Fisichella clinches maiden Force India pole
#1
08-30-2009, 05:18 AM
Fisichella clinches maiden Force India pole
Formula One news: Fisichella clinches maiden Force India pole - GPUpdate.net Formula One
Giancarlo Fisichella topped a highly dramatic qualifying session to clinch the first ever Formula One pole position for the Force India team at Spa-Francorchamps. The Roman leads an all-Italian front row from Jarno Trulli's Toyota with Nick Heidfeld third for BMW and championship leader Jenson Button fourteenth.
Formula One has been handed one of its most incredible starting grids in history at Spa after Giancarlo Fisichella stormed to the fastest time in both the first and third parts of the one-hour qualifying session. Ambient temperatures at the Ardennes venue reached highs of only 15°C (59°F) with the track surface at 26°C (79°C).
With fastest times from Trulli, Hamilton and Heidfeld in the three individual practice sessions over the course of Friday and Saturday, things always did look open heading into qualifying in Belgium although it is highly unlikely that any onlookers would have predicted the eventual starting order for Sunday's twelfth round of the championship.
On a dry day, Q1 brought with it another disappointment for Ferrari driver Luca Badoer; whilst searching for half a second on his final flying lap, the Italian lost control of the car after passing Sebastian Vettel on the outside of Les Combes corner, damaging the left-rear quarter against the barriers and starting last in the process. The subsequent yellow flags compromised a number of men, including Romain Grosjean who lines up 19th in the Renault for his second F1 event. Kazuki Nakajima's Williams had a quiet session on its way to 18th, behind the two Toro Rossos of Sébastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari.
After a number of big names had narrowly missed the cut in Q1, Q2 was always likely to be dramatic. Fastest in the first phase had been Fisichella by stringing together a three-lap run on the harder, Medium compound Bridgestone tyres. Nico Rosberg repeated the feat in Q2 and successfully made the cut.
Some significant cars did not, however, with Adrian Sutil - a mini-master of Spa and competitive all weekend so far - the first to be eliminated and starting in 11th place. World Champion Lewis Hamilton is the best positioned McLaren in 12th on a predicted tough weekend for the Woking outfit with team-mate Heikki Kovalainen 15th. Between the two Silver Arrows are another World Champion, Fernando Alonso, and championship leader Jenson Button, who starts from the seventh row in what looks to be a highly decisive race on Sunday.
Q3 brought with it one of the most fantastic line-ups ever witnessed in the sport. Kimi Räikkönen was the first driver to leave the pits and set a lap time with those behind him electing to rush back into the pit lane last-minute in order to switch to the harder compound, referred to as 'Prime'.
Nico Rosberg put in a sterling job to start 10th for Williams on a weekend when the car has been very much in the final third of the field. He will start alongside Mark Webber on Row 9, after the championship-contending Australian ran a brand-new Renault engine for qualifying. The first Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel is one place ahead of his team-mate with Timo Glock's Toyota leading the fourth row.
Räikkönen, who held the top spot until the final three minutes, will start sixth behind Robert Kubica after the Pole confirmed BMW-Sauber's best overall qualifying result of the campaign. Rubens Barrichello is the leading championship contender on the back of his Valencia win just six days ago and must be looked at as the best bet for race victory on Sunday.
The front three positions are occupied by three unlikely names; Nick Heidfeld is the leading BMW in third place on the day the Hilwil team - which continued to search for a buyer - placed two cars in the top five. The front row is an all-Italian affair as Jarno Trulli's Toyota put in an impressive lap to start from the front for the second time this season, after Bahrain.
The undoubted star of Saturday is Giancarlo Fisichella, whose first hot lap of 1:46.308 was not beaten by either his rivals or his own second run but was enough to secure a superb pole position for the Silverstone-based Force India outfit and his first since Malaysia 2006 with Renault.
The Belgian Grand Prix will begin at 2pm local time (BST +1 / GMT +2) on Sunday as Formula One prepares for what is surely going to be its best race of the year so far. It might even rain…
Giancarlo Fisichella topped a highly dramatic qualifying session to clinch the first ever Formula One pole position for the Force India team at Spa-Francorchamps. The Roman leads an all-Italian front row from Jarno Trulli's Toyota with Nick Heidfeld third for BMW and championship leader Jenson Button fourteenth.
Formula One has been handed one of its most incredible starting grids in history at Spa after Giancarlo Fisichella stormed to the fastest time in both the first and third parts of the one-hour qualifying session. Ambient temperatures at the Ardennes venue reached highs of only 15°C (59°F) with the track surface at 26°C (79°C).
With fastest times from Trulli, Hamilton and Heidfeld in the three individual practice sessions over the course of Friday and Saturday, things always did look open heading into qualifying in Belgium although it is highly unlikely that any onlookers would have predicted the eventual starting order for Sunday's twelfth round of the championship.
On a dry day, Q1 brought with it another disappointment for Ferrari driver Luca Badoer; whilst searching for half a second on his final flying lap, the Italian lost control of the car after passing Sebastian Vettel on the outside of Les Combes corner, damaging the left-rear quarter against the barriers and starting last in the process. The subsequent yellow flags compromised a number of men, including Romain Grosjean who lines up 19th in the Renault for his second F1 event. Kazuki Nakajima's Williams had a quiet session on its way to 18th, behind the two Toro Rossos of Sébastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari.
After a number of big names had narrowly missed the cut in Q1, Q2 was always likely to be dramatic. Fastest in the first phase had been Fisichella by stringing together a three-lap run on the harder, Medium compound Bridgestone tyres. Nico Rosberg repeated the feat in Q2 and successfully made the cut.
Some significant cars did not, however, with Adrian Sutil - a mini-master of Spa and competitive all weekend so far - the first to be eliminated and starting in 11th place. World Champion Lewis Hamilton is the best positioned McLaren in 12th on a predicted tough weekend for the Woking outfit with team-mate Heikki Kovalainen 15th. Between the two Silver Arrows are another World Champion, Fernando Alonso, and championship leader Jenson Button, who starts from the seventh row in what looks to be a highly decisive race on Sunday.
Q3 brought with it one of the most fantastic line-ups ever witnessed in the sport. Kimi Räikkönen was the first driver to leave the pits and set a lap time with those behind him electing to rush back into the pit lane last-minute in order to switch to the harder compound, referred to as 'Prime'.
Nico Rosberg put in a sterling job to start 10th for Williams on a weekend when the car has been very much in the final third of the field. He will start alongside Mark Webber on Row 9, after the championship-contending Australian ran a brand-new Renault engine for qualifying. The first Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel is one place ahead of his team-mate with Timo Glock's Toyota leading the fourth row.
Räikkönen, who held the top spot until the final three minutes, will start sixth behind Robert Kubica after the Pole confirmed BMW-Sauber's best overall qualifying result of the campaign. Rubens Barrichello is the leading championship contender on the back of his Valencia win just six days ago and must be looked at as the best bet for race victory on Sunday.
The front three positions are occupied by three unlikely names; Nick Heidfeld is the leading BMW in third place on the day the Hilwil team - which continued to search for a buyer - placed two cars in the top five. The front row is an all-Italian affair as Jarno Trulli's Toyota put in an impressive lap to start from the front for the second time this season, after Bahrain.
The undoubted star of Saturday is Giancarlo Fisichella, whose first hot lap of 1:46.308 was not beaten by either his rivals or his own second run but was enough to secure a superb pole position for the Silverstone-based Force India outfit and his first since Malaysia 2006 with Renault.
The Belgian Grand Prix will begin at 2pm local time (BST +1 / GMT +2) on Sunday as Formula One prepares for what is surely going to be its best race of the year so far. It might even rain…
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