Mark Webber secures his maiden F1 pole after a seven year wait.

Redbull’s Mark Webber secured his first ever pole at the Nurburgring circuit, giving himself the best possible chance of a maiden F1 win on Sunday. After a dramatic Q3 were Button, Vettel Barrichello and even Hamilton challenged for pole, it’s the Australian’s one minute 32.230 seconds lap that won the day.

With Webber ahead of Barrichello in second, Button in third and Vettel in fourth, its going to be a race between the two top teams of this season. Accompanying them will be a resurgent Lewis Hamilton in fifth with teammate Kovalainen in sixth.

The biggest surprise of the final qualifying session is no doubt Adrian Sutil who starts in seventh ahead of both Ferraris. After a super Q2 performance, Sutil drove his Mercedes powered Force India to seventh out qualifying teammate Fisichella who starts a lowly 18th.

Hamilton and his Mclaren team were another pleasant surprise, with the reigning world champion genuinely fighting for pole. After living in the back alleys of F1 in the first half of the season, it looks as if Mclaren have finally woken up. Hamilton’s teammate Kovalainen’s sixth behind his teammate is all the more impressive given he doesn’t have the luxury of the new toys Hamilton has at his disposal.

With Mclaren in the mix, a clean getaway is crucial for the front runners if they hope to challenge for a win. Five cars have a genuine chance of win Sunday’s race, making it the tightest grid so far this season. Who comes out on top depends on to many variables but if Webber wants this race, he will have to drive the race of his life.

Sunday’s grid for the German GP looks like this.
1. Mark Webber, Red Bull-Renault - 1′32.230
2. Rubens Barrichello, Brawn-Mercedes - 1′32.357
3. Jenson Button, Brawn-Mercedes - 1′32.473
4. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull-Renault - 1′32.480
5. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes - 1′32.616
6. Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren-Mercedes - 1′33.859
7. Adrian Sutil, Force India-Mercedes - 1′34.316
8. Felipe Massa, Ferrari - 1′34.574
9. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari - 1′34.710
10. Nelson Piquet Jr, Renault - 1′34.803
11. Nick Heidfeld, BMW - 1′42.310
12. Fernando Alonso, Renault - 1′42.318
13. Kazuki Nakajima, Williams-Toyota - 1′42.500
14. Jarno Trulli, Toyota - 1′42.771
15. Nico Rosberg, Williams-Toyota - 1′42.859
16. Robert Kubica, BMW - 1′32.190
17. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso-Ferrari - 1′32.251
18. Giancarlo Fisichella, Force India-Mercedes - 1′32.402
19. Timo Glock, Toyota - 1′32.423
20. Sebastien Bourdais, Toro Rosso-Ferrari - 1′33.559