There was no stopping defending champion Sebastian Vettel as he came out with a scorching lap to secure pole position for tomorrow’s Indian Grand Prix even as ‘home’ team Sahara Force India faded in the Q2.
Vettel came out with a flying lap of 1:24.119 to grab his third straight pole in India, seventh of the season and 43rd of his career as he pipped Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg by 0.752 seconds.
Rosberg was followed by his teammate Lewis Hamilton (1:24.941) as Mercedes prevented a Red Bull lock out by pushing Mark Webber (1:25.047) to fourth.
Felipe Massa outpaced his Ferrari teammate for the fourth time in the last five races to be fifth and next to him is Kimi Raikkonen in his Lotus.
This is Raikkonen’s best start since the Hungarian Grand Prix and the iceman has outperformed his team-mate Romain Grosjean for the first time since announcing he is returning to Ferrari in 2014.
Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg was seventh, followed by Alonso and the two McLarens with Sergio Perez being ahead of Jenson Button.
Vettel now looks set to become the youngest quadruple world champion as the 26-year-old German needs to finish just fifth to seal the championship, having a huge 90-point lead over Alonso.
“It has been a brilliant weekend. The car was very good.
We did not change much. I like this circuit, I like the flow of the track especially around the middle sector, it’s challenging with high speed corners. It’s a great result for the team, let’s see what the results bring tomorrow,” Vettel said.
Vettel said he does not want to think about winning the championship.
“I am trying not to think about that although every second person in the paddock is asking the same thing. We have worked hard to be there but it’s a long race. We have a quick package, so we should be in good shape.”