Webber, Vettel Lead Red Bull 1-2 in Britian Qualifying

SILVERSTONE, England-R.I.S.- Whether it was the changing weather or the recent ban on off throttle blown diffusers, the situation did not change for team Red Bull, as drivers Mark Webber and series leader Sebastian Vettel grabbed the top two grid positions for Sunday’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone, England.

Webber’s best time was a 1:30: 399 for the pole, which was his second of the season and the eighth of his career, while Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso kept his car in contention for the race with a third place finish.

“I have always enjoyed driving here, and it was a very neat session.” Commented Webber afterwards. “It was important that every lap counted. In the end very happy with the job we did, and are in a good position for the race.”

Qualifying began with light winds and dry temperatures. But throughout the entire three sessions, the rain was always a factor, and with the different track conditions, came different names at the top of the timesheets. Williams teammates Pastor Maldonado experienced this in the opening session as the Colombian finished second , while teammate and veteran Brazilian Rubens Barrichello finished in fifth.

But for the last two sessions, the weather tampered off and with the threat of Ferrari, thanks to Felipe Massa’s best time of 1:31:640 in thew second session, followed by an outbreak of more rain just minutes from the end of the final period, Webber finally decided that the time to act was now, and the Australian, who had won this race last season, took the best time, as Vettel could not keep up and finished in the runner up spot in qualifying for only the second time this season.

Massa continued to have a great session with a final fourth place finish, giving the race not only a Red Bull front row, but a Ferrari second row for tomorrow’s race. Home hero Jenson Button was fifth, followed by Scottish rookie Paul Di Resta in sixth. Maldonado highlighted a great day by taking seventh, while Kamui Kobyaschi, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton rounded out the top ten.

Vettel was not unhappy about his performance, considering second was the worst he has qualified for this season.

“It was a difficult session with all the conditions.” Stated Vettel. “It is quite difficult to see and it is very easy to go off track. But Mark (Webber) did well and it is good to see that we are still at the top of our game.”

But Webber, considering his opinion on the latest diffuser changes are very boring, hoped that the changes themselves would be published so others could understand.

“The team handled it very well so we have a new thing to talk about, so let us hope that the fans can understand it.”