Vettel takes pole for British GP

German Sebastian Vettel grabbed the fourth pole position of his career on Saturday when he survived a powerful challenge from his team-mate Mark Webber.

Vettel claims British Grand Prix pole

German Sebastian Vettel grabbed the fourth pole position of his career on Saturday when he survived a powerful challenge from his Red Bull team-mate Australian Mark Webber in qualifying for the British Grand Prix.

Post Qualifying Press Conference

2009 BRITISH GRAND PRIXSATURDAY POST-QUALIFYING PRESS CONFERENCE – June 20, 2009DRIVERS:1. Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull), 1m19.509s2. Rubens BARRICHELLO (Brawn GP), 1m19.856s3. Mark WEBBER (Red Bull), 1m19.868s

Vettel grabs Silverstone pole

• Button sixth while team-mate Barrichello starts second • Hamilton starts from the back of the grid in 19th placeSebastian Vettel will start on pole position for tomorrow's British grand prix after a blistering performance in qualifying, leaving championship leader Jenson Button down in sixth.Button's closest rival, Brawn GP team-mate Rubens Barrichello, finished second fastest nearly four tenths of a second behind Vettel. Mark Webber narrowly missed out on making it an all-Red Bull Racing front row by 0.012secs.German driver Vettel was thrilled after clinching the fourth pole of his career, and the second in a row. "It's been a fantastic weekend so far from beginning to end," he said. "All the parts we have brought here seem to be working well, so we have made a good step forward."But when it comes to qualifying there is tension there, you try to do your best and you try to get a good feeling. In Q3 I had the lap of the weekend. From beginning to end it was very close to being perfect."I brought the lap to the chequered flag, and I was surprised by how quick I was at that stage, yet it was enough to get pole."Barrichello, who out-qualified Button for only the second time in eight races this season, was delighted to finish ahead of his Brawn GP team-mate. "I'm very pleased with this. We've found a good balance on a circuit that has always been quite good for me," he said. "I'm in the middle of them [the Red Bulls], it's going to be hard to beat them, but that's what I'm here for."Red Bull's Webber was left spitting feathers at being held up by Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen on his final run. "I would have liked a slightly cleaner run on my last Q3 lap, but Kimi ... I don't know, he'd been drinking some vodka or dreaming or something," he said. "I don't know what the hell he was doing. He should have been on the right, but he was on the racing line."He basically didn't care, so that wrecked my run. Anyway, you do not want to listen to a shopping list of excuses. I'd have liked to have got more out of the car on the last lap, but it wasn't the case, we're still third, and congratulations to Seb. He did a good job."World champion Lewis Hamilton, who thrilled his fans a year ago with a storming win in wet conditions, qualified in a career low 19th as his wretched season continued.Starting positions1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1min 19.509secs, 2 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 1:19.856, 3 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:19.868, 4 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:20.091, 5 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:20.216, 6 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 1:20.289, 7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:20.361, 8 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:20.490, 9 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:20.715, 10 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:20.741, 11 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:18.927, 12 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:19.308, 13 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:19.353, 14 Nelson Piquet Jr (Bra) Renault 1:19.392, 15 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:19.448, 16 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 1:19.802, 17 Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:19.898, 18 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:19.909, 19 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1:19.917, 20 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:20.236Formula oneJenson ButtonLewis HamiltonMcLarenRed BullMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Vettel grabs Silverstone pole

• Vettel sets fastest time despite heavy fuel load• Button will start from sixth after difficult sessionAs often happens at a favourite's home race, Jenson Button experienced his worst qualifying performance of the season yesterday when he could do no better than claim sixth on the grid for today's British grand prix, over half a second slower than the pole position Red Bull of his most feared rival, Sebastian Vettel. Fickle and cool summer weather made life difficult for the Brawn driver as he struggled to get heat into his tyres, the frustration intensifying when it was his team-mate, Rubens Barrichello, who managed to split the Red Bull Racing team and prevent them from dominating the front row."I really struggled; there was just no grip, especially at the end of the lap," said Button. "Compared to Rubens, I was losing a lot of time because I was skating around. It's been that way all weekend. Rubens has always been very quick at Silverstone but, even so, I was surprised I couldn't get more out of the car. It's quite different to what I had [at the last race] in Turkey and I don't know why. We knew that the Red Bulls would be very quick here but, compared to Rubens, who's in the same car as me, I just wasn't quick."Button's English reserve, barely helped by a 26-point lead in the championship, was in contrast to Mark Webber's obvious and understandable annoyance over the behaviour of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen during Webber's final lap, one which he clearly intended to be good enough for pole during his increasingly intense in-house battle with Vettel. Raikkonen, on a slowing-down lap, did not move off the racing line on the 190-mph approach to Stowe Corner, forcing Webber to take a tight line through the 110-mph right-hand bend. Having been within 0.02 seconds of Vettel's time at the end of the first sector of the lap, Raikkonen had cost Webber four-tenths of a second."I don't know if Kimi was drinking vodka or dreaming or whatever," fumed the Australian. "He wasn't where he should have been. He was totally asleep on the racing line and basically didn't care. It's so competitive these days that every lap needs to be perfect. I had to take a tight line into Stowe – and that was it. I was happy with every lap except that one. We've made changes to the car and it's definitely helped us. It's the quickest the car has been all year."Vettel joined Webber by paying tribute to the work put in at the team's headquarters in nearby Milton Keynes as Red Bull attempted to close the performance gap on Brawn. "It's been a fantastic weekend so far," said Vettel. "The team has done an incredible amount of work and there has not been a single problem with the new parts. Everything seems to work. My last lap was close to perfect but, even so, I was surprised how quick I was."Vettel's surprise was explained by the news that his car was carrying two more laps of fuel compared to his team-mate, a tactic that should have given Webber pole. The published weights further underlined Button's struggle since both Brawns had even less fuel than the Red Bulls, the figures also explaining an unexpected sixth on the grid for Kazuki Nakajima's Williams, the lightest car in the field."Sixty laps is a long way," said Vettel. "It's a long race which will be tough on the driver and the car. We are here to fight; we want to win and beat the Brawns and I think we've done the best possible job so far. I have a fantastic car and it's good that Jenson is not sitting near us on the grid. But we know Brawn can be extremely competitive and Jenson can come back, even starting from sixth."If Button's progress had slipped back a gear, the metaphorical handbrake appeared to be jammed on Lewis Hamilton's McLaren-Mercedes as the winner of last year's race set the 19th fastest time, the worst qualifying performance of his career. Hamilton's last lap was compromised when the first part of qualifying was stopped prematurely thanks to Adrian Sutil having a heavy accident. Brake trouble sent the Force India into the barrier and the German driver was fortunate to escape unhurt."I did the best I could but we're just slow," said Hamilton. "The car is terrible to drive. There's not much more I can do with it. The red flag didn't make much difference. There wasn't much more to come. The fans have given incredible support and this means everything to me. I'm pushing as hard as I can to give them a result. But it's difficult, especially starting from the back of the grid. You have to take the rough with the smooth. I just hope Jenson gets the job done for the home country."The row between the Formula One Teams Association (Fota) and the governing body (FIA) continued to simmer in the background after Friday's frenetic activity following the decision by Fota to run a rival championship in 2010.Although no longer at the track, Max Mosley, president of the FIA, left his unmistakable calling card in the form of an interview broadcast by the BBC in which he referred to some of the Fota team as "loonies". Adopting more presidential language, Mosley went on to say: "It is not greed, it is more about power. There are one or two individuals... well there is one individual who fancies himself as the Bernie [Ecclestone]. Whether he could do the job or not I don't know." When pressed further, Mosley named Flavio Briatore, team principal at Renault.Many inside and outside Fota believe Briatore would be more than capable of putting together the commercial deals necessary for a breakaway series to survive. Briatore not only has the acumen and flair for the job but the former head of marketing at Benetton is also the only boss not playing a hands-on role in running his team. Fota has already received initial approaches from several television companies and claims it only needs to raise 37 per cent of Formula One's present total revenue in order to equal the sums the teams receive now: a reference to the high figures retained by Ecclestone's organisation, one of Fota's many causes of dissatisfaction with the present administration.At least the sport will be spared the angst for 90 minutes this afternoon. Whether there is a British winner to appease the sell-out 90,000 crowd is another matter.Formula oneMotor sportJenson ButtonBrawnRed BullLewis Hamiltonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Vettel takes British Grand Prix pole

German Sebastian Vettel grabbed the fourth pole position of his career on Saturday when he survived a powerful challenge from his Red Bull team-mate Australian Mark Webber in qualifying for the British Grand Prix.