Hamilton Brings Mercedes Another Pole for the German Grand Prix

It briefly appeared that Sebastian Vettel would take another pole, but Lewis Hamilton came around after leading the rest of the session and topped Vettel by a tenth of a second. It was a major victory for the MercedesMercedes-BenzGermany, 1924 > present197 models
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team after Nico Rosberg went out in the Q2 session. It also brings Mercedes its sixth pole position of the year in nine races.

The starting grid for tomorrow will have Hamilton and Vettel starting side-by-side, and Webber is in third. That means that Hamilton will have no teammate to count on for protection. Lotus'LotusUnited Kingdom, 1952 > present68 models
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cars finished fourth and fifth. FerrariFerrariItaly, 1947 > present233 models
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controls the fourth row of the grid with Felipe Massa in seventh and Fernando Alonso in eighth. McLaren'sMcLarenUnited Kingdom, 1963 > present92 models
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woes continue with Jenson Button in tenth and Sergio Perez in 13th. 

Felipe Massa led the first qualifying session. WilliamsWilliamsUnited Kingdom, 1977 > present37 models
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had a very rough qualifying with both of its cars going out in the first session. 

Massa was fastest again in the Q2 session. Big names were knocked out including Nico Rosberg, Paul di Resta and Sergio Perez. Both Force IndiasForce IndiaIndia, 2007 > present8 models
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were knocked out.

Tires are going to play a big role in Sunday's race. Pirelli brought the same soft and medium compounds from the Chinese Grand Prix, but the tires now have Kevlar belts for extra protection. So far the soft tires have only lasted about seven laps per stint, and most drivers will be starting on them. Jenson Button and Nico Hulkenberg did not complete any laps in the Q3 session to try to save tires for the race. The first pit stops will probably come very early in the race.