It's difficult to know which is the biggest news from the 2009 qualifying session at Germany's Nurburgring. Mark Webber gets his first pole ever; Force India make it into the top ten starters for the first time, Mercedes engines power two of the top three - and five of the top ten qualifiers; Alonso fails to make into Q2. In a topsy-turvey session, skill and strategy won out - and showed that Sutil has the talent to succeed if his team can give him the car.
Brawn got Mercedes engines at the last minute before the season began - and had to slot them into a chassis designed for a Honda power plant. Force India chose Mercedes because they could get an engine and drive-train together where Ferrari could supply engines but not guarantee the means to connect them to the wheels - which is kind of important. And of course McLaren took Mercedes to the world championship last year.
With both Brawns and both McLarens in the top ten, the addition of the Force India car means that Mercedes is at last getting its money's worth - and placing a marker in case the plan to have common engines ever comes to fruition.
Mark Webber - for so long F1's nearly man - delivered on his often made and failed promise to fulfil his reputation as a qualifying specialist. It's incredible that it's taken him four years to get his first pole yet still retain that reputation. Until the German GP he had lost the first eight qualifying rounds this year to his team-mate Vettell. Webber explained how he has kept his spirits up: he has, he said, been quickest in several events - on fuel corrected times. But, as he said, that doesn't count.
"We're struggling with tyre warm-up," said Jenson Button, from third spot behind his team-mate. As usual, the two Brawn drivers are just so chuffed to be where they are that they are happy with each other's performance - and even happy to praise someone else that competes with them.
The start will be interesting: with changeable weather forecast for the race, as it was throughout qualifying, the Brawns' relative lack of pace in cooler conditions may harm their chances - but Barrichello's stunning performance in Q2 - when the track was cold and slippery and eveyone else was on intermediate wet tyres shows that the car can be hustled around. But Button is a lot less brutal than his team mate - and that means that his tyres are not abused into heating up.
If the track is wet, the start will be high-risk. Rows three and four are full of KERS users: Ferrari and McLaren. If they can get the power down, they will arrive at the first corner faster than the cars in front of them. A slightly bogged start from any of the first four will almost certainly result in side-by-side driving or even a pass into the first corner. And Vettel has only one one race in the dry: all his other wins have been in the wet.
But there will be a major celebration toasted in Kingfisher Beer regardless of what happens to Sutil. From the Ashes of the Arrows team, successive owners have tried to produce a result worth having. Sutil almost made history in last year's Monaco GP - until R�ikk�nen speared into him coming out of the tunnel. Struggling at the back of the field with a car that needs engineering facilities that take a generation to build, Sutil has plugged away, often outdriving his car.
And now, with the first top ten start the team has ever had, it's looking good for scoring the first points under the new name.
With Hamilton at last delivering a good showing - along with his team mate Kovalainen.
The race is looking good for both upset and consolidation: and if that sounds like a contradiction in terms, that's precisely what the weather in the forested mountain track will deliver.
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