Mercedes and Wickens excel in Norisring qualifying session

Robert Wickens will start from first position after a session dominated by Mercedes. Di Resta and Green will follow him. The most competitive drivers will start from the back of the grid in a circuit that does not favour them.

After a session with no incidents Robert Wickens made it to the pole for tomorrow’s race in the short Norisring street circuit. Mercedes surprised everyone by cutting any inequality present before and 5 of 8 cars in Q3 were from the star manufacturer. Norisring was always Mercedes’ territory and whoever had doubt it for this season was mistaken.

After the Q1 the best time was for Ekström and just a thousandth away Robert Wickens’ Mercedes. Just one Mercedes was in the knockout zone, Vitaly Petrov’s, who was in the last position. Surprisingly, Edoardo Mortara could not set a good time and will start from twentieth position.

After a Miguel Molina’s bad result in Q1 a better one was expected in Q2 but actually his car is not doing well in this circuit and tomorrow he and his team will have to work to fix this bad result today: he will start from eighteenth position despite having been able to set a time.

Miguel Molina was not the only competitive driver that could not get to Q3. Tambay, Müller, Rockenfeller or Spengler, among others, were too. Who could was Marco Wittmann who with the sixth best time was the first BMW with a classification leaded by Wickens and three more Mercedes. Q3 was going to be difficult for the three non-Mercedes: Green, Wittmann and Ekström.

Despite having set the best time this morning with his Mercedes in free practice, Daniel Juncadella remains in the back and will start from seventeenth position, just in front of Miguel Molina. When eliminated he said: “We must be happy for what we did and how our performance is. I am a disappointed with myself because in Q1 I hit the wall and damaged the front right so I could do nothing in Q2.”

Teams made what they could but Mercedes were clearly superiors. Just Green could put his Audi in third position. Wickens will start from first position and for less than a tenth Paul Di Resta from the second one. Seventh and eighth will be for Ekström and Wittmann, who set a really slow time.

Tomorrow at 1:30 pm we will see what strategies the teams with good positions in the championship take and whether Mercedes are still superior in terms of race rhythm.

Results: