Jenson Button
“It’s a good second place I am reasonably happy. For us as a team to
have another failure is disappointing. It seems every race we go to we
really do have a chance of winning.”
15:14 Vettel very emotional on the podium as the German national anthem
is played and it’s the first time he’s been atop of it since the Bahrain
Grand Prix.
15:10 As I mentioned at the start of this blog, making it to the podium
is the eighth time Alonso has done so this season and the 81st time of his
career, moving him past Ayrton Senna into third on the all-time list. Alonso
congratulations to Di Resta who finished 4th as that’s his best career
finish to date.
Final lap Vettel has looked very solid this race and since he took the
lead it’s been straight forward. he wins, only his second of the season,
with Button second and Alonso third. Very touching moment as Vettel
remembers Sid Watkins on his slow down lap.
Christian Horner: “You beauty Seb, you’re back in this
championship.”
Final minute you know how I said it was miserable for Williams? I think
it just got worse as Senna says he has lost all power on his radio. he’s
retired.
3 mins Vettel in control here and have you all noticed his flashing hat
today? It flickers every time he moves.
4 mins it’s a battle of the Aussies in 10th and 9th with Webber
desperately trying to overtake Ricciardo.
5 mins: Senna is now out of the points so that will cap off a miserable
day for Williams who lost Maldonado who was in 4th place.
6 mins: 19 cars remain in this race with Hamilton the biggest name
driver to retire after a gearbox failure. Button is five seconds behind the
race leader Vettel so it looks Red bull will return to the top of the
podium.
8 mins: we’re now on a countdown of racing time before the last lap is
announced. Di Resta being told his tyres are four laps fresher that
Alonso’s…can he upset the championship leader in the final few laps? It
would certainly boost his bid to drive for a bigger team.
Top 10 spreading out now with 8 minutes remaining. Top ten: VET, BUT,
ALO, DIR, ROS, RAI, GRO, MAS, RIC, WEB.
Here’s word from Michael Schumacher on what happened to his car:
“First of all I broke a little earlier than normal but the car
wouldn’t decelerate. I went straight on the brakes then hard and locked up
everything. The accident at that moment was not avoidable. I feel sorry for
Jean Eric and for the team but we need to find out what happened.”
Lap 53 back to the front, Vettel is now pulling out from Button and the
Red Bull looks very comfortable. Behind them Alonso is under less pressure
than before in third. As things stand, Vettel would go second behind Alonso
in the standings by 29 points with Raikkonen third.
Lap 52 I can also tell you there will be no further action between
Senna and Massa but the drivers are certainly keeping the stewards busy
today as Webber and Kobayashi are now under investigation.
Lap 51 right let me clarify what just happened. It was in fact
Hulkenberg that had the puncture which came as a result of the contact made
with Kobayashi who lost his front wing. Noth have been into the pits and are
back out on track though there’s little chance of scoring points. And having
said this was not a good day for Webber, that’s certainly improved it a
little.
Lap 50 there’s more Sauber debris flying everywhere! Kobayashi has a
puncture so he’s effectively out of this battle. It all started as Webber
made a move on him and the contact came from Hulkenberg.
Lap 49-50 finally the message comes from McLaren who tell Button there
are no more stops and that this is now a straight out fight with Vettel.
Error from Perez I believe and he’s lost his front wing after making contact
with Hulkenberg but he remains on the track. The Sauber tried to cut through
on the inside and there just was not enough space.
Lap 48 team orders from Lotus to Grosjean telling the Frenchman to let
Raikkonen through as the latter is faster. All the action right now is going
on between 10th and 14th. Kobayahi holding the group up at the moment and he
needs to be careful with his tyres.
Lap 47 not a good afternoon if you’re a Webber fan he’s just not
managed to make anything of this race yet. He is currently back in 12th and
struggling to make any better impression. meanwhile the Ferrari garage are
on their feet applauding Massa who is really driving for his life here. I
wouldn’t be surprised if we soon hear McLaren telling button to get a move
on Vettel as soon as possible.
Lap 46 Massa really flying and his KERS help him overtake the Toro
Rosso to go 8th. Vettel has just gone fastest with a 1:53:152
Lap 45 now for someone who was 24th on lap one, Massa has got himself
into the top 10 and is now piling the pressure on Ricciardo in 8th. Rob
Smedley looks a very nervous man right now. That incident involving Senna
and Massa will be investigated after the race.
Lap 44 still catching my breath from what just happened! Now let’s turn
our attention to the other Ferrari, Alonso is in third and being hounded by
Di Resta. Can the Force India cause an upset here? At the front Button is
1.5 seconds off race leader Vettel.
Lap 43 what a re-start from the Lotus drivers! They’re running in 5th
and 6th and they came close to ending each others races! Vettel leads the
race with Button behind. Alonso is 3rd with Di Resta 4th. Further back
there’s another great duel between Massa and Senna and they make contact!!!!
But both remain in the race and that was very brave driving from Massa! How
they stayed in this race I don’t know what an unbelievable overtake on turn
14 one of the narrowest points of this circuit.
Lap 42 safety car due in this lap. Great chance for Di Resta coming up
Lap 41 Vettel and Perez lead the influx of cars coming into the pits
and it looks like the race may well be cut short in terms of number of laps.
Looks like there is a sixth retirement from the race as Petrov is pushed
back to the garage by his team. Incident involving Schumacher and Vergne
will be investigated after the race.
Here’s word from Maldonado who has been forced to retire from the race:
“Difficult weekend especially the race and the conditions. We were
expecting to be competitive but in the end we had a problem in the car. The
start was OK but the first corner on cold tyres I ran wide and lost the
places. After that I was running quote well and it was pretty good. I am
confident for the next race we have the potential to fight for the victories.”
Lap 40 replay shows Schumacher locked up and the safest thing he could
do was in fact to make contact as opposed to swerving to avoid given the
amount of oncoming traffic. Schumacher’s engineer says “What happened
there?” with a tone of utter disbelief.
Lap 39 Racing resumes and Button almost made a fatal error there didn’t
he! The McLaren thought Vettel had gone for it and had to react so quickly!
Alonso was slow off the mark and will have a fair bit of ground to make up.
Webber makes the move on Hulkenberg and it takes three attempts to do so! And
there’s been a crash!! It’s Schumacher again and he’s taken Vergne out
in quite a big impact on turn 14. Both drivers are OK and they shake hands
before leaving the track. So, just as the race re-starts, the safety car is
back out.
Lap 36-37 the safety car remains out after Karthikeyan’s retirement. he
was the second driver to withdraw fro this race after Hamilton’s gear box
failed. Since the HRT pulled up we have seen another retirement and that was
Maldonado whose team told him he had hydraulic problems and had to stop
immediately.
Lap 35 Maldonado told he has a hydraulic problem and the car must be
retired. Such a shame for him he’s had a fantastic weekend and that’s now
nine races in a row without points.
Lap 34 Vettel, Button and a host of drivers enter the pits. Maldonado
has re-entered the pits and is now behind Alonso so to an extent Williams
may well have corrected an earlier error though lost a position in the
process.
Lap 33 here we go then the safety car is out and this is perfect for
those involved in the battle for 5-8th. The safety car out because
Karthikeyan’s race has come to an end after he went too wide on turn 18 and
was straight on the radio to say something broke.
Lap 32 Alonso really sticking himself tight on the back of Maldonado
and this will not be an easy move for the Ferrari driver. not only does he
need to take the position but there is traffic in front so he’ll have to be
very careful with his track positioning. With all that said let’s not forget
that overtaking on this track is not easy even when there’s no traffic.
Alonso has a go and tries to go down the left on turn 14 but Maldonado is
defending well! Fantastic battle here!
Lap 30 Think that pit stop will prove a fatal mistake from Williams.
Maldonado running in dirty air and the traffic stands to be there for quite
a few laps. Those pauses mean Di Resta is now up to 3rd with Rosberg 4th.
Maldonado and Alonso are behind Grosjean in 5th.
Lap 29 error from Webber has he enters the pit entrance. The Australian
goes wide and loses precious seconds. meanwhile 3rd and 4th come in together
and Williams only just make sure that Maldonado is out first. Alonso on the
soft tyres and this could mean he is trying to do half a race on one
set!
Lap 28 Rosberg being told to up his pace or the tyres will go too cold.
He’s currently in 7th and will now heap the pressure on Webber. Vettel is
stretching his legs out front now and has gone three seconds clear of
Button. Great duel between Perez and Ricciardo in the middle sector, the
Sauber playing a very patient game and waiting for the Toro Rosso to make a
slip.
Lap 27 haven’t mentioned him much as he’s had such a quiet race but Di
Resta is in 5th and driving superbly, staying out of the action and very
controlled.
Lap 26 Williams look like they’re on for a three stop strategy as they
call Senna into the pits. His team-mate still holding Alonso off in third
place. Further back Perez is still not looking like the driver we saw in
Italy, he’s stuck back in 13th. Massa has however made some headway having
been stuck in 23rd for so long and is now 18th.
Lap 25 Vettel leads but Button is right on his tail and Hamilton’s
retirement puts Maldonado into a podium position but we know there is such a
long way to go and Alonso is flying at the moment and I doubt it will be
long before he takes position from the Williams.
Lap 24 Such a shame for Hamilton he’s done it all right this weekend,
he was shifting down the gears and the gearbox went. Mechanical problems
ends his race. Engineer radios to say “Great driving up until then, we
did everything we could yesterday, we’ll have to look forward to the next
one.” So it turns out McLaren has an existing problem.
Lap 23 Alonso is closing on Hamilton at the rate of a second per lap,
what’s going on with the leader? Just 10 seconds separate the front five
drivers and Alonso is safe in the knowledge that his closest threat – Di
Resta – is nine seconds away. HOLD ON, LEWIS HAMILTON IS OUT OF THE
RACE! He’s pulled over and has lost gear he has no drive, his race is
over, Vettel leads.
Lap 21 Hulkenberg fastest with 1:54:494 and that lap time is a whopping
two seconds faster the race leader Hamilton! Senna is also lapping 1.6
seconds faster than the McLaren…the front three drivers are being caught
up!
Lap 20 Alonso is finding some speed back in 5th but has a lot of ground
to make up if he is to catch Maldonado, five seconds separates them.
Raikkonen in 11th also finding some great speed and is chasing down
Schumacher for 10th.
Lap 19 Approaching third-way point of the race (yes we’re having
third-way as a word as it’s such a long race) and it’s been relatively
incident free so far with Massa the only driver to have picked up any race
damaging problem and that was a first lap puncture. Petrov lost his front
wing though his chances of scoring points were minimal.
Lap 18 Perez really starting to struggle and is losing positions
rapidly he’s now slipped to 9th. Grosjean is also struggling to break into
this top 10 as is Schumacher in 12th. Hulkenberg and Perez both pit.
Lap 17 Hamilton 1.3 seconds ahead of Vettel and Button then. Maldonado
is holding on to 4th, Alonso has dropped back to 5th and is being chased by
Hulkenberg and Di Resta. Perez is 8th with Webber behind and Rosberg
completes the top 10.
Lap 16 Hamilton is back in the lead of this race and his team-mate
button is third, Vettel splits the McLaren at the moment and is showing
phenomenal pace.
Lap 15 Button’s pit not as fast as Hamilton’s but there’s a great clash
between Maldonado and Hulkeberg! The former making the move and taking the
position. There’s also a great duel between Alonso and Perez again with the
former taking the position and that’s for 6th he goes up the left side on
the run out of the turn. Is that the Spaniard letting Perez know just who
will be the No 1 driver should he join Ferrari?
Lap 14 Vettel goes fastest with a 1:55495 and this stands to be an epic
battle between him and Hamilton. Massa told his pace is still good and he
can stay out for a bit…they say that but he’s still back in 23rd. Button
pits so Grosjean takes the lead.
Lap 13 fantastic pit stop from the McLaren team and crucially Hamilton
emerges in front of Vettel and is fourth. The Red Bull is flying though and
has just overtaken Raikkonen and now chases Hamilton. In front of them
Maldonado is driving very well and catching race leader Button. Further back
Di Resta and Webber – who have both pitted – are battling for 9th place and
it makes for fantastic viewing. Maldonado pits.
Lap 12 Hamilton asking about his tyres saying “he has a funny
feeling”. Vettel meanwhile is flying and is up to eighth. Mclaren call
Hamilton in so BUTTON LEADS
Lap 11 from those first 11 laps then it’s clear that McLaren are
looking after their tyres very well. Vettel pitting puts Maldonado up to
third and Alonso is now fourth. Vettel’s 11 after that stop but is moving
through the traffic very fast. Hamilton needs to pit soon, Button is
catching him and he is over a second slower than his fastest lap of the race
so far. Ferrari pit Alonso from 5th.
Lap 10 more bad news for Senna [16th] who’s told he has no first gear –
which is ridiculous given that he got a five place penalty for a new gearbox
a matter of hours ago. Hamilton remains out front and leads by 3.2 seconds
with Vettel second and Button over four seconds behind in third. Vettel pits
now so Button second.
Lap 9 Red Bull the first to call their driver in and it’s Webber and a
bizarre move from the team as his tyres were holding up fine. That has
bumped everyone up a place so Raikkonen enters the top 10. And there’s been
an incident involving a Marussia car and while it isn’t race ending that
will require a stop. Hamilton told he is in the window of opportunity to
stop.
Lap 8 Massa told he has “by far the quickest pace” but he
needs to start using it now yet look after the tyres, really not easy on
this super soft while also trying to get at least 15 laps out of them. Never
straight forward for Massa is it?
Lap 7 Perez told that Mercedes are holding the group up but the upside
is that their tyres will not hold up long so patience is key for Perez right
now – he’s in 13th which will frustrate him. Even if the Mercedes get out
the way he still has Hulkenberg and Raikkonen in front. Temperature in
Singapore has dropped two degrees to 28 though track temperature remains
significantly higher than that.
Lap 6 Massa told he will need to get another 16 laps out of his current
tyres and that’s likely to mean a two stop race, terribly unlucky for the
Ferrari driver, we all know how much rests on his every race. Confirmed
there will be no further action taken against Webber and Rosberg for missing
turn two on lap one.
Lap 5 British fans will be delighted to know that all three drivers are
in the top six, both MxcLarens in podium positions while Di Resta is 6th and
chasing Alonso. It’s been a bad start for just one driver so far and that’s
Massa who is back in 24th owing to a puncture on the first lap. Also
unexpected is seeing Kimi Raikkonen outside of the top 10, the Lotus is
currently back in 11th.
Lap 4 Lewis Hamilton is currently the fastest man on the track with a
1:56:779. Grosjean being told there is no telemetry – a problem Ferrari
struggled with Massa in Italy. So Hamilton leads with Vettel and Button
behind. Maldonado is fourth with Alonso behind. Schumacher being told he
needs to cool his car down – he is currently 10th behind team-mate Rosberg.
Lap 3 Replays show that Alonso had a poor starts and it was his lack of
pace that sent Webber and Rosberg looking for space elsewhere. Also a very
good start from Paul di Resta. Also see that a number of cars missed turn
two. Maldonado lost his second place by running wide on the second corner.
DRS enabled.
Lap 2 not sure what has gone wrong for Felipe Massa, I will bring more
news when I can but he is in the pits as it Petrov’s who’s got his new front
wing. Massa in for new set of soft tyres as they had a rear puncture.
Confirmed then that Rosberg – not Grosjean – and Webber are under
investigation. Depending on whether advantage was gained there may or may
not be penalties.
Lap 1 Rosberg takes a place from Schumacher and I believe we may have
the stewards looking into Webber and Grosjean both of whom will be keen to
stay out of trouble this afternoon. Petrov’s Caterham the only car with
damage, he’s lost a front wing. Besides that all cars through the first lap
well.
First corner: it’s such a long run down to this first corner, and
Hamilton makes a good starts as does Vettel who takes second place and
button goes third. Webber and Rosberg miss an early corner and there was a
little touching.
1pm Here we go then, drivers on their formations laps looks like a
70/30 split on strategy believe most will opt for three. Anyone else a
little nervous about Maldonado being out front next to Hamilton?! Now, pop
your feet up, hold onto your hats and get comfy; it’s the longest race on
the circuit and we’re about to get started. Round 14, in Singapore, Hamilton
on pole…race time
Here’s the latest from our F1 man Tom Cary who has just returned from
the grid in Singapore:
“Just back from a hot and sweaty grid where I had a chat to Pirelli’s
Paul Hembery, a man who knows a thing or two about tyres. On the basis of
that chat I’m going with a Hamilton-Vettel-Alonso podium. After going so
close to winning the Fleet St sweep at Monza (where Perez’s late
intervention cost me) I’m hoping Lady Luck is on my side this evening. If
Hamilton does win, it will only add to the growing sense that he will/should
stay at McLaren.”
How they start:
1st row
Lewis Hamilton (GBR/McLaren)
Pastor Maldonado (VEN/Williams)
2nd row
Sebastian Vettel (GER/Red Bull)
Jenson Button (GBR/McLaren)
3rd row
Fernando Alonso (ESP/Ferrari)
Paul di Resta (GBR/Force India)
4th row
Mark Webber (AUS/Red Bull)
Romain Grosjean (FRA/Lotus)
5th row
Michael Schumacher (GER/Mercedes)
Nico Rosberg (GER/Mercedes)
6th row
Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Force India)
Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Lotus)
7th row
Felipe Massa (BRA/Ferrari)
Sergio Perez (MEX/Sauber)
8th row
Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Toro Rosso)
Jean-Eric Vergne (FRA/Toro Rosso)
9th row
Kamui Kobayashi (JPN/Sauber)
Vitaly Petrov (RUS/Caterham)
10th row
Heikki Kovalainen (FIN/Caterham)
Timo Glock (GER/Marussia)
11th row
Charles Pic (FRA/Marussia)
Bruno Senna (BRA/Williams)
12th row
Narain Karthikeyan (IND/HRT)
Pedro de la Rosa (ESP/HRT)
12:56 Right so about five minutes to go, time for some predictions? I
think given Hamilton’s performances of late he’ll take the win here provided
Maldonado behaves himself at the start. That said, Vettel has shown some
fantastic speed and red Bull are not happy with him starting in third so I
think he’ll take second with Alonso completing the podium. Agree with me?
Drop me an email with your podium prediction.
Telegraph Sport columnist David Coulthard has shared his thoughts with
us about where he believes this race will be won and lost:
“Overtaking is possible in Singapore, but all the same this is a
street circuit, and you always want to qualify as close to the front as
possible on street circuits. The vast majority of winners this season have
started on the front row. Thereafter it is going to be all about tyre
strategy, as it has been all year. This is such a punishing race. If you
decide to try to eke out an extra lap, only to find your tyres drop off a
cliff half way around, you are going to lose masses of time with so many
corners to negotiate. Timing your pit stops right will be absolutely crucial.”
And also his talking points of the week:
“Singapore is a relatively new race but is firmly established as a
must-keep. The place has real energy and it looks spectacular. As well as
the old colonial buildings, which are so impressive when lit up at night,
there are new developments every year. Sponsors love it, drivers love it,
fans love partying until 5am. The traffic gets a bit snarled up, but you can
see how seriously they want the race here. I was at a function yesterday
with the president of Singapore. You don’t get many heads of state turning
up at grands prix.”
12:49 The crowd, drivers and everyone at the Marina Bay circuit has
just observed the one minute’s silence for Sid Watkins.
Let’s take a look at the circuit in numbers:
- Circuit length: 5.073km/3.267 miles
- Laps: 61
- Race distance: 309.316km/192.352miles
- Lap record: 1min 45.599secs – Kimi Raikkonen (2008)
- 2011 pole position: Sebastian Vettel 1min 44.318secs
- 2011 winner: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
- 2011 fastest lap: Jenson Button (McLaren) 1min 48.454secs
- Number of corners: 23 (14 left/9 right)
- Tyre compounds to be used: soft/supersoft
- Overtaking chance: Low
- Average lap speed: 157kph (97.55mph)
- 2011 winning strategy: 3 stops (laps 14, 30, 49)
- Number of safety cars deployed since 2008: 6
It’s a truly remarkable race and never ceases to entertain. The track is set
under 1500 floodlights and makes for a fantastic spectacle…just take a look
at this image:
12:43 The thermometers at the Marina Bay circuit are hitting 30 degrees
centigrade for today’s race and while rain is not expected conmditions
really are tough so don’t for a minute underestimate what the drivers will
go through. The race is just shy of two hours long and most of that time is
spent in searing heat and 70 % humidity meaning the average driver loses
about three kilos in fluid from start to finish.
12:38 earlier this week the FIA announced that today’s race will be
preceded by a minute’s silence for the late F1 doctor Sid Watkins, whose
innovations are credited with dramatically improving safety standards.
Watkins, who died on September 13, played a major role in saving the lives
of drivers including Ferrari’s Didier Pironi at the 1982 German Grand Prix,
Jordan’s Rubens Barrichello at Imola in 1994 and McLaren’s Mika Hakkinen at
Adelaide in 1995. Drivers and members of the sport have also been signing a
book of condolence at the track this weekend.
12:32 There’s a new Brit in “F1 Town”. British racing
fans hopes of seeing a fourth British driver on the grid next season were
boosted this week when Marussia named Max Chilton as their test driver until
the end of the year. You
can read more about him and the deal here.
12:30 Webber escapes penalty:
Red Bull driver Mark Webber got away with two incidents this weekend that
could have seen him handed a grid penalty. Marussia’s Timo Glock complained
he was blocked by the Australian in the first session, but the stewards took
no action, while in Q3 Webber twice left the circuit on his in-lap for which
he could offer no justifiable reason, earning him a rap over the knuckles.
It means Webber still starts in 7th next to Romain Grosjean and the
Australian has warned the Frenchman he should be prepared to run for the
hills should he spark another first-lap incident today. Grosjean is back
from a one race ban after ending his and three other driver’s races at Spa.
Yeah, he’s okay. He knows I’ve a good right hook on me so he will stay away
from me. But he better put his sneakers on if he hits me.”
12:25 just over half an hour until lights out then, let’s have a look
at what’s been grabbing the F1 headlines this week:
Speculation
over Lewis Hamilton’s future continues. Will he leave McLanre?
Is he already all set to join Mercedes? Who will McLaren replace him with?
While we have no firm answers to these questions, Jenson button is eager for
his team-mate to stay put.
I purposefully moved to McLaren because I wanted a competitive team-mate,
and it’s always fun judging yourself. Over a weekend, if you have a good day
and you are in front of your team-mate then it means a lot more, and you
really enjoy that moment. When you are behind it’s frustrating, but you
respect the fact he has done a better job than you. So it’s really good
having a competitive team-mate. That’s the most important thing.”
12:20 It wasn’t such a good day for Maldonado’s team-mate Bruno Senna
however who was lucky to escape serious damage when he clipped a barrier
after running wide to overtake a slower car. That incident happened in Q1
and a near identical move occurred in Q2 when he was not so lucky lasting
just a few minutes of the session before a he loosened a rear wheel and was
out.
Since qualifying his weekend has gone from bad to worse having been handed a
five place penalty for a gear box change. he no starts on the penultimate
row alongside Marussia’s Charles Pic – who was handed a 20-second penalty
for overtaking under a red flag in Saturday’s free practice.
12:16 It’s another great qualifying weekend for Pastor
Maldonado who starts alongside Hamilton. Where the Venzuelan’s speed
came from during qualifying yesterday I do not know especially given that he
starts ahead of Sebastian Vettel who was fastest in all three practice
sessions. Nonetheless he had a great afternoon and here’s what he had to say
about it.
We were finally able to put the car together and in qualifying managed to
find a very good balance and I am really looking forward to tomorrow. I
think we were working very hard from the beginning of the weekend and in
practice. We were improving especially during qualifying to adapt the car to
my style. I’m really looking forward to the race because yesterday we showed
very good pace, very consistent, so hopefully it’s going to be a good one
for us this time.”
12:07 It seems that history has this race down as one for champions
having never been won by a none title winning driver. Only Hamilton, Alonso
and Vettel have won at Marina Bay and of those three it is Alonso that’s
enjoyed the most success having appeared o the podium three time in the four
years the race has appeared on the calendar.
Another rostrum finish will give him eight this season and the 81st of his
career, moving him past Ayrton Senna into third on the all-time list.
12pm Good morning/afternoon/evening F1 fans depending on where in the
world you are joining me from for today’s race, how is everyone? Excited?
You should be, Singapore always makes for an entertaining couple of hours
and with Lewis Hamilton on pole and championship leader Fernando Alonso
starting from 5th today’s race may well prove pivotal in the title race.
Whatever happens the Spaniard will retain his lead but victory at Monza saw
Hamilton close the gap down to 37 points.
So Hamilton is on pole again and that makes it his third in four races and
McLaren’s fourth on the trot – a feat they haven’t achieved since 2005 when
Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya claimed six between them. So, in
claiming pole and his victory at Monza, Hamilton now has 23 poles and 20
wins to his name.
How they start:
1st row
Lewis Hamilton (GBR/McLaren)
Pastor Maldonado (VEN/Williams)
2nd row
Sebastian Vettel (GER/Red Bull)
Jenson Button (GBR/McLaren)
3rd row
Fernando Alonso (ESP/Ferrari)
Paul di Resta (GBR/Force India)
4th row
Mark Webber (AUS/Red Bull)
Romain Grosjean (FRA/Lotus)
5th row
Michael Schumacher (GER/Mercedes)
Nico Rosberg (GER/Mercedes)
6th row
Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Force India)
Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Lotus)
7th row
Felipe Massa (BRA/Ferrari)
Sergio Perez (MEX/Sauber)
8th row
Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Toro Rosso)
Jean-Eric Vergne (FRA/Toro Rosso)
9th row
Kamui Kobayashi (JPN/Sauber)
Vitaly Petrov (RUS/Caterham)
10th row
Heikki Kovalainen (FIN/Caterham)
Timo Glock (GER/Marussia)
11th row
Charles Pic (FRA/Marussia)
Bruno Senna (BRA/Williams)
12th row
Narain Karthikeyan (IND/HRT)
Pedro de la Rosa (ESP/HRT)