Sebastian Vettel takes pole position in 1-2 for Red Bull at European GP

Vettel takes pole at European GP

VALENCIA, Spain — Sebastian Vettel earned Red Bull’s eighth pole in nine Formula One races this season, posting the fastest time in qualifying Saturday for the European Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver drove the quickest lap in 1 minute, 37.587 seconds. Vettel’s teammate Mark Webber was second in 1.37.662, with Lewis Hamilton third for Mclaren.

“It was a tight qualifying session in the end, not much between us all,” Vettel said. “I won pole so I’m very happy for today.”

Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher didn’t compete for the pole after being eliminated in the second qualifying round.

Home favorite Fernando Alonso of Ferrari was fourth, with teammate Felipe Massa fifth.

Hamilton leads the standings with 109 points, followed by teammate Jenson Button on 106 points. Webber is third on 103 points, ahead of Alonso on 94 and Vettel on 90.

Helped by its pioneering blown diffuser exhaust system, Red Bull won the first seven poles of the season before failing in Canada. Ferrari, Renault and Mercedes have installed their own diffusers for this weekend’s race, the third grand prix to be staged in Valencia.

Red Bull also employed a version of the F-duct introduced by McLaren earlier in the season. After successful practices in Valencia on Friday, the team decided to maintain the aerodynamic device for the weekend.

“We feel the difference, we can see how much you can gain,” Vettel said.

Under a clear sky track temperatures reached 113 Fahrenheit during the qualifying session.

Earlier, Vettel posted the fastest lap in the final practice.

Renault’s Robert Kubica took the lead as qualifying got under way, before Red Bull gained control. Webber looked to have secured his fifth pole of the season until a late lap by Vettel clinched it for the German.

It is the fourth one-two of the season on the grid for Red Bull.

“It’s not one of our strongest circuits … if you think where you would have a race against the opposition we probably wouldn’t choose this one,” said Webber, who is aiming to become the first Australian world champion since Alan Jones in 1980.

“Let’s see how tomorrow goes. I’m very optimistic we’re going to have a good race. I could have gone one place better but I wasn’t quick enough today.”

Hamilton and Button have expressed concern at their rivals’ improvements, given that McLaren is not planning to introduce its blown diffuser until the British Grand Prix in two weeks.

However, Hamilton looked to be on course to earn the pole until a mistake on his last lap. Even so, the Briton was upbeat after qualifying third, with teammate Button seventh.

However, Hamilton was upbeat after qualifying third, with teammate Button seventh.

“It’s going to be an interesting race tomorrow,” Hamilton said, adding that the first corner and first few laps will be crucial. “I can’t complain with where we’re starting from.”

Hamilton took the pole last year and went on to finish second behind Rubens Barrichello. He goes into this year’s race following wins in Turkey and Canada.

Schumacher appeared to be heading for elimination at the end of the first round as he suffered power steering problems, before making the cut on his final lap.

However, the German’s problems continued in the second round and he was eliminated along with Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg. Schumacher, who said he suffered tire and brake difficulties, will start 15th on Sunday after his worst qualifying performance of the season. Rosberg is 12th on the grid.

“We clearly have improved the car. The guys have worked hard and they have worked very well,” Schumacher said. “… But it doesn’t help if you qualify where we do qualify and then you have to race from there. It’s going to be a difficult afternoon tomorrow.”