Having topped the final practice session, many were expected Hamilton to take the coveted grid slot. And the McLaren driver looked to have it in the bag when he clocked a 1:35.000. Hamilton, though, went quicker still, taking 0.024s off his time. But coming up behind him on the track was Vettel.
The German put in a stunning effort to cross the line with a 1:34.870, snatching pole position off his McLaren rival.
Mark Webber and Jenson Button were left to watch their respective team-mates battle it out as they just didn't have the pace to get involved in the fight.
It was another lackluster outing for Ferrari with Fernando Alonso P5 and Felipe Massa P7 with Nick Heidfeld slotting in between the two.
The session was red-flagged for four minutes during Q1 when a piece of Sebastien Buemi's bodywork, part of his sidepod cover, came flying off his Toro Rosso.
Times
01. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 01:34.870
02. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 01:34.974
03. Mark Webber Red Bull 01:35.174
04. Jenson Button McLaren 01:35.200
05. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 01:35.802
06. Nick Heidfeld Renault 01:36.124
07. Felipe Massa Ferrari 01:36.251
08. Vitaly Petrov Renault 01:36.324
09. Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP 01:36.809
10. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 01:36.820
11. Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP 01:37.035
12. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 01:37.160
13. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso 01:37.347
14. Paul di Resta Force India 01:37.370
15. Rubens Barrichello Williams 01:37.496
16. Sergio Perez Sauber 01:37.528
17. Adrian Sutil Force India 01:37.593
18. Pastor Maldonado Williams 01:38.276
19. Heikki Kovalainen Team Lotus 01:38.645
20. Jarno Trulli Team Lotus 01:38.791
21. Timo Glock Virgin Racing 01:40.648
22. Jerome d' Ambrosio Virgin Racing 01:41.001
23. Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT F1 Team 01:41.549
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1 Team 01:42.574
Source: Planet-F1
