TheSportsCampus

World champion Sebastian Vettel added another feather to his already burgeoning hat, breaking Nigel Mansell's 1992 record of 14 poles in a Grand Prix season. In the season finale at Brazil on Saturday, the 24-year old German confirmed his place in the record books by taking his 15th pole position of what has been a truly incredible season, and will line up on the front row of the grid for Sunday's race alongside Red Bull Racing teammate Mark Webber, who had a rare super showing in qualifying this season. Webber, who is still searching for his first win of the season, was only 0.181 seconds behind Vettel. The McLaren duo of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton will occupy the second row and will hope to get the jump on the Red Bulls heading into the first corner. Button in particular should enjoy racing on this circuit, and the fact that he looks after his tyres just a little better than everybody else should hold him in good stead. Fernando Alonso was fifth quickest, not for the first time this season, but is very much in contention for a podium place after having finished just 0.111 seconds behind Hamilton.

Vettel was delighted to have got the record, but was quick to point out himself that Mansell achieved his 14 poles in a season which had only 16 races, and that makes the Englishman's achievement a lot more special. Sebastian said, "It’s pretty special to get the record. Nigel obviously took three or four races less to achieve it, but nevertheless it’s been an incredible year for us and an incredible journey and it’s not yet over, we’ve got another chapter tomorrow and I’m very happy."

Webber was also delighted with his effort, sharing, “Qualifying was a good effort today from the whole team. It was very close with Sebastian, he did a great lap again, but there wasn’t much between us. It was a good session today and we know there’s going to be some weather coming in, which will mix things up a bit. That’s very good for the people at home watching on TV, but it means a few grey hairs for us sitting in the cockpit. I’m looking forward to the race, it’s a good challenge here and it would be great to finish the season with a good result.”

Jenson Button was particularly overjoyed with his qualifying performance, this being his best run on a Saturday in Brazil since 2005. His runs were not his typically smooth drives, and Button had to put the car about on the track to get that extra bit of time out of it. That difference between the Red Bulls and the McLarens should get neutralized should it rain tomorrow. Button's teammate, Lewis Hamilton, will also be hoping for some inspiration from the weather to make him more competitive.

Another former world champion, Fernando Alonso, in what is now becoming his customary 5th place, was surprised a bit by the pace his car found in the final session of qualifying despite struggling with its balance. He too was praying for some divine inspiration to help him get on the podium at Interlagos. Teammate Felipe Massa was 7th quickest.

The Mercedes cars of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher were 6th and 10th quickest with the latter opting to save a pair of tyres rather than heading out for a timed lap in Q3. Adrian Sutil lead the way for Force India, taking 8th place on the grid, with teammate Paul di Resta missing out on Q3, having to settle for 11th spot.

There was delight for the local fans with the three Brazilians in action all excelling in qualifying. In addition to Massa's 7th place, Bruno Senna produced an excellent drive to take 9th place, while Rubens Barrichello also turned back the clock more than a few years to grab 12th place in the Williams.

There were few surprises in the midfield with the two Toro Rosso's 13th and 14th, and the Sauber's 16th and 17th. Vitaly Petrov grabbed 8th place in the Renault in Q1, but failed to find his pace in Q2 and had to settle for 15th place. Pastor Maldonado in the second Williams was the unlucky driver not to make it past Q1 along with the usual suspects - Lotus, HRT and Virgin Racing.

Top 10: Vettel, Webber, Button, Hamilton, Alonso, Rosberg, Massa, Sutil, Senna, Schumacher.

Q2 Exits: Di Resta, Barrichello, Alguersuari, Buemi, Petrov, Kobayashi, Perez

Q1 Exits: Maldonado, Kovalainen, Trulli, Liuzzi, Ricciardio, d'Ambrosio, Glock