F1: Rosberg 6th, Schumacher 12th as Vettel Takes Pole in Valencia Qualifying

Ryan Joseph Ramos June 24, 2012

At the end of such a closely fought qualifying session for the European Grand Prix, the dust settled and found Nico Rosberg at sixth. There was, however, a tighter contest for the pole position, which Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel finally claimed from McLaren Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.

“We had a lot of potential going into qualifying, but unfortunately I can’t be happy with the outcome today,” said Rosberg. “We were quick throughout but when I was just about to start my final lap, Lewis was slowing down in the last corner. I had to start my quick lap behind him which made it impossible to improve my time.”

In a rather disappointing start to his European Grand Prix quest, Michael Schumacher wound up a mere 12th after qualifying. “On my first run, I was too aggressive in turn 12 on my first timed lap, then had to abort the second lap and pit because the tyres were no longer in good enough condition to improve,” Schumi said. “After that, I was a bit too conservative on the second run and that cost us, because the times were so close today.”

No one could encapsulate the closeness of the qualifying for all teams than Ross Brawn. “We had better potential than we showed this afternoon, and I am sure a lot of teams will feel they are in a similar position,” said the Mercedes team principal.

Stay with us for a rundown of what transpires at the race!