Pole position for the German Grand Prix seemed all but reserved for countrymen Nico Rosberg or Sebastian Vettel, but a late onslaught saw Lewis Hamilton take the top spot for the second straight weekend.

The two Germans came into Saturday’s qualifying session after finishing one-two in the last two practices, with Vettel taking Rosberg by more than six-tenths of a second in the last round.

The first half of qualifying seemed to be more of the same, with the Red Bull RB9 and Mercedes W04 performing well on the high-speed Nürburgring circuit.

But it was in the second knockout qualifying session that the predictable storyline started to unravel.

Rosberg put in a lap that looked to guarantee him a spot in the top 10 and challenge for pole, and Mercedes brought him into the garage to prepare for Q3. In the final minutes of the round, conditions changed, the track began to warm, and suddenly cars were putting in faster lap times. The Ferraris and Lotuses that previously struggled were now at the top of the grid, with Lotus driver Kimi Raikkönen claiming the two fastest sector times and Ferrari’s Felipe Massa taking the fastest lap.

Rosberg was stuck in the pits without a defense, and the only German car/driver pairing saw his chance of pleasing the home crowd disappear as he quickly fell to 11^th.

The change in conditions left the field wide open for any number of drivers to take front row on the grid, including Raikkonen and the Red Bulls of Vettel and Mark Webber, who have been strong all weekend.

In Q3, certain teams focused more on race strategy than qualifying times. Ferrari sent out Massa and Fernando Alonso to cure the tires and save the remaining sets for Sunday. They start seventh and eighth, respectively.

McLaren did the same with Jenson Button, who qualified in ninth, higher than teammate Sergio Perez in 13^th. The Brit failed to put in a final session time, as did Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg, who starts tomorrow in tenth.

Going down to the wire, Vettel was determined to become the first German winner at the Grand Prix since Michael Schumacher in 2006. His qualifying time of 1:29.501 stood until the final seconds when a last ditch effort from Hamilton brought his Mercedes W04 across the line 0.103 seconds ahead.

It’s Hamilton’s third pole for the Silver Arrows and ties him with Rosberg. Despite not having a win and being down 2-0 on his teammate, Hamilton leads the pair in points 89-82, respectively. He sits fourth in the standings behind Raikkönen (98), Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso (111) and Vettel (132).

Notes: Pirelli brought its new, Montreal-tested compound to Germany following the controversy at the British Grand Prix. The tires use Kevlar belts opposed to steel to help control heat. The manufacturer has also given teams strict guidelines regarding pressure, temperature, and maximum camber/castor angles… William celebrates its 600^th grand prix with special-liveried cars following a formal celebration at the team’s home race at Silverstone last week…

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