferrari, as they don’t have any driver in Q3. Michael Schumacher is also eliminated, while both Sahara Force India drivers will be present in Q3. Heikki Kovalainen finally took the time to complete a lap and will start ahead of Daniel Ricciardo’s Toro Rosso.

Eliminated in Q2: Alonso, Schumacher, Massa, Senna, Pérez, Kovalainen, Ricciardo

Q3: As in Q2, Pastor Maldonado is the first to set off once the light turns green. Surprisingly, at Red Bull, Vettel’s car has no front wing or tires. He is obviously in the pits, as are Romain Grosjean and Kamui Kobayashi. After an initial installation lap, Pastor Maldonado returns to the pits.

He goes through the pits and heads back out. An astonishing strategy for the Venezuelan. Both Force India drivers have also returned to their pits after an initial installation lap. After the first batch of timed laps, Nico Rosberg leads Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, and Kimi Räikkönen. The other drivers have not set times.

Romain Grosjean is the first of the drivers to qualify on a single lap to set off. Pastor Maldonado imitates him while Rosberg, Hamilton, Button, and Räikkönen return to their pits. Paul di Resta also takes to the track.

The French driver clinches the provisional pole position despite a small mistake. Pastor Maldonado does better than the Lotus driver and takes the lead, but many drivers can perform better. Nico Hülkenberg, briefly ahead, only secures the 4th time. But it’s Sebastian Vettel who convinces everyone with a 1.38.086, three-tenths ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

Then followed by Pastor Maldonado, Romain Grosjean, Kimi Räikkönen, Nico Rosberg, Kamui Kobayashi, Nico Hülkenberg, Jenson Button, and Paul di Resta. It is the 33rd pole position for the reigning world champion.

Results of the 2012 European Grand Prix Qualifying: