Webber takes first pole in Germany

Australian Red Bull driver Mark Webber claimed the first pole of his career at the German Grand Prix as hopes of an all British front row were dashed in the final seconds of qualifying.

At one stage Jenson Button and a vastly improved Lewis Hamilton were in first and second places, but last ditch efforts from Webber and Button's Brawn GP teammate Rubens Barichello relegated the Button to third, and Sebastian Vettel beat the McLaren of Hamilton into fifth - still equalling his best start of the season.

Changeable weather made for an enthralling session at the Nurburgring as rain showers caused havoc and led to a series of tyre changes and near misses on the track as qualifying went down to the wire once again.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:

Tom Cary, Sunday Telegraph: "Red Bull's Mark Webber simply drove beautifully in rain-affected conditions at the Nurburgring to secure his first-ever pole at the age of 32 and relegate Jenson Button to third on the grid for this afternoon's German Grand Prix. And the championship leader's disappointment will be compounded by the fact that he was also outpaced by his own Brawn GP team-mate, Rubens Barrichello, who starts from second, with Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel fourth. The fast-improving McLaren of Lewis Hamilton will start fifth, equalling his best qualifying performance of the season."

Alan Henry, Observer: "At the end of a qualifying session rendered tantalisingly unpredictable by a succession of intermittent rain showers, Mark Webber stormed his Red Bull-Renault to the first pole position of his 128-race career, edging out the Brawn-Mercedes duo, Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button, while local star Sebastian Vettel could manage only fourth ahead of the resurgent McLaren-Mercedes pair, Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen. Webber, a huge paddock favourite, could hardly contain his delight."

Mark Hughes, Sunday Times: "Changeable weather wreaked havoc on the F1 formbook in qualifying at the Nurburgring, but shining like two beacons were the performances of Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton. The Australian Red Bull driver took pole position for the first time in his career to stake a genuine claim to be Jenson Button’s championship challenger, while Hamilton revelled in an extensively updated McLaren to bounce back to the sharp end of the grid with fifth fastest time, ending a depressingly bad recent run."