Qualifying Report
Chinese GP
Sebastian Vettel secured the first ever pole position for the Red Bull Team in Shanghai today. To underline their strong form Mark Webber was 3rd fastest, having been edged off the front row of the grid in the dying moments of the final shoot out by Fernando Alonso, the Renault clearly all the better for a new twin diffuser. Brawn GP was denied the limelight today but nonetheless still start the race from the front end of the grid, with Barrichello 4th and Button 5th fastest. Qualifying master Jarno Trulli rounded out the top 6 in the Toyota. Nico Rosberg secured a creditable 7th for Williams ahead of Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton's McLaren. Rookie Sebastian Buemi brought a smile to the faces of the Toro Rosso team with a fantastic 10th place. Interestingly some big names fell by the wayside today, notably Felipe Massa in Q2, Heikki Kovalainen Q2 and both of the BMW's of Nick Heidfeld, eliminated in Q2 and Robert Kubica who faired worse going out in Q1 after having had the KERS device removed from his car. Red Bull is beginning to show some real potential, and surely a win beckons. Later today the FIA will release the starting weights of the cars and this will provide a deeper insight into what has been a fascinating prelude to tomorrow's race. Join us again then!.
