German claims first top spot
Nico Hülkenberg has taken his first pole position in the main series with a forceful display of power and finesse in Friday afternoon's qualifying session in Istanbul, taking the top spot by a tenth from Luca Filippi and Romain Grosjean. The German bided his time throughout the session before unleashing a lap of 1:34.404, setting all three fastest sectors with just five minutes remaining, and with Vitaly Petrov and Pastor Maldonado stopping on track immediately after with mechanical gremlins there were two yellow flag zones, and the session was effectively over.
With the drivers taking to the track once again in steaming conditions Hülkenberg set an early quick lap before Petrov took the top spot: the Russian driver looked untouchable, but his competitors kept nibbling away at his time, with Lucas di Grassi, Filippi and Karun Chandhok all closing in from behind. Grosjean finally bested his teammate with six minutes remaining, but Hülkenberg was already on a charge, taking the top spot seconds later with Filippi in tow: Petrov suddenly slowed from a quick looking lap and pulled off to the side of the track, and when Maldonado's car started smoking there was no chance for anyone else to improve their times.
Petrov will nevertheless start from fourth tomorrow, ahead of Chandhok, Andreas Zuber and Alvaro Parente. With a number of drivers caught out of position on the grid, there promises to be fireworks when the lights go out in Istanbul this afternoon.
Istanbul – Qualifying session
Driver Team Time Laps
1. Nico Hülkenberg ART Grand Prix 1:34.404 11
2. Luca Filippi Super Nova Racing 1:34.515 14
3. Romain Grosjean Barwa Addax Team 1:34.587 12
4. Vitaly Petrov Barwa Addax Team 1:34.713 11
5. Karun Chandhok Ocean Racing Technology 1:34.762 14
6. Andreas Zuber FMSI 1:34.922 11
7. Alvaro Parente Ocean Racing Technology 1:35.017 11
8. Javier Villa Super Nova Racing 1:35.020 14
9. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet GP 1:35.105 15
10. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1:35.113 16
11. Alberto Valerio Piquet GP 1:35.141 13
12. Giedo van der Garde iSport International 1:35.151 14
13. Pastor Maldonado ART Grand Prix 1:35.193 14
14. Lucas di Grassi Fat Burner Racing Eng. 1:35.226 10
15. Edoardo Mortara Telmex Arden International 1:35.284 15
16. Davide Rigon Trident Racing 1:35.328 16
17. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS 1:35.360 12
18. Diego Nunes iSport International 1:35.395 12
19. Jérôme d’Ambrosio DAMS 1:35.412 12
20 Luiz Razia FMSI 1:35.806 13
21. Giacomo Ricci DPR 1:35.850 12
22. Dani Clos Fat Burner Racing Eng. 1:35.974 15
23. Nelson Panciatici Durango 1:36.031 14
24. Sergio Perez Telmex Arden International 1:36.051 13
25 Michael Herck DPR 1:36.111 12
26. Ricardo Teixeira Trident Racing 1:37.278 15
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