Red Bull miss out on pole for first time in season

McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton has beaten Formula 1 champion Sebastina Vettel for the pole position at the South Korean Grand Prix.

­It took Hamilton 1 minute and 35,820 seconds to complete his best lap in Q3 at the Korean International Circuit, which was 0,222 seconds faster than the Red Bull man, Vettel.

“I’m happy to be here and very proud of what the team have been able to achieve over the course of the last two races,”
Hamilton said. “For us to be on the front two rows again and competing with Red Bull – then I’m very happy. But tomorrow is when it counts.”

The Red Bulls have topped the grid at all of the previous 15 races of the current season, and allowed their opponents to break the tradition only after solving their main task.   

Dominant Vettel was crowned 2011 Formula 1 champion a week ago in Japan, with four Grand Prix still remaining.   

The second row on the grid for Sunday’s race will also be occupied by a McLaren and a Red Bull, with Jenson Button edging ahead of Mark Webber.

Russia’s Vitaly Petrov has managed to make it to the third segment of the qualification for the second consecutive race. The Lotus Renault man will take a start from eighth position, seven places ahead of teammate Bruno Senna.

Leave a comment