Barcelona: Australian Mark Webber took pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix yesterday and ended Red Bull team mate Sebastian Vettel's bid for a sixth in succession.
Formula One world champion Vettel, winner of three of the first four races of the season from pole position as well as last year's final round in Abu Dhabi, will start alongside on the front row.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, favourite of his home Spanish crowd, will line up together on the second row today.
‘Good step forward'
"I don't think we can speak of big disappointment, we made a good step forward," said Vettel, who will still be making his tenth successive front row start.
"He [Webber] did a better job today."
The Australian has yet to win a race this season but was triumphant last year from pole position at a circuit where the winner has started in the top slot for all of the past decade.
The new moveable rear wing (DRS), kinetic energy recovery system and quick-wearing Pirelli tyres should make today's race far less predictable with plenty of overtaking and pitstops expected.
"I'll have a good sleep tonight, come back and do the best job I can tomorrow," Webber said after his first pole since Belgium last August and seventh of his career.
Drop in performance
He had been fastest throughout practice on Friday and, with drivers eager to save their soft tyres for the race knowing that the harder tyres carried with them a big drop off in performance, wrapped up pole with his one flying lap in the final qualifying session.
The Australian was parked up in the garage and out of the car with more than a minute of the session remaining, with McLaren recognising the futility of making any attempt to wrest pole from him.
