US Grand Prix 2013: Sebastian Vettel pips Mark Webber for pole at Austin

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Sebastian Vettel posted a lap time of 1:36.338 right at the end of the session to pip his teammate Mark Webber and take pole position for 2013 US Grand Prix. The German driver lost two tenths of a second in the very first sector to provisional pole sitter Mark Webber, but turned it around in the final sector to take his 44th career pole.The track evolved continuously in qualifying in terms of wind direction and grip and drivers had to adapt their style to cope up with the changed circumstances.

Romain Grosjean was best of the rest in third place after clocking the Austin circuit in 1:37.155, nearly seven tenths off the closest Red Bull. Nico Hulkenberg will join Grosjean on the second row after posting a lap time of 1:37.296.Lewis Hamilton was only fifth fastest in the Mercedes and his disappointment was clean when he had his dead down while completing the mandatory weight checks. His teammate Nico Rosberg had an even horrible weekend as he failed to make it to the final qualifying showdown. The German qualified for the race in 14th place.

Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso qualified in sixth place with 1:37.376 despite initial doubts over Ferrari’s pace. Sergio Perez was the sole McLaren runner who could make it into Q3 after a dejected Jenson Button could only post the 13th fastest time in Q2. He would further get a three place penalty for overtaking Daniil Kvyat during red flag in FP1.

Heikki Kovalainen had an impressive qualifying considering his lack of running this season. The Finn lapped his Lotus E21 in 1:37.715 to take eighth place. Valtteri Bottas, who topped the first leg of qualifying had to settle in for ninth in Q3. Nevertheless, it’s a great result for the 24 year old considering his more experienced and wealthy teammate Pastor Maldonado failed to get past Q1. Esteban Gutierrez rounded up the top 10.

Daniel Ricciardo was the first driver to be eliminated in Q2 and will be the first driver to have a free choice of tyres to start with. Paul di Resta’s time was one tenth slower than Ricciardo and he would line his car alongside the Australian in 12th.

Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg were 13th and 14th in McLaren and Mercedes respectively after a disappointing session for both the drivers. Felipe Massa had an equally poor day at the office as he could qualify only in 15th place.

In Q1, Bottas set the pace while Sutil was the first to be eliminated after his car encountered a transmission problem, as soon as he started his final flying lap. Maldonado finished a position behind in 18th after encountering traffic throughout the session. Giedo Van der Garde was ahead of Marussia’s Jules Bianchi and his own teammate Charles Pic, with whom he is now 9-9 in the intra team qualifying battle. Max Chilton will start the race from back of the grid.