Hamilton Takes Pole Position at Valencia

Lewis Hamilton took his first 2009 season pole position in Valencia for the European Grand Prix. The Brit managed a sensational lap time of 1:39.498 in Q3. But what is more thrilling is that McLaren-Mercedes team is definitely back in the game.

The McLaren team showed a strong and sustained pace throughout the qualifiers, backing up their performance in the previous race in Hungary, where Hamilton took home the win. From the second place on the grid for tomorrow, will start none other than Hamilton's team-mate, Heikki Kovalainen. The Finn was practically Hamilton's only true threat for the first spot and finished just 34 hundreds of a second behind the Brit.

Another team looking good at the moment is BrawnGP. Both Barichello and Button managed a satisfying and synchronized pace in the qualifiers, showing the car has a good potential on this track. Valencia could prove a suitable circuit for BrawnGP as the hot weather might help them get their tires up to temperature, a technical detail they've revealed in the past.

Ferrari's awaited presence after Massa's unfortunate accident went according to expectations. That is to say Luca Badoer managed a modest performance and Raikkonen finished on the sixth spot.

Both Webber and Vettel caught the super pole for the Red Bull-Reanult team and promise an interesting performance for the race on Sunday. BMW Sauber appears to have held their promise about continuing developing the 2009 car, despite withdrawing from competition at the end of this season. Their third version of the 2009 competition car with a lighter chassis and revised sideposts, helped Kubica and Heidfeld keep up with the other strong teams.

Waiting for a spectacular race tomorrow, here are the results in full,

Pos Driver Team                                  Q1               Q2                Q3
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes        1:38.649    1:38.182     1:39.498
2. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes    1:38.816    1:38.230     1:39.532
3. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes         1:39.019     1:38.076     1:39.563
4. Vettel Red Bull-Renault                  1:39.295    1:38.273     1:39.789
5. Button Brawn-Mercedes                 1:38.531    1:38.601     1:39.821
6. Raikkonen Ferrari                            1:38.843    1:38.782     1:40.144
7. Rosberg Williams-Toyota               1:39.039   1:38.346     1:40.185
8. Alonso Renault                                 1:39.155    1:38.717    1:40.236
9. Webber Red Bull-Renault               1:38.983   1:38.625     1:40.239
10. Kubica BMW-Sauber                     1:38.806    1:38.747    1:40.512
11. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber                   1:39.032    1:38.826
12. Sutil Force India-Mercedes           1:39.145   1:38.846
13. Glock Toyota                                    1:39.459    1:38.991
14. Grosjean Renault                           1:39.322    1:39.040
15. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari            1:38.912   1:39.514
16. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes  1:39.531
17. Nakajima Williams-Toyota            1:39.795
18. Trulli Toyota                                      1:39.807
19. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1:39.925
20. Badoer Ferrari                                  1:41.413