China – Qualifying: Lewis Hamilton secures pole position for Mercedes

Q1: Temperatures are still rising at the start of the qualifying session with 27 degrees in the air and a track temperature of 41 degrees. However, it takes a few minutes before a driver takes to the track, and it’s Jules Bianchi who breaks the silence with only 11 minutes left in this first part of qualifying. The Frenchman is followed closely by the Toro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne. Bianchi takes the lead with a time of 1:39.025 ahead of the two Toro Rosso cars. Both Mercedes and McLaren are already using soft tires. Nico Rosberg records a lap of 1:35.959, which is beaten by Hamilton, who completes the circuit in 1:35.793. With only 4 minutes remaining, only 11 drivers have a recorded time. Räikkönen and Vettel move into the Top 10, as do Alonso and Button. At the end of Q1, both Toro Rosso cars switch to the softest tires and secure their positions. At the conclusion of the 20 minutes allotted for Q1, Lewis Hamilton leads the session ahead of his teammate and Felipe Massa, who has been impressive since the beginning of the weekend.

Eliminated in Q1: Bottas, Guttiérez, Bianchi, Chilton, Pic, Van der Garde.

Q2: The wait is shorter before seeing a car hit the track, and it’s the reigning world champion, Sebastian Vettel, who is the first to leave his garage for a single attempt on soft tires. The German completes his lap with a time of 1:36.260. Behind him, Mark Webber is a bit faster in the first sector but loses ground in the second. A 1:36.679 for the other Red Bull driver, all under the watchful eyes of the Mercedes drivers observing the events from their garage. Fernando Alonso gets ahead of Vettel with a time of 1:36.186. Midway through, Mark Webber abandons his RB9 at the end of the circuit’s long straight. On the radio, the Australian mentions a lack of fuel. While Webber enjoys the trackside view, there’s a shake-up at the front with a best time from Räikkönen, immediately beaten by Rosberg, who himself loses the benchmark time to Lewis Hamilton with a 1:35.078. At the very end of this second qualifying session, Romain Grosjean goes for his first attempt. Q2 ends with many improvements. Nico Hülkenberg takes the 6th place, while Maldonado pushes Vergne out of the Top 10. No luck for the Frenchman, especially as Ricciardo moves on to Q3.

Eliminated in Q2: di Resta, Pérez, Sutil, Webber, Maldonado, Vergne.

Q3: Vettel is once again the first to hit the track to get his bearings. The German uses used soft tires to get a feel before returning without having set a time. After a brief lull, the show resumes with everyone almost coming out at the same time to set a time. There are less than 3 minutes left when Räikkönen leaves his box. At Red Bull, Vettel goes out with medium tires just like Jenson Button. Räikkönen sets the first provisional pole with a 1:34.761, but Hamilton is very fast and goes ahead while Alonso and Rosberg remain behind the Finnish driver. As for Felipe Massa, he will not outperform his teammate for the fifth consecutive time. Vettel messes up braking at the end of the long straight and enters the pitlane without setting a time.

Results of the 2013 Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying: