Vettel grabs maiden pole for Red Bull in China

Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 7:06 AM Posted by Beijing News


Sebastian Vettel delivered the Red Bull team their first pole position when he topped the times with a brilliant performance in qualifying for Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix.

The 21-year-old rising star clocked a best lap of one minute and 36.565 seconds in the closing seconds of a closely-fought session to end Jenson Button's early season run of two straight poles in Australia and Malaysia.

It was Vettel's second pole after seizing his first at last year's Italian Grand Prix where he went on to win his maiden race.

"I am very, very happy," said the German, a popular driver in the paddock who combines a cheeky sense of humour with a serious approach to racing.

"For me, this is unbelievable. We had a few problems with the car this morning and we were running a bit late like we did in Melbourne.

"But it seems the less I run in free practice, the better I am in qualifying. This is great."

Red Bull chief Christian Horner celebrated his new boy's success in only his third appearance after replacing veteran David Coulthard at the end of last season.

"Sebastian has been on the pace all weekend in his car and it has worked out. We are delighted. We took an aggressive strategy and this has paid off for us too," he said.

"Obviously, it is the best place to start this race, but I think managing the tyres is going to be really crucial here."

Button, who was fifth quickest and will start from the third row of the grid, showed little disappointment in not completing a hat-trick of poles.

"No, it is not as good as I had hoped or expected, but the Red Bulls are really competitive here.

"They are going to be tough to beat, but we can try. It is a pity they are ahead of us because it is tough to overtake here, but we will see."

Vettel was joined on the front row of the grid by two-times world champion Fernando Alonso of Spain, who grabbed second for Renault in a car fitted overnight with new floor parts and a new diffuser.

His team worked until 5am to complete the job after the parts were reportedly flown to Shanghai in team chief Flavio Briatore's private jet which was reconfigured with the seating removed to carry the freight.

"When your team do so much and work so hard, you have to give it absolutely everything and I am delighted," said Alonso, on the front row for the first time since last season's Spanish Grand Prix.

Australian Mark Webber was third in the second Red Bull ahead of Brazilian Rubens Barrichello in the leading Brawn and his teammate Button.

Italian Jarno Trulli took sixth for Toyota with German Nico Rosberg seventh for Williams and Finn Kimi Raikkonen eighth for Ferrari.

Glock was later relegated to the back of the grid after a five-place penalty for changing his gearbox.



A man works on the rotor head of a windmill at the fair grounds in Hanover, Germany, where preparations are under way for the Hannover Messe fair for industrial technology. AFP/DDP/Nigel Treblin

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