A new force has arrived in Shanghai. No, it is not Force India.
The Red Bulls have dominated the qualifying session like they know how it will end. Mark Webber, who topped Q2, like the rest of the field went out more than 20 laps in the qualifying session, including in-laps and out-laps. Sebastian Vettel meanwhile, went out only 10 laps. In qualifying laps, that means three laps : one lap each for Q1, Q2, and Q3. And he got pole.
In one of the most exciting qualifying since Silverstone 2007, the Brawns have been relegated to fourth and fifth. And this time Barichello has out-qualify Button. And who out-qualify them instead? Fernando Alonso - the technical genius.
PRACTICE 2
Practice 2 saw Jenson Button topping the timesheet and teammate Barichello went third. Usual suspect, Nico Rosberg, did not continue his practice time streak when he topped the time in Practice 1.
It was also reported that in Practice 1, Fernando Alonso's R29 was running on interim rear diffuser and they broke. That must have compromised other components on his Renault, as he clocked two second off pace in both Practice 2 and 3.
PRACTICE 3
In Practice 3, Nico Rosberg continues his dominance as he topped the timesheet the sixth time in nine practice sessions. Formula One analysts and followers will be having tough times figuring the Williams performance. Are they competitive or are they not? Most of us already agreed that they are like the Scuderi Ferraris - just plain bad luck.
It is noticeable that both Hamilton and Kovalainen are clocking better times. The MP4-24 of Hamilton is on new aero package, explaining his better pace. McLaren are really quick turning their performance his season, as proved by Heikki Kovalainen's car. While Ferrari, BMW, Renault and Red Bull busy protesting the double diffuser, McLaren have long develop a rear diffuser solution for their machines.
The Ferraris are as usual lingering withing the reach of top ten places. But plain bad luck and error in strategies made them unable to maximize the F60 package.
QUALIFYING
Back to qualifying. Alonso's mechanic are to be praised for. They have managed to repair the Renault to the extend that the double World Champion grabbed front row.
The Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel reportedly have mechanical concerns, that's why he minimize his qualifying laps. The issue occur on Mark Webber's RB5 as well but the mechanics solved it. If it happen Vettel did not finish tomorrow, then Fernando Alonso will have a bright chance to secure his first win of the season.
The Brawns are a little bit under the pace. To me it is simply Ferrari doing Massa's qualifying. They have broken the cardinal rule of competition - they underestimated their rivals. That alone is more than enough to push Barichello and Button to fourth and fifth respectively.
Felipe Massa did not make it to Q3 as well as Kovalainen. The surprise of the season, aside of the Ferrari, is the performance of the BMWs. Especiallt Robert Kubica, who struggle without the KERS. Although he run as high as third in Australia, it is obvious he's not going to be in point scoring pace. Heidfeld fare better, almost made it to Q3.
According to the weather forecast, there is 85% chance it is going to rain in Shanghai tomorrow. If it does rain heavily, it might halt the startup. If it is just a mild one, they might start behind the safety car until Charlie Whiting believes it is safe to go race pace.
If it rains, most probably Vettel will repeat his performance at Monza last year, even more, he is starting from pole. But we cannot brush off both the Brawns and Alonso, as Malaysia is not a definite reference to this year's cars performance in wet.
And since we know the weight of the cars, we can expect a few surprises if it does rain.
1. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, 644kg
2. Fernando Alonso, Renault, 637
3. Mark Webber, Red Bull, 646.5
4. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn GP, 661
5. Jenson Button, Brawn GP, 659
6. Jarno Trulli, Toyota, 664.5
7. Nico Rosberg, Williams, 650.5
8. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 673.5
9. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 679
10. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 673
11. Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber, 679
12. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren, 697
13. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 690
14. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams, 682.7
15. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso, 690
16. Nelson Piquet, Renault, 697.9
17. Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber, 659
18. Adrian Sutil, Force India, 648
19. Timo Glock, Toyota, 652
20. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India, 679.5
Alonso is the lightest in the top ten. That might not be good in rain pace, or if they started behind the safety car. Heikki Kovalainen and Felipe Massa is heavier than the rest, they might score some unexpected points tomorrow.
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