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General

2013 Belgian Grand Prix Qualifying

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2 min: Drivers dive for the pitlane to take intermediate rubber.
2 min: The question is whether they dare try to make a lap on slicks. The sensible decision here is to pit for intermediates.
2 min: Slicks start to look tricky now as the Lotus pair dispute track position.
1 min: Very tricky now for the drivers as conditions change by the corner.
1 min: Rosberg is advised that there is light rain around the final corners of the lap.
1 min: Light rain falling then as drivers pile out for a banking lap.
1 min: All 10 drivers are immediately out onto the circuit.
0 min: Here is the list of 10 drivers that have made it through to the shootout:

Sebastian Vettel
Mark Webber
Fernando Alonso
Felipe Massa
Kimi Raikkonen
Romain Grosjean
Lewis Hamilton
Paul di Resta
Jenson Button
Nico Rosberg.
Green flag
With rain threatening again, all drivers are ready at the green light.
Lewis Hamilton scraped through the segment by just 0.021s in the end, but the most important bit is that he is through and has a shot at the pole.
Light rain could further spice this session as the leading contenders prepare for an open fight over pole.
Further showers have emerged and it is expected to rain from the south-west in the next couple of minutes.
Van der Garde headed ended up 14th, ahead of Bianchi and Chilton after the trio made it into the segment with that early slick gamble.
A busy end to the segment with a lot of position changes. Here is the Q2 elimination list:

11) Hulkenberg 1m49.088s
12) Sutil 1m49.103s
13) Perez 1m49.304s
14) van der Garde 1m52.036s
15) Bianchi 1m52.563s
16) Chilton 1m52.762s.
Button's crew is happy to make that cut, but not so good for Perez as he is one of the key victims of a complex second segment battle.
Massa did finally make it through in ninth fastest.
Hulkenberg is shuffled out in the late scramble and that's a disappointment for the German after looking strong at times today.
Rosberg now on that single lap. He crosses the line and moves into third position with a time of 1m48.552s.
Button drives for the line and... that's fifth, he's through.
Bump! Down goes Perez and he's out of luck today.
Massa remains outside the cut as well and could be a victim if this lap is no better... but he takes sixth.
Button is bumped out of Q3 and needs pace on his final attempt.
Di Resta is in 11th and needs to improve here... He does and moves into fourth with 1m48.925s.
Checkered flag
The flag is out, but it's certainly not over yet...
15 min: Perez makes it up to sixth as the lights turn red.
15 min: Rosberg does scramble over the line with 17 seconds left on the clock. One shot qualifying here for the German.
14 min: Perez is now 12th and under threat in his McLaren.
Stopwatch
14 min: Alonso is next to take over the leading time with a strong 1m48.309s lap.
Stopwatch
14 min: Webber briefly takes over at the front with a time of 1m48.641s.
13 min: A race against time here for Rosberg but he should make it back to the line to start a lap with around 15 seconds to spare.
13 min: That drops Massa into danger, now 11th in his Ferrari.
13 min: But no, Rosberg aborts and pits the car! He changes tyres and gets straight back out there.
13 min: Hulkenberg finds good pace in his Sauber to go all the way up to second fastest.
12 min: Rosberg continues on for another lap and will likely move into the top five positions imminently.
Stopwatch
12 min: Vettel will be the last here to post a time on the board. He goes quickest of all with 1m48.833s.
11 min: Van der Garde, Chilton and Bianchi are unlikely to make progress from this segment, with all three unsurprisingly off the cut.
11 min: Hamilton rounds the final chicane and he goes second to Raikkonen with a lap of 1m49.572s.
11 min: Button pulls himself out of the drop with a 1m50.109s to go fifth fastest.
11 min: Rosberg comes through in a time of 2m01.362s and that is a slow and steady start to his Q2 run.
10 min: Rosberg, Hamilton and Vettel are all on track and on their first effort.

By: Emlyn Hughes, Geoff Creighton

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