Brazil – Qualifications: Hamilton and McLaren to the End!

Q1: Even though the rain fell half an hour before the start of these qualifications, the track is relatively manageable. Heikki Kovalainen is the first to set off, and all the drivers are currently on medium tires, even though the track is still quite wet in some sections, particularly sector 3. The lower-ranked teams start first, while the top drivers logically wait for the track to dry. Glock and Kovalainen engage in a small wet battle that ends up costing them more time than anything. Kobayashi sets the first interesting time at 1:22.415, soon surpassed by Vergne by a tenth.

Hülkenberg takes the gamble on intermediates: his team tells him he needs to come in, which he doesn’t. It’s ineffective. Vergne and Kobayashi exchange the lead. Maldonado ends the playtime by clocking a 1:18.709, a time he improves by nearly a second. Senna takes the lead in turn, within the same tenth as his teammate. The leaders start to show their noses.

Hamilton sets the provisional fastest time at 1:17.772, which he then improves by four tenths. Some drivers take the gamble on hard tires, like Rosberg, who temporarily posts the fastest time before Kobayashi and Di Resta move ahead. There are many cars on the track, making it difficult to find a clear lap. This does not bother Hamilton, who regains the lead with a time of 1:16.147.

In a quick lap, Grosjean tries to overtake an HRT at full throttle before the finish line, but there’s not enough room: the Frenchman hits the car in front of him and his front wing gets damaged. Miraculously, no one goes off track. However, the Lotus driver has to complete a full lap with a damaged wing before coming in to change it, in order to have the chance to get out of the danger zone.

Hamilton regains the lead he had lost, with a time of 1:15.551. He improves by five-tenths on the next lap. Laps are getting better with each attempt, and it’s Maldonado who is under threat but manages to escape. This is not the case for Grosjean, who loses big in the contact with the HRT. A contact that will be examined by the race stewards.

Eliminated in Q1: Grosjean, Petrov, Kovalainen, Glock, Pic, Karthikeyan, and De la Rosa.

Q2: Vergne is the first on track for this second part of the session. The racing line is almost completely dry. Alonso sets the first reference time, at 1:14.631. The McLarens and the Red Bulls are still not on track after five minutes in this Q2.

Alonso improves by four tenths, while Massa takes the second position, three tenths behind his teammate. Still no sign of McLaren and Red Bull on track with eight minutes remaining. The sun is showing itself. Hamilton is the first of the four remaining drivers without a time to go out: he directly sets the best time at 1:13.398, but Vettel does better afterwards by nearly two tenths.

On track, it’s a back-and-forth: all drivers are on the track, with the notable exception of Vettel, who is practically in the clear, as the checkered flag comes down. The Ferraris are in danger, in ninth and tenth positions, but are not overtaken.

Eliminated in Q2: Di Resta, Senna, Pérez, Schumacher, Kobayashi, Ricciardo, and Vergne

Q3: Nico Rosberg is the first to start the very last qualifying session of the season. He sets the first time in this Q3 with 1:22.398. Hamilton takes the lead with 1:12.850, Alonso then falls short by six-tenths. Massa, Webber, and then Button take turns as the provisional runner-up. Vettel, meanwhile, makes a mistake and will have to do another lap.

To entertain during the intermission, between the two rounds, Nico Hülkenberg takes off and records a time of 1:13.206, placing him in provisional fourth, before the heavy hitters come back out. Webber is the first of these: he takes the lead with a time of 1:12.581. Hamilton improves by a tenth and claims the pole position, ahead of Button, who is less than 70 thousandths behind. Behind them, a second row entirely made up of Red Bull drivers with Webber ahead of Vettel. Massa, Maldonado, and Hülkenberg precede the second title contender, Alonso, who is only eighth.

Brazilian Grand Prix 2012 Qualifying Standings: