Webber grabs pole position at Silverstone

Exhaust fumes rule change overshadows British GP qualification.

SILVERSTONE:

Mark Webber grabbed pole position for Sunday’s British Grand Prix as Red Bull swept the front row again in changeable conditions during an unpredictable qualifying session.

The 34-year-old Australian, who won last year’s race, clocked 1:30.399 as he outpaced defending champion and Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel to grab the prime starting spot for the second time this season and the seventh time in his career.

Spaniard Fernando Alonso was third fastest for Ferrari ahead of his teammate Brazilian Felipe Massa as rivals McLaren struggled to mount a serious challenge.

Briton Jenson Button, in the leading McLaren, was fifth though his teammate and compatriot Lewis Hamilton was able to qualify in only 10th place.

Row overshadows
qualifying

Qualifying was, however, overshadowed by a row after Formula One’s ruling body the FIA performed a u-turn on its technical rules on the eve of Sunday’s race.

The row centred on the new rules that ban the deliberate use of engine exhaust gases to improve rear down-force, and therefore grip, notably when the driver is not pressing down on his car’s throttle — a practice that, it was believed, contributed towards Red Bull’s clear performance advantage this year.

Initially, the FIA banned all use of ‘blown’ exhaust fumes in this way, but this provoked a storm of protest. The FIA relented, allowing teams running with Mercedes engines, including McLaren, to let their engines over-run under braking, thus creating some ‘blown exhaust’ even when the driver was off the throttle.

This concession to McLaren left Red Bull fuming, with team chief Christian Horner saying, “We need all the teams to agree on this and to move on and put it behind us.

“We are running at a disadvantage compared to other manufacturers right now. We’re trying to find a solution. The simplest thing would be to go back to the way we were two weeks ago,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 10^th, 2011.