Sebastian Vettel pipped Fernando Alonso to pole position for the German Grand Prix by just two thousandths of a second on Saturday to secure his sixth pole in 11 qualifying sessions this season.
In a qualifying round delayed by a crash involving Lucas di Grassi in the first session, the Red Bull driver registered a time of 1 minute 13.791 seconds to ensure he starts from the front of the grid in Sunday’s race.
Ferrari’s Alonso completes the front row with team-mate Felipe Massa securing third spot ahead of Mark Webber in the second Red Bull.
Defending champion Jenson Button qualified in fifth in front of McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Michael Schumacher’s poor season continued as the seven-time world champion was eliminated in the second round of qualifying and will start from 11th place on the grid.
Hamilton and Button command the standings after 10 of 19 races with 145 and 133 points, respectively. Webber has 128 and Vettel 121.
