China 2013 - Qualifying results - Mercedes snap up pole position as the Red Bull drivers falter

Published 13 April 2013 by Christine

Although punctuated by extended quiet moments, the qualifying session in China still managed to throw up some surprises. Both Toro Rosso drivers escaped Q1, with Daniel Ricciardo making it all the way up into the top ten. Mark Webber suffered a fuel issue that stopped him during the second session, whilst Sebastian Vettel's final flying lap saw him run off track and abandon the time. Meanwhile, it was Lewis Hamilton who soared to pole position for the first time at his new team.

Position	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	1:34.484	9
2	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1 Team	1:34.761	11
3	Fernando Alonso	Scuderia Ferrari	1:34.788	12
4	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	1:34.861	9
5	Felipe Massa	Scuderia Ferrari	1:34.933	12
6	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1 Team	1:35.364	9
7	Daniel Ricciardo	Scuderia Toro Rosso	1:35.998	15
8	Jenson Button	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	2:05.673	12
9	Sebastian Vettel	Infiniti Red Bull Racing	No time	13
10	Nico Hülkenberg	Sauber F1 Team	No time	11
11	Paul di Resta	Sahara Force India F1 Team	1:36.287	9
12	Sergio Pérez	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	1:36.314	10
13	Adrian Sutil	Sahara Force India F1 Team	1:36.405	11
14	Mark Webber	Infiniti Red Bull Racing	1:36.679	6
15	Pastor Maldonado	Williams F1 Team	1:37.139	10
16	Jean-Éric Vergne	Scuderia Toro Rosso	1:37.199	12
17	Valtteri Bottas	Williams F1 Team	1:37.769	3
18	Esteban Gutiérrez	Sauber F1 Team	1:37.990	5
19	Jules Bianchi	Marussia F1 Team	1:38.780	6
20	Max Chilton	Marussia F1 Team	1:39.537	3
21	Charles Pic	Caterham F1 Team	1:39.614	6
22	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham F1 Team	1:39.660	6