Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) earned his 13th pole position of the season, and is now only one pole away from Nigel Mansell's 1992 record.
Mansell also established a record for the most wins in a season (9) in 1992. His record was later surpassed by Schumacher, who earned 11 race victories in 2002. With three races left in 2011 (India, Abu Dhabi, Brazil), Vettel could earn as much as 13 this season.
Whether he aims to beat the record or not is another topic however. The German did say his main concern now was to help his team-mate Mark Webber earn his first win of the season.
Second behind Vettel, Webber would be in very a good position to do so, if it wasn't for the dusty track and a hungry Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) sitting in third position.
The 2011 Indian Grand Prix being the first race ever held at the Buddh International Circuit, the 'green' track makes it very difficult both to overtake and to start off the racing line.
Webber had qualified third – on the clean side of the track – but he was boosted to second when Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) was handed a three-spot penalty for ignoring yellow flags during Friday free practice.
Alonso therefore inherited third spot. Whether he will be challenging for victory or not is questionable, given Vettel's impressive record. But the Spaniard will definitely try his best.
His Ferrari team-mate, Felipe Massa, suffered a suspension failure near the end of Q3. The right-front corner of his car collapsed when the Brazilian clipped the curb in corner 8. Massa called on the organizers to improve the situation for future events.
“I came into Turn Eight and went over the kerb and the front right suspension gave way in the impact with the raised orange part, which in my opinion is too high at this point. It’s a very fast corner, taken at around 215 km/h and it could be arranged differently,” he said.
Out-shined by Vettel, the two Toro Rossos also did well. Both Jaime Alguersuari and Sébastien Buemi made it to the top 10.
“A great performance from the drivers and the team today means we have both cars in the top ten on the grid for the first time since China. Our car is definitely getting faster as we approach the end of the season,” commented Laurent Mekies, Toro Rosso's chief engineer.
Local hero Narain Karthikeyan did get his fair share of attention, albeit for the wrong reason. After out-qualifying his HRT team-mate, Daniel Ricciardo, the Indian was penalized five spots on the grid for getting in the way of a Michael Schumacher on a fast lap, during Q1.
Source: Formula1.com
Qualifying results – Indian Grand Prix (Buddh International Circuit)
1. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB7-Renault) - 1'24"178 – Q3
2. Mark Webber (Red Bull RB7-Renault) - 1'24"508 – Q3
3. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari 150) - 1'24"519 – Q3
4. Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/26-Mercedes) - 1'24"950 – Q3
5. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/26-Mercedes) - 1'24"474 - Q3 **
6. Felipe Massa (Ferrari 150) - 1'25"122 – Q3
7. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes MGP W02) - 1'25"451 – Q3
8. Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM04-Mercedes) - no time – Q3
9. Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso STR6-Ferrari) - no time – Q3
10. Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso STR6-Ferrari) - no time – Q3
11. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes MGP W02) - 1'26"337 – Q2
12. Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM04-Mercedes) - 1'26"503 – Q2
13. Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW33-Cosworth) - 1'26"537 – Q2
14. Bruno Senna (Renault R31) - 1'26"651 – Q2
15. Rubens Barrichello (Williams FW33-Cosworth) - 1'27"247 – Q2
16. Vitaly Petrov (Renault R31) - 1'26"319 - Q2 ***
17. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber C30-Ferrari) - 1'27"876 – Q1
18. Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus T128-Renault) - 1'28"565 – Q1
19. Jarno Trulli (Lotus T128-Renault) - 1'28"752 – Q1
20. Sergio Perez (Sauber C30-Ferrari) - 1'27"562 - Q2 **
21. Jérôme d'Ambrosio (Virgin VR02-Cosworth) - 1'30"866 – Q1
22. Timo Glock (Virgin VR02-Cosworth) - 1'34"046 – Q1
23. Daniel Ricciardo (Hispania F111-Cosworth) - 1'30"216 - Q1 * *
24. Narain Karthikeyan (Hispania F111-Cosworth) - 1'30"238 – Q1****
*Penalized for gear box change
**Penalized for yellow flag infringement on Friday
***Penalized for Corea incident with Michael Schumacher
****Penalized for impeding Schumacher
Source: ItaliaRacing.net
Mansell also established a record for the most wins in a season (9) in 1992. His record was later surpassed by Schumacher, who earned 11 race victories in 2002. With three races left in 2011 (India, Abu Dhabi, Brazil), Vettel could earn as much as 13 this season.
Whether he aims to beat the record or not is another topic however. The German did say his main concern now was to help his team-mate Mark Webber earn his first win of the season.
Second behind Vettel, Webber would be in very a good position to do so, if it wasn't for the dusty track and a hungry Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) sitting in third position.
The 2011 Indian Grand Prix being the first race ever held at the Buddh International Circuit, the 'green' track makes it very difficult both to overtake and to start off the racing line.
Webber had qualified third – on the clean side of the track – but he was boosted to second when Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) was handed a three-spot penalty for ignoring yellow flags during Friday free practice.
Alonso therefore inherited third spot. Whether he will be challenging for victory or not is questionable, given Vettel's impressive record. But the Spaniard will definitely try his best.
His Ferrari team-mate, Felipe Massa, suffered a suspension failure near the end of Q3. The right-front corner of his car collapsed when the Brazilian clipped the curb in corner 8. Massa called on the organizers to improve the situation for future events.
“I came into Turn Eight and went over the kerb and the front right suspension gave way in the impact with the raised orange part, which in my opinion is too high at this point. It’s a very fast corner, taken at around 215 km/h and it could be arranged differently,” he said.
Out-shined by Vettel, the two Toro Rossos also did well. Both Jaime Alguersuari and Sébastien Buemi made it to the top 10.
“A great performance from the drivers and the team today means we have both cars in the top ten on the grid for the first time since China. Our car is definitely getting faster as we approach the end of the season,” commented Laurent Mekies, Toro Rosso's chief engineer.
Local hero Narain Karthikeyan did get his fair share of attention, albeit for the wrong reason. After out-qualifying his HRT team-mate, Daniel Ricciardo, the Indian was penalized five spots on the grid for getting in the way of a Michael Schumacher on a fast lap, during Q1.
Source: Formula1.com
Qualifying results – Indian Grand Prix (Buddh International Circuit)
1. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB7-Renault) - 1'24"178 – Q3
2. Mark Webber (Red Bull RB7-Renault) - 1'24"508 – Q3
3. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari 150) - 1'24"519 – Q3
4. Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/26-Mercedes) - 1'24"950 – Q3
5. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/26-Mercedes) - 1'24"474 - Q3 **
6. Felipe Massa (Ferrari 150) - 1'25"122 – Q3
7. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes MGP W02) - 1'25"451 – Q3
8. Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM04-Mercedes) - no time – Q3
9. Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso STR6-Ferrari) - no time – Q3
10. Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso STR6-Ferrari) - no time – Q3
11. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes MGP W02) - 1'26"337 – Q2
12. Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM04-Mercedes) - 1'26"503 – Q2
13. Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW33-Cosworth) - 1'26"537 – Q2
14. Bruno Senna (Renault R31) - 1'26"651 – Q2
15. Rubens Barrichello (Williams FW33-Cosworth) - 1'27"247 – Q2
16. Vitaly Petrov (Renault R31) - 1'26"319 - Q2 ***
17. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber C30-Ferrari) - 1'27"876 – Q1
18. Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus T128-Renault) - 1'28"565 – Q1
19. Jarno Trulli (Lotus T128-Renault) - 1'28"752 – Q1
20. Sergio Perez (Sauber C30-Ferrari) - 1'27"562 - Q2 **
21. Jérôme d'Ambrosio (Virgin VR02-Cosworth) - 1'30"866 – Q1
22. Timo Glock (Virgin VR02-Cosworth) - 1'34"046 – Q1
23. Daniel Ricciardo (Hispania F111-Cosworth) - 1'30"216 - Q1 * *
24. Narain Karthikeyan (Hispania F111-Cosworth) - 1'30"238 – Q1****
*Penalized for gear box change
**Penalized for yellow flag infringement on Friday
***Penalized for Corea incident with Michael Schumacher
****Penalized for impeding Schumacher
Source: ItaliaRacing.net