Mercedes AMG’s Lewis Hamilton pipped Red Bull Racing duo Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber to secure pole position for the 2013 Formula One German Grand Prix.
A late effort by the young Briton saw him edge out local favorite Vettel, with his fastest time coming in at 1:29.398.
Vettel, meanwhile, posted a 1:29.501 while Webber posted a 1:29.608 to take out the third spot on the grid for tomorrow’s race.
Continuing his consistent form this season was Lotus’ Kimi Räikkönen, who was fourth fastest of the day. His team-mate, Romain Grosjean, rounded out the top five places on the time sheet.
Behind them in sixth was Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Daniel Ricciardo and then it was the two Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso in seventh and eight spots, respectively. Ninth on the grid was taken by McLaren’s Jenson Button while tenth went to Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg.
Today’s qualifying session started off with concerns of a fire when smoke was seen emanating from the garage of Williams. It turns out there was a problem with the KERS of Pastor Maldonado’s car, which was the cause of the smoke. Maldonado still managed to put in a qualifying lap, but didn't make it past the first round. He will start at 18th on the grid tomorrow.
The weather at the Nürburgring where the German Grand Prix is being held this year was near perfect, and it looks like a repeat tomorrow. Going into the race, Sebastian Vettel leads the Drivers’ Championship with 132 points, followed by Fernando Alonso with 111 points and Kimi Räikkönen with 98 points.
In the Constructors’ Championship, Red Bull Racing remains the clear leader with 219 points versus the 171 points of Mercedes AMG and the 168 points of Ferrari.
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