Australian Mark Webber set his sights on a breakthrough first Formula One victory in Germany on Sunday after finally securing pole position at the 130th attempt. The Red Bull driver made the most of Saturday's frantic qualifying, with rain and shine producing tricky conditions, to keep the championship-leading Brawns and German teammate Sebastian Vettel behind him. Brazilian Rubens Barrichello, in a Brawn, will start alongside 32-year-old Webber on the front row with teammate and overall leader Jenson Button behind with Red Bull's German Sebastian Vettel. Button (with 64 points) has a 23-point lead over Barrichello after eight races, with Vettel a further two adrift. Webber is fourth overall with 35.5 points. The first Australian to start on pole since 1980 world champion Alan Jones did so for Williams at that year's German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, Webber hailed his “very special day”. Cars queued up to exit the pitlane at the start of the second session – and then all came streaming back in again to change tires as sudden rain and unseasonably cold temperatures made conditions treacherous. Brazilian Felipe Massa went dirt-tracking in his Ferrari while Japan's Williams driver Kazuki Nakajima also skidded off harmlessly. McLaren's world champion Lewis Hamilton qualified fifth, equalling his highest grid position of the season in a home race for engine provider Mercedes, with teammate Heikki Kovalainen a strong sixth. Germany's Adrian Sutil, who has a reputation for going well in the wet, secured Mercedes-powered Force India's first top 10 starting place with a surprising seventh in front of his home crowd and in the heaviest car in the top 10. Further back, Brazilian Nelson Piquet – his future at Renault the subject of constant speculation – outqualified double world champion teammate Fernando Alonso for the first time in his career. Piquet starts 10th while the Spaniard spun during the second session and lines up 12th. France's struggling Sebastien Bourdais qualified in last place, 1.3 seconds slower than rookie Toro Rosso teammate Sebastien Buemi. He moved up to 19th after Toyota's Timo Glock was demoted for impeding Renault's Fernando Alonso.
