Hulkenberg Secures Shocking Pole in Brazil

Nico Hulkenberg may be on a hunt to secure a place in the 2011 Formula One roster, but the German racer speaks best on the track. And it was there that he secured his first pole position in the Great Circus, during the qualifying session of the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Williams F1 racer clinched a shocking pole position on Saturday during a semi-wet session, which saw plenty of drivers take turn for the leading spot. In the end, once the track was predominantly dry, all drivers switched to slick tires, which saw Hulkenberg score a time of 1:14.470, more than a full second ahead of second placed Sebastian Vettel.

Mark Webber managed a great run in the final stages of the Q3 to relegate McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton to 4th place, while championship leader Fernando Alonso had to settle for a disappointing 5th place.

Renault’s Robert Kubica spent some time on top of the classification during Q3, but eventually had to settle for the 7th position, behind one of the crowd’s favorites Rubens Barrichello, but ahead of 7-time world champion Michael Schumacher. Completing the Top 10 were Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and Renault’s other driver Vitaly Petrov.

Jenson Button had a qualy to forget on Saturday and will start tomorrow’s race from 11th place, while followed by Sauber Ferrari’s Kamui Kobayashi, Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg and STR’s duo Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi. Nick Heidfeld and Vitantonio Liuzzi completed the Top 17, while Force India’s Adrian Sutil experienced his first Q1 exit in 2010 and will start from 18th spot.

The remaining positions on the grid were taken by Virgin’s Timo Glock, Lotus’ duo Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen, Virgin’s Lucas di Grassi and HRT Cosworth’s Christian Klien and Bruno Senna.