Vettel takes pole as Webber struggles to fifth

132 comments on “Vettel takes pole as Webber struggles to fifth”

1. 

   Gustav
   13th November 2010, 14:19

   Hamilton takes the start as the Red Bulls are slow starters. Button accidently clips Alonso in an overtaking attemp which naturally causes an uproar. Vettel’s engine blows up. Webber is just struggling but eventually advances to third, his engine blows up on the last five laps. Hamilton’s champion!
   1. 

      F1iLike
      13th November 2010, 14:24

      Webber is a slow starter. Not Red Bull.
   2. 

      infy (@infy)
      13th November 2010, 14:30

      I’m a bit worried about Button clipping Alonso. IMO its not his fight and he has nothing to gain, so I dont think he will go out of his way to clip him.
   3. 

      Frans
      13th November 2010, 15:25

      Button is usually good at avoiding contact.. too good I suppose that it often sacrificed his good start.
      1. 

         Anagh
         13th November 2010, 15:41

         Button clips alonso throwing him out of the championship and thus starts the worlds’ biggest controversy theory! :D
      2. 

         Pan151
         14th November 2010, 12:47

         As we have already seen, McLarens are too fragile to be clipping anything more rigid than a pillow, what’s more a Ferrari (see Monza, first lap…) So, even if Button tries something like that, I doubt Alonso would feel a thing…
   4. 

      Robert
      14th November 2010, 3:23

      The comment above was first posted straight after quali, in response to the first comment to go up. Now the criticism voiced by Raj has been removed (along with the original posting of this comment) and for some reason my comment is re-posted at the the end of the thread.

      The cynic in me would say its a good example of what a carefully controlled and biased forum this is, but I’m sure that would be removed too, so I better just say..
      We LOVE The Leader.
   5. 

      Robert
      14th November 2010, 3:24

      I prefer fantasies involving Angelina Jolie, but thanks for sharing.
2. 

   Dave Blanc
   13th November 2010, 14:20

   Looks like a repeat of last year’s race with Vettel and Hamilton in a 2 way race for the win. Can’t see anyone else touching them.
   1. 

      Younger Hamilton
      13th November 2010, 14:23

      Note their both currently the only 2 drivers to be on the front row in Abu Dhabi.
      1. 

         NJB
         13th November 2010, 15:16

         Their = belonging to them

         They’re = they are
         1. 

            Younger Hamilton
            13th November 2010, 15:21

            Yeah sorry i was too quick,i once realised after i made the comment and when i was in my bathroom giving myself a good British Bath
3. 

   lettucefolk
   13th November 2010, 14:20

   Hamilton will most likely be penalized, Alonso will be champion if his engine keeps working until the finish line!

   Truly disappointing couple of races from Webber, showing some psychological weakness. No wonder Red Bull favour Vettel, he has been absolutely brutal since Japan, and terribly unlucky throughout the year (no one had more mechanic-related DNF’s).

   P.S. NOT a Vettel fan by a long shot, but I must face the reality.
   1. 

      TommyB (@tommyb89)
      13th November 2010, 14:23

      Agree. Everyone seems to say how much Webber deserves it but fact is he’s had no mechanical failures.

      Vettel’s had a lot of failures and 3 whilst leading. If Vettel STILL manages to beat Webber in the championship it really will say a lot about who is the better of the two.
      1. 

         infy (@infy)
         13th November 2010, 14:32

         Webber deserves it because after all these years he has driven for slow teams. To say he deserves it more than the other 3 is debatable.
         1. 

            TommyB (@tommyb89)
            13th November 2010, 14:40

            If he can’t win in a fully reliable RB6 he doesn’t deserve a title.

            Yamamoto’s spent a few years driving slow cars. He definitely deserves a title.
            1. 

               BBT
               13th November 2010, 14:48

               In my world of sport there is no such word as ‘deserve’. You win or you don’t and recently Webber is the ‘don’t’ so if that’s what you mean ok. I just hope that whomever wins it wins it for the right reasons.
               At the moment Webber has not done enough and today did nowhere near enough, so I can understand why people might say he doesn’t deserve it.
         2. 

            David-A (@david-a)
            13th November 2010, 14:47

            I agree with Tommy. Button spent years driving slow cars, but got a car that was the fastest for 7 races, and grabbed the opportunity to win a title with both hands.

            Webber definately hasn’t done that. Vettel can at least claim that he was ridiculously fast but beset by mechanical failures.
      2. 

         Guilherme Teixeira
         13th November 2010, 14:42

         I once calculated how many points Vettel lost at least this season, either by accidents, failures or mistakes, and came up with 123 points.

         It amazes me how Webber had perfect reliability this year, lost at most 40 points due to mistakes/accidents and is still only 7 points in front of Vettel!

         That’s why I say, if Vettel wins this championship, he will be the most deserving one.
         1. 

            F1iLike
            13th November 2010, 15:58

            Exactly! Bahrain, Australia, Korea being the most obvious non disputable ones where a 25 pointer would be a no-brainer! that’s 63 points just there!
      3. 

         Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
         13th November 2010, 14:44

         old story mate…

         all of them deserve it…
         1. 

            BBT
            13th November 2010, 14:52

            Subjective comment I know, but still, IMO there is (Alonso and Hamilton), (Vettel, Rosberg, Kubica and possible Button) then (Webber) very closely follow by the rest, and then Yami’ :-)
      4. 

         Todfod (@todfod)
         13th November 2010, 14:46

         Couldn’t agree anymore with TommyB89. Everyone on this site sympathizes with Mark Webber because its probably he last title shot, and plus he is the less favoured driver at Red Bull and blah blah blah. But the fact of the matter is that he is not as good as his teammate, and despite his teammate losing close to 70 points through mechanical retirements, he still only trails Mark by 7 points.

         Everyone says Mark deserves the WDC, IMO he is the least deserving of the 5 title contenders this year. I wouldn’t want to look back on this fantastic season, and see Mark Webber as WDC.. no frickin way.. I much rather see Vettel, Alonso or Hamilton.
         1. 

            Robert
            13th November 2010, 14:53

            LOL.. spot on Todford.
         2. 

            BBT
            13th November 2010, 14:53

            Totally agree with your post. See my post above. ;-)
         3. 

            Andre
            13th November 2010, 15:27

            Agreed, Vettel, Hamilton, Alonso are in a whole different league.
            1. 

               F1iLike
               13th November 2010, 16:00

               Yep! They’re the absolute elite of F1 now.
         4. 

            GaryL
            13th November 2010, 16:22

            Agreed with Todfod
         5. 

            Mikos
            14th November 2010, 3:52

            Todfod and others don’t count the number of points Webber’s lost because Vettels been favored by the team? That number is probably unquantifiable. But throw Turkey in the mix as an obvious one…
            1. 

               David-A (@david-a)
               14th November 2010, 4:02

               No, apart from losing 10 in Turkey, Webber has simply been too slow in the second half of the season in a dominant car. It’s not the team’s fault that he spun off in Korea, hit a Lotus in Valencia or lost a ridiculous amount of places off the startline.

               Your comment is exactly the kind of “blah, blah, blah” Todfod was referring to.
            2. 

               Todfod (@todfod)
               14th November 2010, 10:15

               How many points has Mark lost by favoritism in the RB garage? According to my calculations he has lost 0 points due to the only act of favoritism we saw at Silverstone.
   2. 

      David BR
      13th November 2010, 14:37

      I don’t think either driver is up to Alonso or Hamilton. Vettel is superb at qualifying and lightning fast, but still making rookie mistakes when not at the front and can’t really overtake properly. Webber is just off being the very best. But on balance Vettel has definitely done what’s needed at the end of the season, while Webber has had every chance to seal the championship and failed to take them. I’ll be happy to see Vettel, Ham or Alonso champion. The latter for supreme self-confidence, talent and, yep, steamrolling Felipe Massa.
      1. 

         TommyB (@tommyb89)
         13th November 2010, 14:42

         Hamilton, Alonso and Vettel all half a second faster than their team mates.
         1. 

            David BR
            13th November 2010, 14:52

            Exactly. It’s more difficult to compare between teams, but the final grid order of the season accurately reflects the best drivers in each of the top 3, I think.
   3. 

      Jeffrey Powell
      13th November 2010, 14:42

      So Lewis sees Massa at the last second drives of the track to avoid him potentially destroying his race. Massa keeps to the racing line makes no attempt to avoid him , this is not a case of a driver hogging the racing line and having no regard for other drivers it’s a bungle or worse.Massa did not suffer from it I can see no reason for a grid penalty. Anyway all you Alonso fans ,if Fernando is stupid enough to tussle with the others (which I very much doubt) he won’t deserve the title.’Which I think he does'(Big Hamilton Fan ).
      1. 

         David BR
         13th November 2010, 14:57

         Agree entirely. Hamilton certainly gained nothing by flying over the curb and was probably unsighted as he said after. Massa, though, once again showed his needless aggression towards Hamilton – which funnily enough he hasn’t the courage to show to Alonso.
      2. 

         bananarama
         13th November 2010, 14:59

         I don’t think Hamilton should get penalized, but he was off the racing line, driving slowly, obviously showing all others that he would let them through .. so Massa thought he would let him through but all of a sudden Hamilton goes to tae the corner instead of waiting. Clearly not Massas falut, but probably just a misunderstanding.
      3. 

         lettucefolk
         13th November 2010, 14:59

         I’m a fanatic Hamilton supporter, mate.

         However, after causing a bit of a ruckus with Senna on friday, Ham was already on the line for a penalty. Massa could just say he was blocked and I firmly believe the stewards will impose a 5 grid drop for Lewis.

         Unfortunately, I say, because I believe he has what it takes to win this race!
         1. 

            Shadow
            13th November 2010, 16:05

            Massa cannot say that Hamilton impeded him as he is on his outlap but not a timed lap!
            1. 

               HounslowBusGarage
               13th November 2010, 20:36

               It’s 21.36 CET, and I haven’t seen a report of HAM getting a penalty. Does this mean he won’t get one?
4. 

   Younger Hamilton
   13th November 2010, 14:22

   Well i have to say Seb deserves pole by finding that amount of time in the final sector if it werent for that Lewis would have pole now but Great job by Lewis and Jenson and Fernando(I said i’d be supporting him after Lewis) as well to get themselves up there.Its a terrible situation for Mark he just have to drive the socks out of the car and maximise his start.Keith if im right then Seb,Fernando and Mark are all on the clean side(which is the racing line) of the grid
   1. 

      bananarama
      13th November 2010, 15:04

      The racing line actually goes ‘through’ the two sides as the last corner is a left and the first is a right. At the back of the rid there shoud be more of a difference than at the front.
5. 

   Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
   13th November 2010, 14:22

   I’m predicting a messy start. I think Hamilton and Alonso are going to go for it, and it’s going to end badly going into the first corner.

   It’s also nice to see Petrov out-qualify Kubica again.
   1. 

      Alexi (@)
      13th November 2010, 14:26

      You won’t give up until the very end will you.
   2. 

      Lollipop Man
      13th November 2010, 14:27

      I certainly hope so :) Vettel deserves the title, despite his age and many mistakes.
   3. 

      Lee
      13th November 2010, 14:30

      Fernando wont go for broke, he doesnt need to beat Seb and Lewis tomorrow, all he has to do is keep out of trouble and make sure webber doesnt find his way into 2nd place behind seb.

      I think Alonso will also be finding himself on the front row in the next hour or so
      1. 

         infy (@infy)
         13th November 2010, 14:33

         I dont think so. The FIA would never disadvantage Lewis.
         1. 

            David-A (@david-a)
            13th November 2010, 15:03

            Someone missed the 2008 season…
   4. 

      sumedh
      13th November 2010, 14:49

      I am predicting a messy start too.

      I think Massa will take out Webber and Vettel will crash into Hamilton after Hamilton out-drags him into the first corner.

      P.S. @Keith: Like the HTML tags for bold, italics and quotes, can we have one for sarcasm please.
      1. 

         HounslowBusGarage
         13th November 2010, 20:42

         Nah, all wrong.
         WEB and ALO take each other out on the first lap, both retire. VET leads unassailably until the penultimate lap when his engine hand-grenades itself.
         HAM tours home saying “Me? Are you sure?”
         BUT second, MAS third.
   5. 

      Todfod (@todfod)
      13th November 2010, 14:50

      LOL. I knew PM was going to bring Petrov’s qualifying performance. Hats off to Petrov… he did better than most of us thought. :)
   6. 

      David-A (@david-a)
      13th November 2010, 14:56

      Petrov out-qualifying Kubica was a shock.

      But doesn’t make up for his poor season.
   7. 

      damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
      14th November 2010, 8:32

      Yes PM, great news for Petrov. Very timely. :)
6. 

   Mads
   13th November 2010, 14:27

   Fantastic qualifying session. I though that Brazil’s qualifying were good, this is better by miles! Suddenly everyone just found the speed to take on the Red Bulls. Lets hope it don’t get too messy tomorrow between the top five.
   1. 

      Mads
      13th November 2010, 14:28

      thought*
      comment too short
7. 

   Younger Hamilton
   13th November 2010, 14:27

   Well if Lewis can keep up with Seb in the first sector which i think is Likely considering McLaren’s miraclerous but great pace this weekend then Lewis and Jenson have a very good shot of getting their targets on the two straights and out braking them into the corners.The Battle for the race win i think its between Lewis and Seb
8. 

   Russell
   13th November 2010, 14:28

   I’m not sure Alonso would now want Hamilton penalised for getting in the way of Massa, as any grid demotion would put Alonso up to second and on the dirty side of the grid, with Button on the clean side in third. And as Alonso says, Hamilton’s welcome to race for 25 points — the two of them are running different races. What a first lap it’s going to be tomorrow!
   1. 

      SRY
      13th November 2010, 14:47

      Right now he said that on tv “he doesnt want Hamilton penalised”
9. 

   xabregas
   13th November 2010, 14:33

   Hold on your breath till the end of sector 2 especially if Vettel ends up leading by the end of sector 1 but with no big advantage from the others, it´s the only chance hamilton or even Alonso have to prevent Vettel from winning the race.
   Going to be pretty interesting.
10. 

    rfs
    13th November 2010, 14:33

    I think:
    Webber will take himself and Alonso out of the race.
    Hamilton and Button will pass Vettel and they finish in that order.
    Lewis Hamilton will once again be champion by one point! :D

    Unless of course he gets penalised for that Q2 incident. Is he under investigation?
    1. 

       sumedh
       13th November 2010, 14:44

       If Ferrari suspect that Webber might try to crash Alonso out of the race, so that Vettel becomes champion, then they might order Felipe to crash into Webber.

       And looking at the grid positions, Felipe is closer to Webber than Webber is to Alonso.
       1. 

          S.J.M
          13th November 2010, 14:53

          i highly doubt anyone will order anyone to crash into another driver. Its highly dangerous and despite what attitudes they might have to each other, none of them would be so unproffesional or stupid or dangerous. The ramifications wouldnt just stop at the end of the season but effect their careers. Noone wants another Singapore scandal. Ferrari still chasing 2nd in the WCC and Webber can still win the WDC.
       2. 

          Todfod (@todfod)
          13th November 2010, 14:54

          That would be a great start wouldn’t it? Webber looks at running into the back of Alonso, while Massa spearheads across the track aiming for Webber. Cannot wait for those 5 red lights to go out!
          1. 

             sumedh
             13th November 2010, 15:08

             Now, THAT would be nasty.

             For years, fans will keep debating whether Webber was truly trying to crash into Alonso or not. Webber will finally release a book 20 years later to try and clear the mystery. But it will only add fuel to the fire.
11. 

    MacademiNut
    13th November 2010, 14:36

    HAM will want to overtake VET on track – revenge for 2008!
12. 

    JPQuesado (@joao-pedro-cq)
    13th November 2010, 14:36

    Look at this photo from when Hamilton took that corner marker with him. It seems the marker had a camera!
13. 

    sumedh
    13th November 2010, 14:37

    Some curse of the middle east for Webber it seems. In Bahrain he qualified 6th and Vettel 1st, here again, he is way off his team-mate’s pace.
14. 

    mani
    13th November 2010, 14:37

    that was a stunning qualifying… where did those laps come from Vettel, Hamilton & Alonso? ;) wow!!!

    who wouldn’t think that Luca will be asking Massa for a good start to pass and block Webber? that could ease Alonso’s race pace and thus a good comfort zone to take care of his engine.
15. 

    Sammy
    13th November 2010, 14:40

    Brilliant Quali. Hope Lewis doesnt incur a penalty
16. 

    Sam
    13th November 2010, 14:41

    For once im happy mclaren are doing well. Im hoping for them to get to the end like they start!! or even if hamilton wins thatd be sweet too. Will be interested tomorrow… IF and thats a BIG if massa jumps webber at the start webbers championship is all but over. This qualifying comes at a good time to remedy all that snow falling outside :)
17. 

    Icthyes (@icthyes)
    13th November 2010, 14:41

    I don’t know how much power Ferrari have to affect the outcome of any investigation, but they’d be mad not to try and keep Hamilton where he is.

    Yes, 2nd will give Alonso the championship. But he’d then be starting on the slippery side of the grid and vulnerable to Button and if there’s a squeeze moment, Webber could catapult ahead of him too. Then all Red Bull would need to do is get Webber ahead of Button and switch the drivers.

    With Alonso both higher than 5th and Webber, Ferrari would do well to keep as many cars between the two Red Bulls as possible.
18.