Germany – Qualifying: Lewis Hamilton Equals Fangio, Red Bull Close Behind

The weather is perfect for these qualifications of the 2013 German Grand Prix, where the drivers will compete against the clock to start as high as possible on the grid. In this game, the weekend favorites are two German drivers, Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg, who set the fastest times in the last practice session.

Q1: Paul di Resta is the first driver to take to the track, quickly followed by some competitors. The Scotsman sets the first time at 1:41.226, a time that is not representative of the performance of this year’s single-seaters. The Scotsman quickly improves to get ahead of the Caterham and Marussia.

At mid-session, Daniel Ricciardo is in first position with a car fitted with soft tires. Nico Rosberg and his Mercedes come in second position with medium tires. The performance difference between the two tire compounds is quite significant, which will likely force all drivers to use the softer ones to move into Q2, as shown by Daniel Ricciardo’s time compared to the Mercedes. This is confirmed by Ferrari, which directly sends Fernando Alonso out on soft tires. The Spaniard sets the fastest time at 1:30:709.

With five minutes left in the session, it’s Kimi Räikkönen who takes the fastest time, a few hundredths ahead of Fernando Alonso. All the drivers are on soft tires except for the two Red Bull and Mercedes drivers, who have opted for medium tires to set their best time. But with the performance difference, the strategy can be risky.

At the checkered flag, Felipe Massa sets the fastest time with 1:30.547, while Sergio Perez narrowly escapes with the fourteenth time. The first driver on medium tires is fifth, it’s Lewis Hamilton. During this session, only Mercedes and Red Bull did not use the soft tires. Great performances from Daniel Ricciardo (fourth), Nico Hülkenberg (sixth), and Jenson Button (seventh).

Eliminated in Q1: Bottas, Maldonado, Pic, Bianchi, van der Garde, Chilton.

Q2: Jean-Eric Vergne is the first to set off in the quest for a place in the third part of qualifying. The Frenchman sets his first time at 1:31.285, before being narrowly beaten by Paul di Resta. All the drivers on track have chosen the soft tires, only the Red Bull and McLaren drivers are still in the pits after five minutes.

But the time set by the Force India driver doesn’t last long, beaten by Kimi Räikkönen with 1:30.575, just ahead of Romain Grosjean with 1:30.868. Nico Rosberg makes his first mistake of the weekend with a lock-up at turn number 1, while Lewis Hamilton improves the time to 1:30.152. It’s Fernando Alonso who then sets his first flying lap and the Ferrari driver slots in between the two Lotus drivers.

At mid-session, it’s Mercedes leading the session, ahead of Kimi Räikkönen. The battle promises to be fierce to secure a spot in Q3, as both Red Bull drivers are getting ready to head out. Sergio Perez is clearly struggling with his McLaren, as the Mexican driver fails to move up from the bottom of the Q2 rankings. Meanwhile, the Red Bull drivers are showcasing the potential of their car, with Sebastian Vettel clocking the fastest time at 1:29.992 and Mark Webber securing third place despite a small mistake. A strong performance from Romain Grosjean, who finishes 13 thousandths behind the triple world champion German, five tenths ahead of his teammate.

One minute before the end of the session, the track improves more and more, allowing Fernando Alonso to set the best time before being beaten by Felipe Massa in the last seconds. Many drivers improve their times, causing several to drop in the rankings. The main victim is none other than Nico Rosberg, one of the favorites for pole position. The Mercedes driver was not on the track when it was improving, and having lost a tenth or two during his fastest lap, the German driver only managed the eleventh time.

Eliminated from Q2: Rosberg, di Resta, Perez, Gutierrez, Sutil, Vergne

Q3: Daniel Ricciardo and the two Ferrari drivers are the first to go out at the start of the session, quickly followed by almost all the drivers. The evolution of the track at the end of Q2 obviously convinced the teams about the track conditions. But the first three drivers to leave the pits are also the first to return, without completing their timed laps. And it is Kimi Räikkönen who eventually sets the first time in 1:29:970, beaten shortly after by Sebastian Vettel in 1:29:622. Mark Webber and Romain Grosjean are ranked third and fourth respectively, before the last Mercedes in the race, Lewis Hamilton, sets the fastest time in 1:29:540.

At mid-session, only these five drivers have set a time: Hamilton, Vettel, Räikkönen, Webber, Grosjean.

The two Ferrari drivers return to the track with medium tires! The Italian team will not compete for the top positions on the grid, followed by Jenson Button.

With one minute left in the session, all the drivers are on track. Sebastian Vettel improves the best time of the weekend to 1:29.510 while Lewis Hamilton clearly improves his first sector. The Englishman significantly improves his time to 1:29.398, just ahead of the two Red Bull drivers. The two Lotus drivers follow ahead of Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian is ahead of Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, and Nico Hülkenberg.

Results of the 2013 German Grand Prix Qualifying: