Forumla One Interlagos Qualifying

Rookie Formula One driver Nico Hulkenberg caused an upset by taking pole position in qualifying at Interlagos this afternoon ahead of tomorrow's Brazilian Grand Prix. His team-mate, home-town lad Rubens Barrichello finished in sixth place. The result marks the team’s first pole since the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring in 2005 and the first in one hundred races.

Hulkenburg said, "I didn’t expect to be on pole today but the team gave me a car that worked really well in these conditions and I hooked up a tidy lap. My engineer came over the radio and told me I was on pole, but I couldn’t quite believe it. It’s such an amazing feeling."

He also added, "We have to stay realistic for the race, and I’m aware that there are drivers behind me fighting for the championship, but we are fighting for position and we will be doing everything we can to get a good result. For now, thanks to AT&T Williams for giving me a really great car today; I’m just so happy and I want to enjoy the moment with the team."

His team-mate, Rubens Barrichello added, "I am truly happy for the team; it’s been a wonderful afternoon for us. We have a pole position, just not with me!

"I am thrilled for Nico though. In these conditions, you need to keep temperatures up in the tyres, but I had a car in front of me going a bit slow so I lost temperature and went off. I’m pleased with P6, it’s still a strong place to start the race from".

German Sebastian Vettel finished in second place. He said, “It was a tricky session. It was a tough call in Q3 after the first run on intermediate tyres, the circuit looked dry, but the last sector was very tricky. In the end I think everyone decided to go on to dry tyres. 

"The track was getting better and better, but it was still slippery. At first I thought I had missed pole by only a tenth, but then I saw that there was another digit and Nico had a second lead over us! Congratulations to him, it’s very easy to make a mistake in these conditions. We were targeting for pole today, but it could have been worse in the difficult conditions, so I’m happy to start from second.”

Mark Webber recorded third position crossing the line on 1m 15.637s. He added, “I enjoyed that, it was a challenging session for all of us. It’s easy to get things wrong in those conditions and not qualify, so I’m very happy to get that position near the front. It was really tricky to get clean laps in Q3, but I did my best. It was pretty close between Sebastian and I and we’re both up there. 

"It was a good team performance today and both Seb and I have laid good foundations for the Constructors’ Championship, so there are a lot of positives from today. We’re in a good position for tomorrow. Nico (Hulkenberg) got his car working very well, he was very confident and got the most out of it when it mattered, so congratulations to him for pole, it was like he was driving on a different track!”

Elsewhere Button practically ended his reign as Formula One champion by qualifying in eleventh place.  He has more or less admitted defeat.  "Before, there was a slither of hope of retaining the championship but now it's gone, it's basically impossible," the Briton told reporters after qualifying 11th for Sunday's race.

"My main aim is just to have some fun tomorrow and see how many points we can get," he added, accentuating the positive.

Team-mate Lewis Hamilton finished in a credible fourth, just behind Hulkenburg, Vettel and Webber. The Brit will be looking for a good start tomorrow and hoping to collect some points to close the gap at the top of the Championship with only one race after tomorrow's Brazilian GP.

“I’ve started from fourth at this track before [in 2008], and it’s not my favourite spot, but I can’t really complain today. On the other hand, on my final lap, I got a bit held up in the final corner when someone was backing-up ahead of me, which was frustrating.

“But the car didn’t feel too bad – it wasn’t spectacularly good in the wet, but it felt a lot better in the dry at the end of Q3. For tomorrow, I think we’ve got good race pace and good end-of-straight speed; so, yes, I think we’re in a good position. We’re definitely still in the world championship fight.

“I’m confident that I’ll be able to battle my way forwards from fourth position on the grid, because we’re all close at the front. We can fight [one another]. It’s also quite cool to see Nico [Hulkenberg] right up there – so well done to him! – but my aim for tomorrow is to get ahead of everyone in front of me!”

1. Nico Hulkenberg Germany Williams-Cosworth 1m 14.470s
2. Sebastian Vettel Germany Red Bull-Renault 1m 15.519s
3. Mark Webber Australia Red Bull-Renault 1m 15.637s
4. Lewis Hamilton Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 15.747s
5. Fernando Alonso Spain Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 15.989s
6. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Williams-Cosworth 1m 16.203s
7. Robert Kubica Poland Renault-Renault 1m 16.552s
8. Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 16.925s
9. Felipe Massa Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 17.101s
10. Vitaly Petrov Russia Renault-Renault 1m 17.656s

11. Jenson Button Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1m 19.288s
12. Kamui Kobayashi Japan BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1m 19.385s
13. Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 19.486s
14. Jaime Alguersuari Spain Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 19.581s
15. Sebastien Buemi Switzerland Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 19.847s*
16. Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1m 19.899s
17. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Force India-Mercedes 1m 20.357s

18. Adrian Sutil Germany Force India-Mercedes 1m 20.830s*
19. Timo Glock Germany Virgin-Cosworth 1m 22.130s
20. Jarno Trulli Italy Lotus-Cosworth 1m 22.250s
21. Heikki Kovalainen Finland Lotus-Cosworth 1m 22.378s
22. Lucas di Grassi Brazil Virgin-Cosworth 1m 22.810s
23. Christian Klien Austria HRT-Cosworth 1m 23.083s
24. Bruno Senna Brazil HRT-Cosworth 1m 23.796s

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