2010 Australian Grand Prix Qualifying Results

Qualifying is over for the 2010 Australian Grand Prix. The results show an expected front row, but a few surprises as we move back through the field.
 
The refueling ban is certainly having an interesting impact on the season. Qualifying used to be blazingly exciting, but one can start to see it is going to become a bit less so. Why? Well, all the cars are on the same fuel loads so you tend to end up with the same general lineup unless someone makes mistakes.
 
This is exactly what we’ve seen in Australia. The Red Bulls are the fastest single lap [and probably entire race] cars in the field. Vettel took the pole from Webber, but it seems clear we will see the two of them fight for positions for the foreseeable future. The only competition for them is Ferrari with Fernando Alonso looking very good compared to Massa. Regardless, the order of the teams appears to be Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, Renault/Force India, Williams and the also rans.


Driver of Qualifying
 
Sebastian Vettel did stellar, but I’m giving it to Jenson Button. He didn’t just pip Hamilton, he crushed him. Button has his doubters [me!], but it was class driving. He looked strong and smooth all weekend. Given his less than stellar showing in Bahrain, it was a very solid and timely effort.
 
Disappointment of Qualifying
 
Felipe Massa is a definite candidate given the fact he is clearly in the second fastest car in the field, but only qualified fifth. That being said, he still made a decent show of it. The same can’t be said for Lewis Hamilton who “wins” the award. One can’t help but think Hamilton may just skip Australia next year! His epic failure to make the final qualifying is ghastly. The car clearly has the juice as seen through Button’s performance. Hamilton first complained of traffic, but then said grip was an issue. Sounds like someone just needs to admit when they haven’t done well enough.
 
Race Prediction
 
Hello Sebastian Vettel. Goodbye Sebastian! This one has snoozer written all over it. Fastest car starting at the front of the field means a sure fire win. There are only two things that can change it. Webber goes crazily into corner one trying to get out in front for his home grand prix or rain. Both seem to have a pretty good chance of happening, so perhaps this will be an exciting race. Let’s hope so.
 
Here are the specific qualifying results:



1 Sebastian Vettel     Red Bull      1:23.919
2 Mark Webber         Red Bull     +00.116
3 Fernando Alonso     Ferrari     +00.192
4 Jenson Button     McLaren     +00.756
5 Felipe Massa         Ferrari     +00.918
6 Nico Rosberg         Mercedes GP     +00.965
7 Michael Schumacher     Mercedes GP     +01.008
8 Rubens Barrichello     Williams     +01.298
9 Robert Kubica     Renault     +01.453
10 Adrian Sutil     Force India     +02.117
11 Lewis Hamilton     McLaren     +01.265
12 Sebastien Buemi     Toro Rosso     +01.719
13 Vitantonio Liuzzi     Force India     +01.824
14 Pedro de la Rosa     Sauber     +01.828
15 Nico Hülkenberg     Williams     +01.829
16 Kamui Kobayashi     Sauber     +01.858
17 Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso     +02.170
18 Vitaly Petrov     Renault     +02.552
19 Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus     +04.878
20 Jarno Trulli     Lotus     +05.192
21 Timo Glock     Virgin     +05.673
22 Lucas Di Grassi     Virgin     +06.266
23 Bruno Senna     HRT     +06.607
24 Karun Chandhok     HRT     +06.694

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