Belgium – Qualifications: Hamilton turns off the Red Bulls at the wire!

The eleventh qualifying session of the 2013 Formula 1 season takes place at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, in the Ardennes, where the promised rain appeared a few minutes before the start of the session.

Q1: Pastor Maldonado is the first to hit the track and tackle the wet asphalt of the Ardennes rollercoaster. Many drivers set off at the same time, raising real rain clouds on the straights, with intermediate tires that seem sufficient for the moment. Maldonado is caught off guard at the end of the Kemmel straight, at the entrance to Les Combes, and goes straight off. The Venezuelan clocks in at 2:12.831, a time obviously far from the benchmarks.

Lewis Hamilton briefly takes the lead before Nico Rosberg does the same with a time of 2:06.865. All the drivers are on the track trying to set a good lap time, as it’s announced over the radio that conditions should improve. Many drivers are caught off guard in the final sequence, at the Bus Stop chicane, and have to go straight on before returning to the track, like Kimi Räikkönen.

Halfway through Q1, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber are at the top, but Fernando Alonso reminds the Red Bull team of his skill by setting a time of 2:06.209 to position himself at the top of the timesheet. Vettel is warned over the radio that conditions are going to improve, and some drivers might gamble on slick tires. Hamilton then Rosberg take the lead, with the two Mercedes ahead of Räikkönen.

Max Chilton is one of the first drivers to take the risk of going out on medium slick tires, five minutes before the end of this first part of the session, he is notably followed in this by Giedo van der Garde. Esteban Gutierrez seems relatively comfortable in these drying conditions and sets a time that places him second temporarily. All drivers are on track with less than three minutes to go before the checkered flag.

The times are falling and the leaders are succeeding: Maldonado takes the lead, before it’s the turn of Paul Di Resta, Mark Webber, Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton, and finally Fernando Alonso! But it’s especially on the Caterham side that we should look since Giedo van der Garde sets the third fastest time in this Q1! On the Marussia side, Bianchi and Chilton even manage to reach Q2!

Eliminated in Q1: Maldonado, Vergne, Ricciardo, Bottas, Gutierrez, and Pic.

Q2: The drivers go out again on slick tires on a partially dry track. The clouds are still threatening above the Belgian Ardennes. Mark Webber, on hard tires unlike most other drivers, sets the provisional fastest time at 1:50.128. The Ferrari drivers are also trying hard tires: Alonso takes the lead in the session… for a few seconds since Webber reclaims his position shortly after. Räikkönen gets involved in the battle and records a time of 1:49.323, putting him in first place halfway through the session.

Romain Grosjean finishes second, more than five-tenths behind his teammate. Hamilton and Vettel are just heading out on track. The Briton sets the second fastest time, more than two-tenths behind the Finnish leader. But Vettel does better and records a time of 1:48.833 to take first place.

Two minutes from the end, Webber goes on a full attack and takes the lead, but Alonso quickly overtakes with 1:48.309. Surprisingly, Rosberg still hadn’t set a convincing time and he goes out at the very end of the session, yet he manages to secure the third fastest time overall. Grosjean and Button ensure their place in Q3 at the end, as does Hamilton who is tenth.

**Eliminated in Q2:** Hülkenberg, Sutil, Pérez, Van der Garde, Bianchi and Chilton.

Q3: The crowd seems to be stirring, could the rain be making a return? In any case, the top drivers are rushing out of the pits with the two Red Bulls surrounding Grosjean, ahead of the two Mercedes, Räikkönen, the two Ferraris, and Button. Only di Resta is not taking the chance.

At the Kemmel braking zone, Vettel assertively takes the lead over Grosjean as the track is indeed slightly wet. The drivers, on slicks, will hurry up as the rain is very heavy in the last section. The drivers will head to the pits as the conditions are very dangerous.

Di Resta is alone on the track. He is quickly joined by Felipe Massa, but the Scot might have made a big move by putting on the intermediate tires. 2:02.332 for the Force India driver. Massa, who is the fastest driver out of the pits besides Di Resta, encounters a track that is almost completely wet. These conditions will favor the provisional leader as Massa falls short by 1.7 seconds.

There are less than three minutes remaining, and it seems challenging to catch the tenacious di Resta. Webber and Vettel are three seconds behind, Räikkönen four. Only Rosberg is standing out in the Belgian waters, as he is just five-tenths behind despite completing a lap in very wet conditions.

Di Resta is already in the pits while Vettel gets going again, but especially Rosberg gets ahead of the Scotsman by 81 thousandths! The track dries considerably and Webber grabs the provisional pole, but Vettel and finally Hamilton take the lead! Incredible finale! The Brit crosses the line last and takes pole position ahead of the two Red Bulls!

This is the 31st pole position of Lewis Hamilton’s career, the fourth in a row this season and the 17th for Mercedes, once again positioning themselves as the team to beat for tomorrow’s race!

Results of the 2013 Belgian Grand Prix qualifiers: