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Feature

Stat Attack: Europe (post-race)

Michele Merlino investigates the records and compiles the stats following the European Grand Prix

Qualifying notes

Valencia was the fourth front row sweep for Red Bull this season. Before the European Grand Prix, in Australia and China - with Vettel on pole - the Red Bulls didn't finish on the podium, but they did win at Barcelona (Webber) and Valencia (Vettel).

• It was the eighth pole of the season for Red Bull - the 31st time in history a team has at least eight poles during a season. The record is 15, recorded four times (1988 and '89 by McLaren and 1992 and '93 by Williams).

• Both Mercedes failed to make Q3 for the first time this year. Last year, Brawn GP - the former incarnation of Mercedes - was able to put at least one car in the top 10 at every race. Rosberg was outside the top 10 for the first time since Monza last year (18th, dropped in Q1) and Michael Schumacher qualified outside the top 10 for just the 14th time in his 257-race career.

• Williams reached the third qualifying session with both cars for the second time this year (the other being the wet qualifying in Malaysia).

• Lucas di Grassi outqualified Timo Glock for the first time this season. Robert Kubica is now the only driver unbeaten so far.

Sebastien Buemi's 11th place was his best of the season, while Rosberg (12th), Adrian Sutil (13th) and chumacher (15th) each had their worst.

Lotus was fastest of the new teams for the fifth straight race and seventh this year, while the HRTs filled the back row of the grid for the fourth time.

It was the closest qualifying session of the year, with only 0.996 seconds separating the first 17 drivers in Q1. The same happened in Q2, with only 0.571s between the first 11.

Sebastian Vettel beat his own track record in qualifying, from Q2 in 2008. The previous limit was 1m37.842s, the new record is 1m37.587s.

Race notes

• It was the seventh win for Sebastian Vettel, the 110th for a German driver and the 10th for Red Bull, which now ties Alfa Romeo at 11th on the all-time list. Alfa's last win was at Pedralbes, Spain in 1951.

• Vettel led a race from start to finish for the second time - after the 2009 Japanese Grand Prix. It was the fourth time this year that Red Bull led from lights to flag after Malaysia, Spain and Monaco.

• Lewis Hamilton finished second in Valencia for the third straight year.

• Rubens Barrichello scored his best result of the season. He hadn't had a fourth place since last year's Abu Dhabi race. It was also Kamui Kobayashi's best result in seventh.

Mark Webber ended his 10-race string of points finishes with his first accident since the 2009 Italian Grand Prix. The Australian had been the only driver left to have scored in every race this season.

Michael Schumacher recorded back-to-back finishes outside the top 10 for the first time in his career. It's the third time this year for him outside the top 10, while up to 2006 he recorded only one out of 248 starts, in the 2004 Chinese Grand Prix.

For the first time since the 2007 Turkish GP, there were 21 drivers classified at the end of the race. The only time a grand prix recorded more finishers was the Great Britain 1952, with 22.

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