Sebastian Vettel flew to a seventh pole position for the Indian Grand Prix to give him the best possible chance of wrapping up the 2013 title before Abu Dhabi.
However the times don’t tell the whole story. Whilst the top three, Vettel, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, qualified on the softer, faster compound, rivals Mark Webber, Fernando Alonso, Sergio Perez and Jenson Button set their times on the slower medium.
Knowing it would take a miracle to beat the German, his rivals believe the gamble could pay off come Sunday’s race.
Romain Grosjean was the biggest casualty of tyre gambles when he used mediums during Q1 and failed to get through, exclaiming ‘No way!’ on the team radio when informed. He starts 17th.
Qualifying – 2013 Indian Grand Prix
| # | Driver | Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:25.943 | 1:24.568 | 1:24.119 |
| 02 | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:25.833 | 1:25.304 | 1:24.871 |
| 03 | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:25.802 | 1:25.259 | 1:24.941 |
| 04 | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:25.665 | 1:25.097 | 1:25.047 |
| 05 | F. Massa | Ferrari | 1:25.793 | 1:25.389 | 1:25.201 |
| 06 | K. Räikkönen | Lotus | 1:25.819 | 1:25.191 | 1:25.248 |
| 07 | N. Hulkenberg | Sauber | 1:25.883 | 1:25.339 | 1:25.334 |
| 08 | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:25.934 | 1:24.885 | 1:25.826 |
| 09 | S. Perez | McLaren | 1:26.107 | 1:25.365 | 1:26.153 |
| 10 | J. Button | McLaren | 1:25.574 | 1:25.458 | 1:26.487 |
| 11 | D. Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1:25.673 | 1:25.519 | |
| 12 | P. di Resta | Force India | 1:25.908 | 1:25.711 | |
| 13 | A. Sutil | Force India | 1:26.164 | 1:25.740 | |
| 14 | J-E. Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1:26.155 | 1:25.798 | |
| 15 | V. Bottas | Williams | 1:26.178 | 1:26.134 | |
| 16 | E. Gutierrez | Sauber | 1:26.057 | 1:26.336 | |
| 17 | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 1:26.577 | ||
| 18 | P. Maldonado | Williams | 1:26.842 | ||
| 19 | J. Bianchi | Marussia | 1:26.970 | ||
| 20 | G. van der Garde | Caterham | 1:27.105 | ||
| 21 | C. Pic | Caterham | 1:27.487 | ||
| 22 | M. Chilton | Marussia | 1:28.138 |
