Oliver WhiteLewis Hamilton has taken pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix, beating both Ferraris, Fernando Alonso and his team mate. Both STRs got into Q3, and Mark Webber had his engine replaced and will therefore receive a ten grid slot penalty. David Coulthard was particularly upset with Nick Heidfeld after the BMW driver held up the Red Bull before entering the pitlane. Coulthard had some unkind words to say and has taken the issue to the stewards. Another driver not doing so well in qualifying was Robert Kubica, who just got into Q2, but was then knocked out after qualifying in twelfth.
Turkey 2008: Qualifying Results
| 1. | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren | 1m36.303s | Q3 |
| 2. | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1m36.645s | Q3 |
| 3. | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1m36.889s | Q3 |
| 4. | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 1m36.927s | Q3 |
| 5. | Heikki Kovalainen | McLaren | 1m36.930s | Q3 |
| 6. | Mark Webber | Red Bull Racing | 1m37.083s* | Q3 |
| 7. | Nick Heidfeld | BMW | 1m37.201s | Q3 |
| 8. | Sebastian Vettel | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 1m37.685s | Q3 |
| 9. | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 1m37.934s | Q3 |
| 10. | Sebastien Bourdais | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 1m38.885s | Q3 |
| 11. | Nelson Piquet Jr. | Renault | 1m35.722s | Q2 |
| 12. | Robert Kubica | BMW | 1m35.814s | Q2 |
| 13. | Timo Glock | Toyota | 1m35.937s | Q2 |
| 14. | Rubens Barrichello | Honda | 1m36.079s | Q2 |
| 15. | Nico Rosberg | Williams | 1m36.210 | Q2 |
| 16. | David Coulthard | Red Bull Racing | 1m36.731s | Q1 |
| 17. | Kazuki Nakajima | Williams | 1m36.863s | Q1 |
| 18. | Jenson Button | Honda | 1m37.053s | Q1 |
| 19. | Adrian Sutil | Force India | 1m37.730s | Q1 |
| 20. | Giancarlo Fisichella | Force India | 1m37.739s | Q1 |
*Mark Webber had his Renault engine replaced after FP3, and will therefore be demoted 10 places on the grid.
I thought that Webber had an engine swap allowance up his sleeve? I can’t recall when he’s had to switch engines recently – can you clarify?