Category: Formula 1

Sebastian Vettel has put his Red Bull machine on pole position for the tenth time in 2011 after setting the quickest time (1:22.275) in qualifying at the Italian Grand Prix overnight.

The 2010 world champion ended up with a comfortable lead over the McLarens of Lewis Hamilton (1:22.725) and Jenson Button (1:22.777). All of the top three made minor mistakes during Q3 and Vettel was the only one able to regroup and better his first flying lap in the final session.

Mark Webber qualified fifth (1:22.972) and really wasn’t that far off the pace, Sebastian Vettel aside; he remains in a class of his own.

Daniel Ricciardo (1:28.054) put his HRT on P23 ahead of teammate Tonio Liuzzi (1:28.231).

Sebastian Vettel is sitting pretty ahead of tonight’s race, but the McLaren duo won’t let him run away with the race without a fight. After the break you can read what the top three had to say.

[Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

Sebastien Vettel won his and Red Bull Racing’s first Belgian Grand Prix overnight. In doing so he opened up a 92pt lead in the drivers’ championship race on his teammate Mark Webber. Jenson Button (McLaren) put in a sterling effort to finish on the podium after starting from P13.

Before the race it was reported Red Bull had concerns over tyre blistering and their strategy to pit both men relatively early paid dividends. Especially for Webber who started from P3 on the grid and found himself in mid-pack by the first corner after a terrible getaway. A very long sting on the harder tyres gave him good track position, which he was able to maintain after his second and final pit stop.

Webber provided the highlight of the race as well, making one of the best overtaking moves of the year. He held his inside line on Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), who was exiting from pit lane, on the entry into Eau Rouge and managed to squeeze out the dual world champion with great courage. It was breathtaking. Alonso was very competitive on the soft tyres, but he dropped out of contention once he moved to the harder primes. He finished the race in fourth.

Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) was also looking very good early in proceedings until he had minor contact with Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) on lap 13. That was enough, though, to fire Hamilton into the armco and out of the race. Despite some early concerns he appeared okay and there have been no reports of injury. The incident saw the Safety Car deployed for a total of four laps while the track was cleared. Hamilton has since accepted responsibility for making contact and apologised to Kobayashi.

At the first corner there was a lot of incidental contact for the midfield runners with carbon fibre flying everywhere. Daniel Ricciardo (HRT) managed to avoid that and take advantage. He was running as high as P15 until he retired from the race suffering vibration at the left-rear of his car.

The post-race press conference featuring the first three drivers can be read after the break. F1 is back in two weeks time for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

[Pics: Red Bull/Getty Images]

Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) has shown the summer break hasn’t affected his form by taking his ninth pole position of the year in qualifying at the Belgian Grand Prix.

In a rain affected program Mark Webber (Red Bull) looked sharp and for a while it looked like his best lap (1:49.376) might claim pole position. Which would have been a great way to celebrate his birthday and new contract extension. However, Vettel and Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) were the last of the front runners to cross the line and they made the most of the drying track.

Hamilton was first and he also did enough to claim P1 (1:48.730) but the moment last just seconds as Vettel cut four tenths from Hamilton’s best (1:48.298).

Controversy reigned at the close of Q2 when it appeared as though Pastor Maldonado (Williams) deliberately ran into Hamilton, following some minor contact at the chicane on the close of the previous lap. The Venezuelan was penalised five places on the grid and will now start from P21. Hamilton was handed a reprimand, which appears lucky after reviewing replays that showed he moved towards Maldonado moments before they made contact.

A combination of wet conditions and mechanical gremlins made it tough going for Daniel Ricciardo (HRT) who posted the slowest lap in Q3 and was well out of the 107% qualifying zone. He wasn’t the only one though, with Liuzzi (HRT) and d’Ambrosio (Virgin) also missing the mark. It is expected all three will be allowed to race.

Meanwhile, a brief and rare pause to feel sorrow for Michael Schumacher who didn’t get to post a time at all during qualifying after a wheel fell off his car during his out lap in Q3. A rather symbolic moment for his 20th anniversary celebrations given his form since his comeback to F1.

A transcript from the post-qualifying press conference featuring Vettel, Hamilton and Webber can be read below.

[Pics: Red Bull/Getty Images & Vodafone McLaren Mercedes]