Unconfirmed reports coming in claim that Sebastian Vettel is already waiting on the podium while stewards decide whether he needs to bother to race or just take the victory.
These ‘reports’ came in after the 2013 champion (ahem) sat out of qualifying after only 1 lap in the final round to watch himself get pole while others failed to beat him.
Here’s how it happened.
Qualifying Round 1 – Poor Di Resta Loses Out
The usual runaround that is the first part of qualifying quickly became a nightmare for Paul Di Resta who finds himself lining up 17th for the start of the race on Sunday. He was joining by Maldonado in 18th along with the Caterham and Marussia boys. Massa left it late, but managed to pull a decent lap out of the bag in the final moments to get through to round 2.
Knocked Out: Paul Di Resta, Pastor Maldonado, Charles Pic, Giedo Van Der Garde, Jules Bianchi, Max Chilton
Qualifying Round 2 – Kimi knocked Out
Driving an F1 car is tricky enough already, let alone with back pain. Being the true racer he is, Kimi Raikkonen carried on with horrible back pain, but could only muster 13th in round 2. The big news from the 2nd round was Gutierrez – who out performed Hulkenberg and grabbed 7th while his team mate failed to get through.
Vettel popped a ridiculously quick lap, 8 tenths quicker than his team mate nearly a second faster than anyone else. German national anthem has been cued up for Sunday already.
Knocked Out: Nico Hulkenberg, Jean-Eric Vergne, Kimi Raikkonen, Sergio Perez, Adrian Sutil, Valtteri Bottas
Qualifying Round 3 – Vettel sits out and Grabs Pole Position
The top 10 shoot out consisted of 6 cars actually bothering to out and complete a timed lap. To add further insult, Sebastian Vettel stepped out of his car after his first run, electing to watch it as a fan on a TV screen. He nearly looked silly when Rosberg crossed the line, less than a tenth behind. He then did look very silly though, waving his finger about and marching around while the others brought their cars back in.
The Provisional Grid for Sunday:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Best |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull/Renault | 1'42.841 |
| 2 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1'42.932 |
| 3 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus/Renault | 1'43.058 |
| 4 | Mark Webber | Red Bull/Renault | 1'43.152 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1'43.254 |
| 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1'43.890 |
| 7 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1'43.938 |
| 8 | Jenson Button | McLaren/Mercedes | 1'44.282 |
| 9 | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso/Ferrari | 1'44.439 |
| 10 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber/Ferrari | - |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber/Ferrari | 1'44.555 |
| 12 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso/Ferrari | 1'44.588 |
| 13 | Kimi Raikkonen | Lotus/Renault | 1'44.658 |
| 14 | Sergio erez | McLaren/Mercedes | 1'44.752 |
| 15 | Adrian Sutil | Force India/Mercedes | 1'45.185 |
| 16 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams/Renault | 1'45.388 |
| 17 | Paul Di Resta | Force India/Mercedes | 1'46.121 |
| 18 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams/Renault | 1'46.619 |
| 19 | Charles Pic | Caterham/Renault | 1'48.111 |
| 20 | G.van der Garde | Caterham/Renault | 1'48.320 |
| 21 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia/Cosworth | 1'48.830 |
| 22 | Max Chilton | Marussia/Cosworth | 1'48.930 |
