Jenson Button took pole as Brawn GP captured a sensational front row lockout at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. More
| P. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jenson Button | Brawn | 1:26.202 |
| 2 | Rubens Barrichello | Brawn | 0:01.001 |
| 3 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 0:01.326 |
| 4 | Robert Kubica | BMW | 0:01.410 |
| 5 | Nico Rosberg | Williams | 0:01.469 |
| 6 | Timo Glock | Toyota | 0:01.471 |
| 7 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 0:01.529 |
| 8 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 0:01.623 |
| 9 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 0:01.659 |
| 10 | Mark Webber | Red Bull | 0:01.742 |
| 11 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW | 0:00.000 |
| 12 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 0:00.101 |
| 13 | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams | 0:00.103 |
| 14 | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren | 0:00.222 |
| 15 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren | 0:00.950 |
| 16 | Sebastien Buemi | Toro Rosso | 0:00.999 |
| 17 | Nelson Piquet | Renault | 0:01.094 |
| 18 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India | 0:01.173 |
| 19 | Adrian Sutil | Force India | 0:01.238 |
| 20 | Sebastien Bourdais | Toro Rosso | 0:01.460 |
- Behind them the second half of the grid from 11th to 20th reads: Heidfeld, Alonso, Nakajima, Kovalainen, Hamilton, Buemi, Piquet, Fisichella, Sutil and Bourdais.
0'
Whew - so it is an all-Brawn front row at Albert Park, with Button ahead of Barrichello!! Third is the brilliant Vettel in the Red Bull, with Kubica fourth, Rosberg fifth, Glock sixth, Massa seventh, Trulli eighth - he really pulled it out as Toyota enjoyed a fantastic finish to qualifying - Raikkonen ninth and Webber a perhaps disappointing 10th.
0'
BUTTON ON POLE IN 1:26.202!!!
0' Rosberg nicks P3, but Kubica immediately takes it from him!!
0' Button still has another chance to top it; Glock goes P3!!
1'
BARRICHELLO ON PROVISIONAL POLE IN 1:26.505!!
1' Brazilian Barrichello flying through the first two sectors...
2' Button and Barrichello still P1 and P2 ahead of the Red Bulls, who are having a great qualifying session so far...
3' New tyres for all of them. Here we go, the big two minutes coming up...
4' The cars come in for slight adjustments ahead of one last push for places.
5' The Ferraris ninth and 10th; the Toyotas ahead of them.
5' Rosberg third before Webber sneaks ahead of him; Kubica gets in between them.
6' Raikkonen bottom of the four to set a time. Trulli betters it while Massa is not as quick as Kimi.
8' Button out and going for an early quick one; he touches the dirt by the track so will have to try again for a really fast lap - but a 1:26.6 is not bad!! Barrichello records a 1:27.1, a second faster than Rosebrg behind him.
9' Who will take the top spot then? The Brawn boys, favourites this weekend, will be confident.
10' The final shootout begins. Hamilton may have to take a five-place grid penalty on the chin - which would put him dead last - if McLaren have to replace the gearbox.
- In case you've not seen, Branson's Virgin are to sponsor Brawn GP this year - their logo is on the cars today. The car is now known as the 'Virgin BGP 001', a bit of a mouthful - read more about it here.
0' Twice world champion Spaniard Alonso, who has seemed confused about whether he can compete for the title this year in the Renault, dropping out then. He found the grass when on a quick lap. Heidfeld also disappointing in the BMW Sauber, reasonably impressive in testing this winter.
0'
The drivers to drop out are: Kovalainen, Nakajima, FERNANDO ALONSO, Heidfeld and of course Hamilton.
1' Barrichello goes P1 and Button P2! 1:24.783 for the top man... Richard Branson smiles on the pit wall.
2' Vettel still quickest, but Barrichello and Button are looking good.
3' Kova not making the supersofts work, still bottom (above the retired Hamilton). Nakajima is above him, while Heidfeld cannot wrestle his BMW out of the drop zone and Trulli is still hanging around down there...
4' Kova on a flying lap, but he is in the bottom 14th spot... he needs to pull it out now!!
5' Kubica goes third, which pushes Trulli into the dreaded knockout zone.
5' The man who set the fastest times in all three practices, German Rosberg, second at the minute - Kova, Heidfeld, Kubica and Nakajima joining the retired Hamilton in the bottom spots.
6'
Third practice got the times down to 1:25.808, which has been bettered somewhat by Sebastian Vettel as he goes top of the timesheets in this mini-session on a 1:25.121.
8' Button takes over with Webber second from Glock, Barrichello, Raikkonen, Massa and Alonso.
10' Glock in P1, but that will change very quickly.
10'
"There was something on the rear of the car: I couldn't continue," he says. "It is the rear drivetrain or something. I'm sure they'll fix it up (for the race)." The reigning world champ will start from 15th of 20 on the grid.
11'
The Ferraris fastest at the moment. News concerning Hamilton - he is out!!
13' The grand prix will take place slightly later tomorrow, about an hour later, and could well finish in the twilight.
15'
Q2 begins, with the remaining 15 drivers starting from scratch. Another five will fall away before a top-10 shootout.
- A fantastic first session from Brawn then. Click here for third practice times from this GP.
0'
And that is how it finishes. The two Brawn cars are fastest, with Barrichello P1 in 1:25.006 and Button second; Webber followed for Red Bull ahead of Glock, Nick Heidfeld and Massa.
0' There are cars crossing the finish line all the time, with Bourdais, Sutil, Fisichella, Piquet and Buemi in trouble... Hamilton only one place outside the 'relegation' places!!
0' ... it is good!! Kova goes eighth. Nelson Piquet Jr drops into the bottom five.
1' Kovalainen on a quick lap, this one has to be good... the clock runs out and...
2' The sole home driver Mark Webber goes P1 on a 1:25.427!! No change in the bottom five going into the final minute...
3'
The positions that matter are down bottom: at present they are early pace setter Fisichella in the Force India, Jarno Trulli of Toyota, Adrian Sutil (Force India), HEIKKI KOVALAINEN IN THE MCLAREN - and Seb Bourdais (Toro Rosso).
4' Rubens Barrichello quickest for Brawn GP! 1:25.815 the time - and Massa isn't far behind. Kazuki Nakajima in the top eight, as is Robert Kubica.
6' Felipe Massa, who fought Hamilton all the way for the Briton's title last season, out on softs.
7' Button with a better lap for Brawn: the order from top downwards is Rosberg, Button, Hamilton, Timo Glock and Fernando Alonso.
10' He does! P2 for the Stevenage driver with a 1:26 - Martin Whitmarsh has said it is damage limitation this weekend, but that wasn't a bad effort.
12' Hamilton emerges late on the soft tyres. Can he find something special?
12' After Sebastien Buemi sneaks into second spot Kimi Raikkonen goes fastest on a 1:26.615.
15'
Nico Rosberg, quickest for Williams in all three practice sessions, goes P1 with a 1:27.083.
16'
Giancarlo Fisichella goes quickest with a 1:28.840.
18' Nine of 20 cars out on track at present, with no one yet to record a flying lap.
20'
The 20-minute session underway in the sun!! It is late afternoon local time.
- First up is Q1 - can Lewis Hamilton pull up his socks in the McLaren when it really matters? Or will Jenson Button carry Britain's hopes?
-
All set for qualifying in Melbourne at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
| Length | 5.303 km |
|---|---|
| Laps | 58 (307.574 Km) |
| Last Year 1, 2, 3 | 1. L. Hamilton 2. N. Heidfeld 3. N. Rosberg |
| Record Lap | M. Schumacher - 1'24''215 (2004, Ferrari) |
| Record Pole | M. Schumacher - 1'24''408 (2004, Ferrari) |
| Last Year Pole | L. Hamilton - 1'26''714 (McLaren) |
| Year | Driver |
|---|---|
| 2008 | L.Hamilton (McLaren) |
| 2007 | K. Raikkonen (Ferrari) |
| 2006 | F. Alonso (Renault) |
| 2005 | G. Fisichella (Renault) |
| 2004 | M. Schumacher (Ferrari) |
| 2003 | D. Coulthard (McLaren) |
| 2002 | M. Schumacher (Ferrari) |
| 2001 | M. Schumacher (Ferrari) |
| 2000 | M. Schumacher (Ferrari) |
| 1999 | E. Irvine (Ferrari) |
| 1998 | M.Hakkinen (McLaren) |
| 1997 | D. Coulthard (McLaren) |
| 1996 | D. Hill (Williams) |
| 1995 | D. Hill (Williams) |
| 1994 | N. Mansell (Williams) |
| 1993 | A. Senna (McLaren) |
| 1992 | G. Berger (McLaren) |
Comment 1 - 10 of 50
Come on Hamilton, what's wrong with your car? Its too early for you to run away from the battle field.
c'mon Williams !
Traditional Big teams will struggle this season. Big time
why is this commentary about ten minutes after the action happens?
masa don't have cahampion skin,it is a simpli driver
1992-2008 results show 7 brits have won this event, so how about Button making it 8
Ferrari will rule tes year n massa 2 driver championship.....
Iam comfident this year ferrari would be the champion again
Come on Massa :D
In the corner 16 may be can ajusts a little bet bcoz its to short to over take while you enter in pits stop..
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