Pole position and strategy advantage put Vettel in strong position to win

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Sebastian Vettel will be hard to stop in tomorrow's race

Sebastian Vettel starts the British Grand Prix from pole position and with more fuel on board than anyone in the top ten – giving him an excellent chance of winning tomorrow.

Here’s the drivers’ fuel weights in full.

QualifyingNameWeightFuel (kg)First stint (laps)
1Sebastian Vettel666.561.524
2Rubens Barrichello657.552.520
3Mark Webber659.554.521
4Jarno Trulli6585320
5Kazuki Nakajima652.547.518
6Jenson Button657.552.520
7Nico Rosberg661.556.522
8Timo Glock6605521
9Kimi Raikkonen6544919
10Fernando Alonso6544919
11Felipe Massa6757027
12Robert Kubica689.584.533
13Heikki Kovalainen695.590.535
14Nelson Piquet Jnr682.577.530
15Nick Heidfeld665.560.523
16Giancarlo Fisichella6686324
17Sebastien Bourdais687.582.532
18Adrian Sutil6928734
19Lewis Hamilton6666123
20Sebastien Buemi672.567.526

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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52 comments on “Pole position and strategy advantage put Vettel in strong position to win”

  1. Amazing performance from vettel, i really hope this is just a blip for brawn but it looks like red bull have got their game together

  2. Mussolini's pet cat
    20th June 2009, 18:50

    I wouldnt worry, Vettel will bottle it. Webber will break down, Barrichello will just fade away, leaving Jenson to win. HOORAY!

    1. I’m kind of with you on this. But I hope not…

    2. I’m kinda hoping that Barrichello drives his usual race, and therefore finishes third. Red Bull strategy costs Webber the win and he ends up second.

      Buttons ability to real in the laps when it counts, his masterful overtaking on the first lap, and the Brawn strategy puts him out front for the win.

      Vettel??… oh, he binned it on the first lap ;-)

  3. Right after qualifying I suspected Vettel of running light, but he’s proved me wrong. Great job by him, he’s definitely in a prime position to win the race now.

  4. What the heck is Alonso’s comment that they have a good strategy–he is almost the lightest guy in the top ten. Today it he was just slow.

  5. absolutely stunning drive by vettel!! heaviest car in Q1 goes fastest by a good margin!

  6. If Button wins this race, it’ll really suck…

    1. In terms of the championship it might, but it’s bound to be a fairly interesting race if someone that far back wins.

    2. Mussolini's pet cat
      20th June 2009, 23:17

      rubbish, it’ll prove once and for all he’s world champ quality.

      1. Mussolini's pet cat
        20th June 2009, 23:18

        i was responding to hammad’s comment, not matt’s.

      2. Depends how he gets there… if it’s by passing everyone in front of them, yes I’ll agree with you.

  7. StrFerrari4Ever
    20th June 2009, 20:15

    Damn what a lap by Seb it looked great on TV but seeing these fuel loads makes it more impressive tommorow is his race to lose and i hope he doesn’t lose it Webber i want him to win to end his bad luck but Vettel with a performance like that would deserve it.
    Interestingly Trulli said he could’ve gone quicker on his final lap and that 3rd was a possibility lets just say Webber wasn’t compromised and got pole or 2nd then Trulli would be 3rd on a similar fuel load to both Brawns which would show that Brawn can be caught up and Williams aren’t far off the race is shaping up to be breathtaking :D

  8. My view of the opening lap is that Barrichelo will blast off the line pass vettel and command the race. Jenson will play catchup, and because webber is sore out of luck, as always, he will loose the 3rd spot for Jenson…

    but seriously, does it matter? if FOTA split, all this is pointless, so would the past 60 years…

    1. HounslowBusGarage
      20th June 2009, 20:54

      Sorry Ronman, I take the opposite point of view. FIA/FOTA is pointless; this is where the important bit is. This is racing.
      Forget the last sixty years, they don’t count once the lights go out.
      S*d the administration, racing is what it’s all about.

      1. When the flag drops, the bull**** stops :D

    2. Sush Meerkat
      21st June 2009, 11:22

      sorry ronman but Rubens has never been good at starts

  9. Vettel and Bubens better score top points tomorrow if they want to keep their WDC chances alive.
    So far so good :-)

    I hope Bubens won’t sleep at the green light again.

  10. 1981 Watson sixth – the five in front fall out Watson wins…… bring it on.

  11. looking at the weights, Vettel really stuck it. Damn thats nice. He has 4 laps on the quick Brawn.

    I wonder if the heavy Kubica and Heiki will do well.

  12. i am very very surpried, i thought 90% he is lighter than others around him or might be same but he turned out to be the heaviest in Top 10. Stunning performance from Vettel. Who can stop him…maybe only relibilty

  13. A bit like Hamilton after Monaco 2007, Vettel responded to being held back by the team (he thought) in the last race with real determination. Congratulations! Now he has to hold it together off the grid tomorrow, but I can see him doing it. At least a Vettel-Webber 1-2 could sustain interest in the 2009 season a little longer. The onus now is on Button to show some fight from well off the front row for the first time. Has he got it?

  14. Amazing…

  15. i love martin brundle’s punchlines like today when he said about a hamilton moment-

    ‘he will radio the team for fresh underwears’ lol lol lol

    1. wasn’t thst david coulthard? funny nonetheless. i know i laughed

      1. It was Martin, and agree he’s good fun. Very glad he came over to the BBC.

  16. Alonso and Raikkonen are side-by-side with identical fuel loads. What’s the betting Alonso pits four laps after Kimi? Somehow the Renaults squeeze a lot out of a drop of petrol.

    My betting is Vettel will pit directly after Button, even if he has fuel for more laps, because Brawn has proved to be the better strategist, so they’ll copy him.

    At the post-quali press conference, Vettel indicated that he had put in a truly exceptional lap for pole. Expect his race pace to be more modest.

    1. Indeed. It will be very interesting to compare Renault’s and Ferrari’s fuel consumption.

  17. How does it work with the fuel, I know that the drivers from Q3 have to start with the same tires and same fuel from Q3 but what about the drivers from Q2 and Q1 do they have to start with the same tyres from there Q too or can they change and adjust there fuel level ???

    1. yes, drivers out at q1 and q2 can change their fuel.

    2. … I know that the drivers from Q3 have to start with the same tires and same fuel from Q3 …

      They don’t have to start with the same tyres. They can even change tyres on the grid itself, after the installation lap.

      They do have to use the tyres used for qualifying at some point in the race though – i.e. they can’t go for all new sets of tyres for the race (unless it rains, which introduces a combination where that is possible).

  18. i wonder how vettel will cock it up this week. it is a rather amusing aside that those who claimed Vettel as the anti Hamilton hero now have to deal with the fact that their ” hero” is flawed too.

    btw i love vettel and Lewis. oh no, how does that work. errrmmm because its not football div

  19. If Vettel bins this one he’ll go down a notch or two in everyone’s estimation methinks. Of course the opposite is true if he bags the win. His racecraft is evolving, is it there yet?

    Prospect of Button going aggresive is exciting. I think he’s in with a chance even if Vettel stays on it. Vettel will get slower as Jenson gets faster. Their driving styles are almost opposite. Vettel hard and aggresive, Button smooth and progressive.

    My money’s on Jenson…

  20. webber and button winge like 2 old men – the things they said after quali just show them to be trashy. webber always blames everyone else, i hope raikkonen knocks him out post-race and button’s crying ‘cos he’s P6 – worried he’s going to actually race! I just hope vettel and barrichello hold it together tomorrow cos they’re much better than their teammates.

    1. From what I saw post-quali, Button wasn’t being a winge at all. He simply said the same as Ross in that he was having problems with grip in the fast corners. I don’t think that means he’s “trashy”.

      The problem for Ruben’s is that Jens is a more consistent driver lap in lap out. I hope Ruben’s can get a win, he’s a great driver and a big favorite of mine, but he’ll need to keep it together as Jens will do a jump on him.

      Vettel has the makings of a champion, but does, and recently has, made the smallest of errors and lost position for it… he’ll need to keep his cool with the guys behind him all wanting the top points.

  21. Its all Vettel and Webber in the race. LLRB.

  22. Once again Webber managed to screw it up when it counted. There is no excuse for not getting pole w/ three laps of fuel less than Vettel. And that it was because Kimi held him up is bologni. With this useless Webber there is always an excuse. He’s done it many times before. I said in another post and will say it here again … watch him crash in lap-1 or if he survices, he will crash later. He won’t finish the race.

    1. Webber was forced to turn in early by Kimi, he took a different line into that corner that he would normally have. Not saying that cost him pole, just saying he would have lost some time doing that.

      1. Proberbly didn’t cost him pole but it definatly cost him a front row birth.

  23. Prisoner Monkeys
    21st June 2009, 2:08

    If Red Bull’s pace is going to be like this for the rest of he season, this could get very interesting: Button has sixty-one points and needs eight-two to win. Vettel has twenty-nine points, and so likely needs three wins to cach the distance back to Button. So the next three races stop being about themselves and start becoming a larger race to see who can bank more points. Button needs to get his twenty-two as soon as possible, while Vettel needs to take the fight to him. I think this is going to make the season very interesting …

  24. has anyone noted hamilton is carrying 666 kgs. number of the satan!!!

    1. If you read the Daily Mail, he is Satan! Lol!

      1. Haha true! Last year he was God this year he’s Satan and now Jenson is God

        1. Vettel is carrying 666.5 too…

          1. Satan and a half :P

  25. Why Red Bull team works for Weber.In Turkey I doubted when they pitted vettel three times.Now I’m sure.Why they put less fuel weber not wettel.They wanted weber on the poll not vettel.Other thing corrected my opinion.In press release redd bull engineer says:

    Mark seemed to be on for pole, but finished third in the end as he was blocked by Raikkonen, so again that gives me a little bit of mixed feeling.

    Someone says Red Bull sales in australia very important for team.Any opinion on these sunject

  26. Go Renault 09"
    21st June 2009, 9:34

    @ mertyazan

    My opinion is learn to spell!! soft drink sales have nothing to do with racing!!

  27. Jelle van der Meer
    21st June 2009, 9:43

    Raikonnen blocking Webber without being penalized is quite surprissing. I would assume FIA would no longer stand for Ferrari International Assistence.

    Actually, has anyone noticed there have been no penalties (other than gear box) given by the FIA since Australia.

    Is the FIA secretly starting to listen to fans or try to avoid more screw ups as in 2008 pushing fans more to FOTA.

    Little bit the same as Bernie suddenly keeping the door open on Silverstone.

    Back on subject, both Vettel’s Q3 and Q2 laps were absolutely stunning. His Q2 lap the fastest ever since chicanes were put in and his Q3 lap was adjusted for weight 0.6 faster than the #2.

    1. Sutil was penalised for “blocking” Webber in qualifying in Bahrain. But there were similar “blocks” done in Monaco and now at Silverstone with no penalty.

      I’ve always said that penalising drivers for getting in each other’s way is a joke, because part of the challenge of this kind of qualifying is making enough space for a clear run. But what is most important is that the rules are applied consistently.

  28. Go Renault 09

    Red Bull is a soft drink company.Why Red Bull entered f1 racing.for sport ?.
    They selling more than coca cola in australia

  29. Bigbadderboom
    21st June 2009, 12:05

    @ mertyazan If a team is looking to lock out the front row, and so obviousley much quicker than the rest of the field, then it’s swings and roundabouts really, 2 like for like cars will result in one stopping earlier , giving the other 2 fast laps. I still fancy Webber for the win, Vettell will make a mistake and Rubens will have is usual tortoise getaway. In fact I wouldn’t be suprised to see Webber leading into lap 2.

  30. British GP: Comparing Predicted and Actual pit stops.

    Grid . . kg . .Pred. Actual . . . . Fin
    .. . . . . . . La. T La T La T La T 60La
    01  VET  61.5  24  s -- - 22 s 45 h 01
    02  BAR  52.5  20  s -- - 20 h 48 s 03
    03  WEB  54.5  21  s -- - 21 s 48 h 02
    04  TRU  53.0  20  s -- - 19 s 47 - 07
    05  NAK  47.5  18  h -- - 16 h 41 - 11
    06  BUT  53.5  20  s -- - 19 h 50 s 06
    07  ROS  56.5  22  h -- - 19 - 44 - 05
    08  GLO  55.0  21  - -- - 20 s 49 h 09
    09k RAI  49.0  19  s -- - 17 s 43 h 08
    10  ALO  49.0  19  h -- - 19 - 40 - 14
    11k MAS  70.0  27  - -- - 24 s 46 h 04
    12  KUB  84.5  33  - -- - 29 - 48 - 13
    13  KOV  90.5  35  s 35 h 36!h 39r  RET
    14  PIQ  77.5  30  - -- - 30 - -- - 12
    15  HEI  60.5  23  - -- - 22 - 48 - 15
    16  FIS  63.0  24  - -- - 22 - 46 - 10
    17  SUT  87.0  34  - -- - 35 - -- - 17
    18  HAM  61.0  23  - -- - 21 s 45 h 16
    19  BUE  67.5  26  - -- - 23 - 43 - 18
    20  BOU  82.5  32  - 25 - 36!h 40r  RET

    k = KERS, h = hard tyres, s = soft tyres

    Fine and dry, no safety car.
    Temp. air: 16 C, track: 30 – 26 C
    Wind. 3.6 m/s

    Order at end of first lap:
    VET, BAR, WEB, NAK(+1), RAI(+4), ROS(+1), TRU(-3), MAS(+3), BUT(-3), GLO(-2), HEI(+4), ALO(-2), KUB(-1), FIS(+2), HAM(+3), PIQ(-2), BOU, BUE(+1), KOV(-6), SUT

    KERS on first lap: RAI(+4), MAS(+3) good advantage.

    Incidents: (1?)HEI damaged front wing, didn’t pit, (16)NAK slow pitstop, (35)BOU into back of KOV who moved across as BOU overtook, (45)HAM spins at Vale.

    Unscheduled pits: (36)BOU nose, KOV puncture; (39)KOV retires (unknown reason), (40)BOU retires (oil pressure?).

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