F1: Vettel On Top In Canadian GP Qualifying

Formula 1

F1: Vettel On Top In Canadian GP Qualifying

Sebastian Vettel notches his second pole of 2012 with a convincing run to P1 in Montreal qualifying...

Jared Turner | Posted June 09, 2012 Montreal (CAN)

Formula One's undisputed qualifying king of 2011, Sebastian Vettel hasn't found Saturdays to be all that friendly in 2012.

On Saturday at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, you wouldn't have known it.

Looking like the driver who captured a F1 record 15 poles in 2011, Vettel took P1 for Sunday's Canadian GP with an impressive quick lap of 1:13:784 in the final round of knockout qualifying.

Vettel, whose only other pole this season came in Bahrain, paced Montreal qualifying by a healthy margin over runner-up Lewis Hamilton (1:14:087) of McLaren and third-place Fernando Alonso (1:14:151) of Ferrari.

"We've had a fantastic weekend so far, to be honest," said Vettel, who also led Saturday morning's final practice. "We've learned quite a bit over the last few races. We trust the car that we have, and we were able to go with the circuit and try to read the conditions."

Hamilton, despite leading Friday's two practices, didn't expect to contend for pole.

"We definitely struggled," said Hamilton, who is seeking his first win of 2012. "I'm very surprised to see us on the front row."

Red Bull's Mark Webber and Mercedes' Nico Rosberg, who barely got on track in P3 Saturday morning due to a fuel connector problem, completed the top five.

Positions six through 10 belonged to Felipe Massa, Romain Grosjean, Paul Di Resta, Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button.

Sebastian Vettel reacts cheerfully after winning the pole in Canada. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

It was a disappointing qualifying session for Pastor Maldonado and Kimi Raikkonen, two drivers who have shown considerable speed at points over the season's first six race weekends..

Neither driver made it into Q3, with 2007 World Champion Raikkonen settling for 12th and recent Spanish GP winner Maldonado mustering only P17 for Sunday's grid.

Maldonado, however, likely would have fared much better, but the Venezuelan spun into the infamous 'Wall of Champions' on his final lap of Q2.

Prior to losing control of his Williams, Maldonado had been on pace for a lap that would have easily earned him a spot in the final qualifying segment.

Instead, Maldonado's day was done, and his Williams damaged in its right-rear suspension.

Alonso is the points leader heading into Sunday's seventh round of the 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Reigning World Champion Vettel and Red Bull teammate Webber are tied for second, trailing the Spaniard by a mere three points.

Hamilton (-13) and Rosberg (-17) complete the top five.

Incredibly, each event of 2012 has been won by a different driver, with Button (Australia), Alonso (Malaysia), Rosberg (China), Vettel (Bahrain), Maldonado (Spain) and Webber (Monaco) all scoring, respectively.

Qualifying concludes Saturday's on-track activities in Montreal.

Coverage of Sunday's Canadian GP begins with a half-hour prerace show live on SPEED at 1:30 p.m. ET, followed by the live race broadcast on FOX at 2 p.m.

After the FOX broadcast, SPEED's coverage will resume with a half-hour postrace show at 4 p.m.

Jared Turner is an Associate Editor for SPEED.com, covering NASCAR and Formula One, and is an Editor for TruckSeries.com. His professional motorsports writing career began in 2005.