Old Farts take the first 4 positions

[Scott]

Well, I think I can safely say that none of us chose (nor would have chosen) Fisi to take pole.  Trulli second, Heidfeld 3rd and Ruby 4th. 

Here they are with times:

01 G. Fisichella Force India F1 1:46.308
02 J. Trulli Toyota 1:46.395
03 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:46.500
04 R. Barrichello Brawn GP 1:46.513
05 R. Kubica BMW 1:46.586
06 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:46.633
07 T. Glock Toyota 1:46.677
08 S. Vettel Red Bull 1:46.761
09 M. Webber Red Bull 1:46.788
10 N. Rosberg Williams 1:47.362
11 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:45.119
12 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:45.122
13 F. Alonso Renault 1:45.136
14 J. Button Brawn GP 1:45.251
15 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:45.259
16 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:45.951
17 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:46.032
18 K. Nakajima Williams 1:46.307
19 R. Grosjean Renault 1:46.359
20 L. Badoer Ferrari 1:46.957

[romephius]

I am the luckiest person on GPWiz right now.... normally I never forget to put my picks in... but feeling so unwell today and tonight... I forgot, thanks Fisi for making sure it didn't cost me.... and for Helping Ali, among others realise their dream of a Force India car at the pointy end of the field.

Rom  (great work to the teams)

[greener_09]

What a shocker,Button and Hamilton out in Q2 and Fisi on pole.I dont know about anyone else but i havnt got a clue who to put where in my Grid picks

[Scott]

So let's go through it.  Badoer, no surprise there.  Mclaren 12th and 15th.  Something went wrong with their tire choice or they thought they could put more fuel in it than the rest did.  Button has serious oversteer issues, but it is a bit cool at Spa, so like earlier in the season, his setup is not working in the cool weather.  Barrichelo did better, but had some oversteer issues earlier in Q1 I think.  We'll have to wait to see race pace.  Rosberg made it into Q3, but just by a hair, and that was it for him - no advance from 10th.  The two RBR's were dissapointing, but I wonder if they are taking it easy on the revs since their Renault's keep exploding.  Glock did well, but couldn't catch Trulli.  Raikkonen didn't do as well as some of us might have expected, but 3rd row ain't too shabby with a track like Spa.  The BMW's are showing well, but they are doing auditions for new owners or employers, so I kind of expected them to be near the front.  

But how on earth Fisi made P1, I have no idea.  The German broadcasters were suggesting he'll be pitting in the first few laps (or that maybe they forgot to fill the tank after Q2).  Whatever the case, it is fantastic for him, and the team, and about time they got to bask, however briefly in a bit of glory.

Can't wait to see the Q weights.

[david1275]

What a strange day.

Fair play to Fisi, I actually whooped when he did it.

Makes the race picks difficult. I'll leave it until I see the fuel loads.

[cosworth151]

FIF1 P1 and Ferrari dead last. Time to put the names in a hat and pull them out at random!

I'm sure Dare will have something to say about Fisi, as soon as he gets down off the ceiling! 

[Dare]

My pc froze at the start of q3 and all I was hoping far
was a top 6 qualifying at best.Nearly fell out of my
chair

[Alianora La Canta]

Please excuse me while I pick my jaw up from the floor.  (And the fact that it took me five minutes to figure out that the sentence didn't feel right because I'd spelt the last word completely wrong shows you how incredible this result feels to me).

Seeing Trulli, Heidfeld and Barrichello do so well was very impressive... ...but Fisichella's result was about 7 positions higher than I thought was the maximum possible from a Force India today. I'm assuming there's no fuel in the thing on the basis that I'm worried I might faint or something if there's a normal fuel load on board!

[John S]

Good for Fisi and FIF1     But bad for me, he knocked Trulli off the pole!

[FW14B]

The fuel loads explain an awful lot about those at the front:

http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=38835

[John S]

The fuel loads explain an awful lot about those at the front:

http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=38835

I think the fuel loads actualy show Fisi, Trulli and Heidfeld are at the sharp end on true pace, Rubens is lightest of all fisi has two laps more than him, Glock and Kubica are lighter than their team mates yet behind them and the heaviest fuelled cars are at 8 9 & 10.

This is a real change in the seasons pecking order, might just be this one track but it is sure going to be interesting in the race.

[FW14B]

The fuel loads are quite surprising, the Brawn is not that fast at all here it seems.  I am really looking forward to tomorrows race, which is good after the antiphathy felt before Valencia.  I am hoping for lots of overtaking, but maybe the teams performing well so far will maintain their form tomorrow.  Wouldn't it be amazing to see a FIF1 winner?

[XrayYankee]

The fuel loads explain an awful lot about those at the front:

http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=38835

Converting those to a fuel adjusted grid: http://www.pitlanefanatic.com/blog/index.php/609/belgian-qualifying-analysis/

I haven't got a clue how this race might pan out. Relative speed bears no relation to the grid positions and tyres seem to have been so important. How will the teams manage their soft compound stint? Given the seemingly mixed up grid, can we possibly hope for a lot of overtaking tomorrow?