McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton secured his 3rd pole position of the season at the very last minute of the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix qualifying session.
Hamilton’s lap in Q3 was five tenths faster than second placed Williams drivers Pastor Maldonado, who shocked the F1 paddock by being on the front row.
Local hero Fernando Alonso posted the 3rd fastest time in the Ferrari despite not having the best car on the grid.
Romain Grosjean bested his teammate Kimi Raikkonen to qualify fourth and fifth respectively. Kimi Raikkonen is still considered as favorite for the win tomorrow though.
Sergio Perez qualified a solid sixth place for Sauber, while teammate Kamui Kobayashi insured his team’s strong pace by crossing the line in 10th.
Nico Rosberg was seventh after just one run in Q3, while both Sebastian Vettel and Rosberg’s Mercedes team-mate Michael Schumacher qualified eighth and ninth mainly because of their decision to save tyres for the race.
Pos Driver Team Time 1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m21.707s 2. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m22.285s 3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m22.302s 4. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m22.424s 5. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m22.487s 6. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m22.533s 7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m23.005s 8. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault No time 9. Michael Schumacher Mercedes No time 10. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari No time Q2 cut-off time: 1m22.904s 11. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m22.944s + 0.839 12. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m22.977s + 0.872 13. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m23.125s + 1.020 14. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m23.177s + 1.072 15. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m23.265s + 1.160 16. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m23.442s + 1.337 17. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m23.444s + 1.339 Q1 cut-off time: 1m24.362s 18. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m24.981s + 2.398 19. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m25.277s + 2.694 20. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m25.507s + 2.924 21. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m26.582s + 3.999 22. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m27.032s + 4.449 23. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m27.555s + 4.972 24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m31.122s + 8.539