Hamilton storms to pole for Italy GP

• Adrian Sutil second and Kimi Raikkonen third• Jenson Button to start in sixth placeLewis Hamilton stormed to the 15th pole position of his career ahead of tomorrow's Italian grand prix. The reigning world champion saved it until the final moment as he was the last to cross the line in a hotly contested final ten-minute showdown, deposing Force India's Adrian Sutil from top spot.There was a possibility Hamilton could be penalised, though, as he appeared to impede Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi late on in the initial 20-minute Q1. However, given Buemi was never going to make it into the next session, it was hard to imagine the stewards penalising Hamilton.After claiming his second pole position of the year, and pipping close friend Sutil, Hamilton said: "It was a very close qualifying session, and I'm very happy to see Adrian up here. Since Formula Three it's been a long time since we've been in a press conference together, and on the front row. But it was such a great feeling to put a great lap together."People need to understand, you have one shot at it at the end, so to pull it off is amazing. I don't think we anticipated being just as quick as we are this weekend, so it's a bonus to everyone in the team."Behind another unusual front row, given Sutil's performance, Kimi Raikkonen again gave Ferrari something to cheer. He will start third, with the 2007 world champion joined on the second row by his fellow Finn, McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen.The Brawns, clearly back in form after their recent struggles, are on the third row, with Rubens Barrichello starting fifth and Jenson Button sixth, the Brazilian out-qualifying the Briton for the third successive race.On his debut for Force India, Tonio Liuzzi gave the team another historic moment as he will start seventh, the first time they have managed to get both cars into the top 10. Renault's Fernando Alonso starts eighth, followed by the Red Bulls of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, their title hopes fading further.BMW Sauber suffered a wretched Q2 as both Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld retired, with engine trouble. Kubica will start 13th and Heidfeld 15th, with the man to split them being Giancarlo Fisichella on his debut for Ferrari. The 36-year-old has clearly struggled to adapt to the car in the wake of his move from Force India nine days ago, notably crashing it this morning in final practice.Toyota's Jarno Trulli will start from 11th, with Romain Grosjean a semi-respectable 12th for Renault bearing in mind his car has KERS on board this weekend.Williams' fears regarding this circuit were certainly realised as both Kazuki Nakajima and Nico Rosberg failed to make it out of Q1. For Rosberg, who had qualified in the top 10 in 11 of the previous 12 races this season, the 24-year-old will start from his lowest position of the year in 18th, one place behind Nakajima.Toyota's Timo Glock was another unable to find the downforce and power required for Monza as he starts 16th, with the Toro Rossos bringing up the rear. Buemi will line up 19th, with Jaime Alguersuari 20th, the young Spaniard's five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change after final practice not counting for anything on this occasion.Positions after qualifying1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1min 24.066secs, 2 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:24.261, 3 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:24.523, 4 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:24.845, 5 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:25.015, 6 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 1:25.030, 7 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Force India 1:25.043, 8 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:25.072, 9 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:25.180, 10 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:25.314, 11 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:23.611, 12 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Renault 1:23.728, 13 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:23.866, 14 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Ferrari 1:23.901, 15 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:24.275, 16 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:24.036, 17 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:24.074, 18 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:24.121, 19 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:24.220, 20 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:24.951Formula OneMotor sportLewis Hamiltonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

British grand prix – live!

Join Gemma for all the action. Any insights, questions or comments can be e-mailed hereLap 17: Raikkonen (P10) has leap-frogged Nakajima (P11) in those stops. Hamilton - being held up by the slower Kubica - tells his engineer he cannot pass as he has no grip.Lap 16: Kazuki 'I'm running on a wisp of fuel' Nakajima is the first to pit. He stays on the harder tyre. Vettel does another fastest lap. Button is now 27.4 seconds adrift of the leader. Raikkonen also pits.Lap 12: Not much drama to report I'm afraid folks. Here's the order: Vettel, Barrichello, Webber, Nakajima (I know!), Raikkonen, Rosberg, Trulli, Button, Massa, Glock, Fisichella (go on my son), Heidfeld, Alonso, Kubica, Hamilton, Piquet, Bourdais, Buemi, Kovalainen and Sutil.Lap 11: My carefully-positioned boyfriend... erm, sorry, I mean track-side mole... is embedded at Club. But all he has to report is that there are plenty of chips being consumed (gernerous servings too, apparently). And it's a bit chilly.Lap 10: Vettel's lead now 10 seconds and he's just posted another fastest lap. Webber maintains his close pursuit of Barrichello but has not thrown any moves.Lap nine: Hamilton's engineers have told him he must get past Kubica (P14). But the Brit said yesterday that his car is so poor the only way to drive it is slowly.Lap eight: Heidfeld is running well in 12th, having started 15th, despite his poorly nose (on the car, you understand).Lap seven: Vettel's lead is over 7 seconds now, but there's only eight tenths between Barrichello and Webber. Button still in eighth - he's over 15 seconds shy of the race leader now.Lap five: Webber is six seconds behind his team-mate in third. He'll need to get past Barrichello if he wants to hunt him down. Kubica has taken 14th from Hamilton - looks like happened when Alonso (in P13) ran wide and held up Hamilton, allowing the BMW through.Lap four: Over the radio we can hear Heidfeld's engineer telling him 'box! box!' (which means pit, not slam another driver in the face) for a new nose. But the militant German says 'nein'. He'll wait until the first stop. Vettel's lead now 4.4sec.Lap three: Vettel is storming - he made almost a second on Barrichello in that lap. Kovalainen wins the prize for worst start: he lined up in 13th and he's back in 19th.Lap two: Vettel's lead is already 2.5seconds, he's the fastest car on track. Hamilton is up to 14th already - he can see a points finish in his sights. Button has re-passed Massa for eighth.Lap one: Trulli also dropped down the order at the start. The Ferraris both got flyers - Massa looked fantastic surging past Button. The order in the top ten after the first tour: Vettel, Barrichello, Webber, Nakajima, Raikkonen, Rosberg, Trulli, Massa, Button and Glock.The start: Vettel good start, keeps ahead of Barrichello and Webber. Button has dropped down to eighth.Most of the frontrunners - apart from the Williams cars - are starting on the softer option tyres. We're about to get underway...Enough politics. We're counting down to the start of the GP now. It looks a little breezy at the former airfield. Flavio Briatore has told the BBC's Martin Brundle that he "loves" Bernie Ecclestone. Victoria Pendleton "cannot believe" that she's been standing on the Formula One grid. And Lewis Hamilton is casting round for a pair of binoculars so he can get a glimpse of the front of the pack...More breaking news: The Big Row has given Donington Park a 'get out of jail free' card. Apparently, if the planned breakaway goes ahead, the circuit bosses can pull out of their contract to host the GP. Which would help them out of any hole, were they not to achieve the funding necessary to bring the circuit up to scratch, wouldn't it?I think the news editor will pull out my computer's power cable if I don't mention The Big Row. The latest news: in a quote that will leave the City's finest barristers weeping into their copies of the Sunday Times this morning, Max Mosley has said that a resolution is imminent. "I think we would rather talk than litigate," he said. "We are very, very close as far as the facts are concerned. It's just if the teams want to sit down and iron out the last few difficulties." So are we close to a resolution then? Let's hope so: my fingernails are already bitten to the quick and I can handle any more last-minute re-writes. But what do you care about my bleeding hands - email me with your thoughts.Elsewhere on the grid, the Williams pair were light-fuelled and running highly. But the big story had to be Lewis Hamilton's dire 19th position. He wasn't helped by the red flags coming out owing to Adrian Sutil's heafty shunt, but the reigning champion later claimed he had little more to come from his curtailed flying lap. At least it'll be fun to watch him try and work his way up the field. Funny, though, how we've been uttering that line for the past few races. But we absolutely won't say 'what a difference a year makes'. That would be too cliched. Ooops.So Vettel, the only man other than Jenson to have won a grand prix this season, sits on pole. And what a lap it was. Information on the fuel loads released last night showed that the young German's car was carrying two more laps of fuel compared to team-mate Webber - with the Brawn GP drivers' cars carrying less than both the Red Bulls. So you'd have to fancy that the energy drink-powered cars have the edge, right? Both drivers praised recent technical developments made by the Milton Keynes-based squad, while Button could only whinge about his skitterish Brawn.1. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull-Renault2. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn-Mercedes3. Mark Webber, Red Bull-Renault4. Jarno Trulli, Toyota5. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams-Toyota6. Jenson Button, Brawn-Mercedes7. Nico Rosberg, Williams-Toyota8. Timo Glock, Toyota9. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari10. Fernando Alonso, Renault11. Felipe Massa, Ferrari12. Robert Kubica, BMW-Sauber13. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren-Mercedes14. Nelson Piquet, Renault15. Nick Heidfeld, BMW-Sauber16. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India-Mercedes17. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso-Ferrari18. Adrian Sutil, Force India-Mercedes19. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes20. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso-FerrariBut let's say 'pah!' to those anoraks at the circuit anyway - they were smugly expecting to watch hero-de-jour Jenson Button triumph, weren't they? Not so confident now though. Sixth on the grid? What's all that about we demanded after yesterday's qualifying session. No grip, according to Sir Jenson of Frome. Skating around like a duckling on an icy pond, apparently. Ole Button has written off his chances of victory already, so what can we expect from today's race? Let's remind ourselves of the grid...Well hello. So you're not one of the 90,000 people who've made the pilgrimage to Silverstone for it's last-ever Formula One grand prix* (*possibly) then? Never mind. I was going to say that it'll probably rain and you're better off tucked up on your sofa watching the action with a mug of tea and a packet of Hob Nobs. But I have to report that when I left home this morning - the Briggs abode being close enough to the track that the fat cats' helicopters were interfering with my television signal as I tried to watch Roary the Racing Car early this morning - the skies were a beautiful blue and not a drop of moisture threatened my 'do.Formula oneMotor sportBrawnToyotaFerrariToro RossoRed BullForce IndiaRenaultSauberWilliamsMcLarenLewis HamiltonJenson Buttonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Buemi seat safe at Toro Rosso

Sebastien Buemi is likely to remain with Toro Rosso beyond the end of this season, team boss Franz Tost indicated on Friday...  

Alguersuari to test Toro Rosso on Friday

Somewhere in Italy Jaime Alguersuari will adjust to his new cockpit surroundings with a test in Toro Rosso's heavily revised STR4 car this Friday...  

Massa crashes in qualifying race

• Alonso takes pole with Red Bull duo second and third• Button qualifies in eighth with Hamilton fourthFelipe Massa was airlifted to a local hospital following a crash in qualifying for the Hungarian grand prix that knocked the Brazilian unconscious.Massa ran over a piece of debris on the track towards the close of the middle 15-minute session that had been deposited earlier by Rubens Barrichello's Brawn GP. The debris appeared to lodge beneath the Ferrari, seemingly locking into place not only the steering column, but also the throttle. On-screen graphics showed the throttle was open as he straight-lined off the track at turn four, ploughing nose first into a tyre barrier.Skid marks across the considerable run-off area showed the 28-year-old had at least attempted to brake before the collision. However, the fact he made no attempt to turn away from the impact suggested a further problem with the steering.The force of the collision knocked Massa unconscious as he showed no signs of movement inside the cockpit of his car for some time before being attended to by on-track paramedics. After being taken to the circuit's medical centre in what the FIA described as "a stable condition", Massa was then flown to a city hospital for further examination, a standard procedure in formula one.To add to the drama, the timing screens went black towards the end of the top-10 shootout, throwing everybody into confusion as not even the drivers had a clue as to who had taken pole. After several minutes, it finally came through that Fernando Alonso for Renault had taken pole, followed by the Red Bull duo of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, with Lewis Hamilton fourth for McLaren.It was the double world champion's first pole since the Italian Grand Prix in 2007, and the 18th of his career. Explaining the chaos at the end, Alonso said: "We were chatting amongst ourselves in parc ferme trying to find out what happened. It was a fantastic effort from the team. We put in some new parts at the Nurburging [German Grand Prix], and we've showed we have made a step forward."Behind world champion Hamilton will be Williams' Nico Rosberg, the second McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, with championship leader Jenson Button down in eighth. The heat of Budapest was meant to aid Button's cause after the cool of Britain and Germany had led to Red Bull one-twos in the last two races. But not even the sunshine could come to Button's aid, and his 21-point lead in the title race threatens to be eroded further at the Hungaroring.Behind Button are Williams' Kazuki Nakajima, with Massa 10th as he naturally took no part in the closing 10 minutes, however, he will be in a position to race tomorrow.In the 15-minute Q2, the biggest loser was Rubens Barrichello, with the Brazilian failing to make it into the top 10 for the first time this season due to the part that broke off his car.The 37-year-old will start a miserable 13th, with that failure potentially wrecking his championship chances, which could now prompt Brawn into putting all their eggs into Button's basket.Although rookie Jaime Alguersuari became the youngest to take part in a Formula One qualifying session, there was no fairytale for the 19-year-old. Alguersuari had run faultlessly through three practice sessions, at least proving he was anything but "a danger" as suggested by triple world champion Niki Lauda.In qualifying, however, Alguersuari was undermined by an electrical fault that forced him to pull his Toro Rosso off track in the final sector. Come the conclusion of the 20-minute period, Alguersuari sat at the bottom of the timesheets, in many respects where he was expected to finish even if his car had not let him down.Grid positions after Qualifying1 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1min 21.569secs, 2 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:21.607, 3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:21.741, 4 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1:21.839, 5 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:21.890, 6 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:22.095, 7 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:22.468, 8 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 1:22.511, 9 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:22.835, 10 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari No time, 11 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:21.002, 12 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:21.082, 13 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:21.222, 14 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:21.242, 15 Nelson Piquet Jr. (Bra) Renault 1:21.389, 16 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:21.738, 17 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 1:21.807, 18 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:21.868, 19 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:21.901, 20 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:22.359Formula OneLewis HamiltonJenson ButtonMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Lewis Hamilton's first pole of 2009

• Hamilton follows up win in Hungary with pole in Valencia• Heikki Kovalainen will start second in McLaren one-twoLewis Hamilton claimed his first pole position of the season as McLaren locked out the front row for tomorrow's European grand prix in Valencia.The reigning world champion, fresh from winning his first race of the season last time out in Hungary, posted a time of one minute 39.498 seconds to beat Heikki Kovalainen to top spot by less than a tenth of a second."Clearly, we have very, very good pace this weekend," said Hamilton. "We thought we would be competitive, but I don't think we thought we'd be on the front row. We've not had a one-two qualifying experience for quite a long time, so it's great to be here."Despite the turnaround in McLaren's fortunes, Hamilton insists there is no question of him getting carried away. "For sure, going into tomorrow we stand in the best position for a podium, but it all depends of strategy and how the start and the race goes."Brawn GP's Rubens Barrichello will start behind Hamilton and Kovalainen in third, with Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel fourth and championship leader Jenson Button fifth. Home favourite Fernando Alonso will be disappointed with eighth place for Renault.Elsewhere, Adrian Sutil's rapid practice pace failed to convert into anything more than 12th on the grid for Force India, Renault debutant Romain Grosjean had to settle for 14th and Felipe Massa's stand-in Luca Badoer suffered a torrid return to Formula One. Back behind the wheel of a grand prix car for the first time in a decade, the 38-year-old Ferrari test driver qualified last on the grid."I was hoping for better, but that more or less was the range," the Italian said. "We were expecting this. One year without driving and a new track, what could I do? This race is a test. I have to be better in the next race."Positions after qualifying:1 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1min 39.498secs, 2 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:39.532, 3 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:39.563, 4 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:39.789, 5 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 1:39.821, 6 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:40.144, 7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:40.185, 8 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:40.236, 9 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:40.239, 10 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:40.512, 11 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:38.826, 12 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:38.846, 13 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:38.991, 14 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Renault 1:39.040, 15 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.514, 16 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 1:39.531, 17 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:39.795, 18 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:39.807, 19 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.925, 20 Luca Badoer (Ita) Ferrari 1:41.413Formula OneLewis HamiltonMcLarenMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds