Hamilton 13th as Raikkonen claims pole

12 April 2012

Lewis Hamilton's 10-place grid penalty will see him start from 13th on the grid for Sunday's French Grand Prix - with title rival Kimi Raikkonen on pole.

Hamilton could only manage third fastest overall in his McLaren, and his punishment for running into the back of Raikkonen's Ferrari in the Canadian Grand Prix 13 days ago meant he was demoted to midfield at the Circuit de Nevers.

For Ferrari, it was the 200th pole of their illustrious Formula One history - the first in 1951 at Silverstone by Froilan Gonzalez - with Brazilian Felipe Massa completing an all-red front row.

Current world championship leader Robert Kubica is only sixth on the grid, with Fernando Alonso ahead of him in third in his Renault while Toyota's Jarno Trulli is fourth. Heikki Kovalainen took fifth in his McLaren.

Behind the Pole come the Red Bull duo of Mark Webber and David Coulthard in seventh and eighth, with Timo Glock in his Toyota ninth and Renault's Nelson Piquet completing the top 10.

Nick Heidfeld will start 11th after finding himself out-qualified by BMW Sauber team-mate Kubica for the eighth time in eight races this season.

The improving Sebastian Vettel in his Toro Rosso is 12th and then Hamilton, underlining the task he faces given those in front of him.

After a dismal performance in practice, Honda failed to show any improvement in qualifying with Jenson Button a lowly 16th and team-mate Rubens Barrichello directly behind him.

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