Rubens Barrichello was delighted after calling Formula 1’s rain-disrupted qualifying lottery at the Nurburgring exactly right and landing a front-row grid berth for the German Grand Prix.
With inspired timing, the Brazilian veteran switched to slick tyres just as the initial rain in Q2 eased and his rivals were on intermediates – and promptly topped the session times by 1.3s.
He then produced an excellent final qualifying lap at the end of Q3 to claim second on the grid and push Brawn team-mate Jenson Button back to the second row.
Barrichello was particularly satisfied that his bold Q2 gamble had paid off.
“It’s nice when you have the right tyres at the right moment,” he said.
“We all went on slicks but we all came back in for intermediates because we saw [Felipe] Massa going off at turn 12.
“I was on my timed lap when I decided that it wasn’t the right tyre, let’s gamble a bit more, and I came in [for slicks].
“I had no reply on the radio – it was really chaotic and there was a big confusion. But they were ready for me, they put the right tyres on and I was set for first place.
“It was really a nice session.”
Barrichello will be looking to capitalise on his superior grid position to close his deficit to Button in the championship table, which currently stands at 23 points
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