Russian on top once again Vitaly Petrov has taken back to back pole positions with a storming lap in the closing minutes of yesterday afternoon's qualifying session in Portimao, edging his way to the top spot ahead of Dani Clos and Nico Hülkenberg. The Russian's best time of 1:30.819 was set with just two minutes remaining:
Hülkenberg and Clos crossed the line soon after to put themselves within a tenth of the top spot, but ran out of time as they tried to find a fraction more on their first visit to the technical new circuit. The morning's fastest man Luca Filippi continued in qualifying where he left off, setting the early running as the field enjoyed their first full dry laps and held on to the top spot as everyone returned to the pits for their second set of tyres. Any hope the Italian had of repeating the performance on his second set were soon dashed, however, when Lucas di Grassi and Roldan Rodriguez broke through as the temperature soared. With most of the field smashing their previous times as the clock ran down, pole position looked like it could belong to anyone.
With the smallest of mistakes the difference between success and failure it was Petrov who held his nerve for his second consecutive pole position, while the new champion will have to make do with a second row start, next to di Grassi and ahead of Davide Valsecchi, Rodriguez, Alberto Valerio and Pastor Maldonado.
Local fans were disappointed by the non-appearance of Alvaro Parente, who were expecting to see their hero around the top of the timesheets: the Portuguese driver was unable to set a time after suffering a gearbox problem, and will have to rely on the good graces of the race stewards to join the grid tomorrow. With 15 drivers within a second of pole, and weather forecasts suggesting more of the same conditions tomorrow afternoon, the stage is set for open warfare as the championship contenders fight to bring back the team's title for their respective groups, while Clos sits between them and looks for his first score of the season.
Portimao – Qualifying Session
Driver Team Time Laps
1. Vitaly Petrov Barwa Addax Team 1:30.819 13 2. Dani Clos Fat Burner Racing Eng. 1:30.859 14 3. Nico Hülkenberg ART Grand Prix 1:30.884 12 4. Lucas di Grassi Fat Burner Racing Eng. 1:31.067 14 5. Davide Valsecchi Barwa Addax Team 1:31.129 13 6. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet GP 1:31.389 15 7. Alberto Valerio Piquet GP 1:31.418 13 8. Pastor Maldonado ART Grand Prix 1:31.449 14 9. Giedo van der Garde iSport International 1:31.532 12 10. Diego Nunes iSport International 1:31.569 13 11. Jérôme d’Ambrosio DAMS 1:31.601 13 12. Andreas Zuber Party Poker Racing.com SC 1:31.673 15 13. Luca Filippi Super Nova racing 1:31.764 15 14. Javier Villa Super Nova Racing 1:31.812 16 15. Sergio Perez Telmex Arden International 1:31.886 14 16. Luiz Razia Party Poker Racing.com SC 1:32.140 14 17. Davide Rigon Trident Racing 1:32.165 15 18. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS 1:32.183 14 19. Michael Herck DPR 1:32.376 15 20 Edoardo Mortara Telmex Arden International 1:32.807 15 21. Karun Chandhok Ocean Racing Technology 1:32.765 15 22. Johnny Cecotto DPR 1:32.807 15 23. Ricardo Teixeira Trident Racing 1:34.083 16 24. Alvaro Parente Ocean Racing Technology -- 2
