F1 News
- October 18, 2008
China Qualifying
Another sublime final lap from Lewis Hamilton, put together after he struggled in his first fast lap when he had a tank slapper in turn 8 in the Q3 session.
A decent lap from Kimi as well to line up in the second spot, although the feeling is that the Ferrari under him is running low on fuel. Could be an interesting run down to the first corner again tomorrow.
Felipe takes the third spot behind Lewis and Kimi, so still has a sniff of taking the win, behind him is the Renault of Fernando, behind him is Heikki.
Mark Webber’s Red Bull qualified 6th, but will take a ten place drop as the team had to replace the engine after the morning session. Behind Webber is Heidfeld in the lone BMW as Kubica struggled all through the first two sessions with understear.
Vettel pops the first of both Toro Rosso’s into the 8th spot, with Jarno and Bourdais behind him.
So the Chinese GP could set the championship up for a final race showdown, or Lewis could possibly take the title here. There is rain forecast for the race, so that could add even more spice to an already charged climax to the racing.
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:35.566 | 1:34.947 | 1:36.303 | 15 |
| 2 | 1 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:35.983 | 1:35.355 | 1:36.645 | 15 |
| 3 | 2 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:35.971 | 1:35.135 | 1:36.889 | 16 |
| 4 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 1:35.769 | 1:35.461 | 1:36.927 | 18 |
| 5 | 23 | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:35.623 | 1:35.216 | 1:36.930 | 16 |
| 6 | 10 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1:36.238 | 1:35.686 | 1:37.083 | 19 |
| 7 | 3 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 1:36.224 | 1:35.403 | 1:37.201 | 17 |
| 8 | 15 | Sebastian Vettel | STR-Ferrari | 1:35.752 | 1:35.386 | 1:37.685 | 16 |
| 9 | 11 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 1:36.104 | 1:35.715 | 1:37.934 | 19 |
| 10 | 14 | Sebastien Bourdais | STR-Ferrari | 1:36.239 | 1:35.478 | 1:38.885 | 18 |
| 11 | 6 | Nelsinho Piquet | Renault | 1:36.029 | 1:35.722 | 12 | |
| 12 | 4 | Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber | 1:36.503 | 1:35.814 | 14 | |
| 13 | 12 | Timo Glock | Toyota | 1:36.210 | 1:35.937 | 16 | |
| 14 | 17 | Rubens Barrichello | Honda | 1:36.640 | 1:36.079 | 15 | |
| 15 | 7 | Nico Rosberg | Williams-Toyota | 1:36.434 | 1:36.210 | 15 | |
| 16 | 9 | David Coulthard | Red Bull-Renault | 1:36.731 | 7 | ||
| 17 | 8 | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams-Toyota | 1:36.863 | 9 | ||
| 18 | 16 | Jenson Button | Honda | 1:37.053 | 9 | ||
| 19 | 20 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Ferrari | 1:37.730 | 9 | ||
| 20 | 21 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India-Ferrari | 1:37.739 | 9 |
