Qualifying at the Canadian Grand Prix lived up to all the hype today, with four teams fighting it out for Pole position swapping fastest lap times with almost every lap in the final qualifying session.
With only Lewis hamilton on a flying lap it looked as though it was going to be a Red Bull One two again, extending their unbroken streak of Pole positions and Webber claiming his fourth Pole in a role after putting in a fantastic lap on Prime tires kissing the wall as he came through the famous turn 12. But Hamilton played the role of spoiler today.
After changing to the option tire Hamilton just managed to finish his first Flying lap before the chequered flag came out allowing him one additional lap and what a lap it was, Fastest in all three sectors setting fastest lap overall at 1:15.102, over two tenths faster than Mark Webber.
Canadian Grand Prix Grid Position
| Grid Position | Driver/Team | Grid Position | Driver/Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamilton/McLaren | 2 | Webber/Red Bull Racing |
| 3 | Vettel/Red Bull Racing | 4 | Alonso/Ferrari |
| 5 | Button/McLaren | 6 | Liuzzi/Force India |
| 7 | Massa/Ferrari | 8 | Kubica/Renault |
| 9 | Sutil/Force India | 10 | Rosberg/Mercedes GP |
| 11 | Barrichello/Williams F1 | 12 | Hulkenberg/Wiliams F1 |
| 13 | Schumacher/Mercedes GP | 14 | Petrov/Renault |
| 15 | Buemi/Toro Rosso | 16 | Alguersuari/Toro Rosso |
| 17 | De La Rosa/BMW Sauber F1 | 18 | Kobayashi/BMW Sauber F1 |
| 19 | Kovalainen/Lotus Racing | 20 | Trulli/Lotus Racing |
| 21 | Glock/Virgin Racing | 22 | Senna/HRT F1 Team |
| 23 | Di Grassi/Virgin Racing | 24 | Chandhok/HRT F1 Team |
2010 F1 Season, Round 8, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal
However Hamilton’s Pole position was not without controversy, right after he took the chequered flag his team instructed him over the radio to turn off his engine so that they would have enough fuel for the FIA check. Lewis was running so light on fuel he was pretty much running on fumes on his return to the pits. That instruction from the team earned Hamilton a fine for stopping on track, and while several teams claimed foul, the FIA did not take away his pole position.
Further down the grid Ferrari had a pretty good day with Alonso qualifying well with Massa just a few slots back, but the team that is most likely celebrating the hardest this evening is Force India with both drivers qualifying in the top nine, ahead of Mercedes GP. A great result for the Team and especially for Tonio Liuzzi who out qualified Sutil.
Tomorrow is going to be an exciting race, Both Red Bulls are on the prime tires while Pole sitter Hamilton is on the options which have proven to be problematic so far this weekend only lasting for a few good laps and then going off quickly. Unless their is an early safety car Hamilton may well end up loosing out to Webber and Vettel on tire strategy.
Don’t forget that the race is being brodcast on Fox tomorrow for the broadcast time check here
