The short duration of a classification is always a mere formality in the face of the main course that is the race, even more so in this 2014 season with the Mercedes so strong, but when the only parameter that the teams do not control is the weather this process becomes spectacular for the viewer.
Little time, intermittent rain and a bad decision can ruin the whole weekend and it didn't take us long to see it. In the first round itself, Q1, Ferrari extinguished the little fire that was left sinking with a poor choice of tires and a bad time to jump into Q2 with the usual calm.
That shipwreck has turned into a catastrophe since neither of the two Ferraris has managed to pass, Alonso will start 17th due to the penalties of the injured Sauber, while his teammate Kimi Raikkonen is still far from what he was one day and did not manage to beat the Q1 time either. Something similar has happened to another history of this sport, Williams could not pass the batch either and its two drivers, Bottas and Massa also made poor choices.
But like every coin has two sides, the good part fell to the team Marussia managed to get both cars through to the next round Thanks to his bravery and some luck, eliminating both Williams, the two Ferraris, the two Caterhams and Adrian Sutil's Sauber that he left in the gutter did not make it to Q2.
In this second round, the nerves calmed down a bit and the single-seaters managed to complete several laps to make the cut and be able to fight for pole. Everything was going according to the canons of a normal qualifying, the Lotus Renaults could not give the time in part due to Maldonado's engine problems, this time through no fault of his own, and Esteban Gutiérrez took his Sauber off the track, perhaps to imitate his teammate team in Q1.
But the best thing about this second round was seeing the two Marussias fighting one on one against the rest of the cars and with a brilliant Jules Bianchi who for a moment gave his team the illusion of entering Q3, although in the end Bianchi will start 12th, the best position for Marussia in its history.
Already in Q3, the real procedure arrived, but the clouds demanded the expectant gaze of the fans and the tension of the teams. Faced with this threat in the form of drops, the smartest left as soon as time began to run. Thanks to that, Sergio "Checo" Pérez could dream of a podium qualifier that would shoot for the checkered flag.
However, the nervousness took over the teams completely, some for the opportunity to come out ahead and others for losing the positions they normally occupy. Be that as it may, the radios of the teams commented that the rain timidly returned on the outskirts of the Stone curve when we touched the equator of the last part of the classification, but it stopped when it seemed that everything was going to be in tables in the absence of five measly minutes.
At that moment, the teams rushed the seconds to get out with the track as dry as possible, so much so that poor Sergio Pérez started his lap with the time expired, disabling that attempt and almost infecting the two Mercedes drivers with that error. One of them would be the biggest loser since he is the only one who can bother Nico Rosberg's peaceful title. Lewis Hamilton he made a mistake on his last lap which left his previous time as good, relegating him to 6th position.
This left the way free for Nico Rosberg got a new pole, allowing his German compatriot Sebastian Vettel to return to a front line so familiar to him. In 3rd position Jenson Button sneaked in and his pink helmet in homage to the color that his father always wore, in all the races. Next to him, Nico Hulkemberg and his Force India will share the second row, followed by Magnussen, Hamilton and his anger, Pérez, Ricciardo who was left without starting at the last attempt and both Toro Rosso close with Kvyat and Vergne respectively.
This has been the classification of this emblematic circuit and its famous fast curves. Now I can only wish that the clouds return to claim prominence on the circuit for the benefit of our own show.