Austin, 17 November

The Scuderia Ferrari drivers will have two mountains to climb tomorrow afternoon at the Circuit of the Americas. The first is the physical one that looms up at the end of the main straight going into Turn 1, to provide one of the most unique sights in Formula 1 and the second is the intangible one of the huge challenge Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa will face to keep the Spaniard’s title hopes alive for another week until the F1 circus decamps in Sao Paolo for the final act of the year.

This afternoon’s penultimate qualifying session of the season was certainly the strangest of the 19 we have witnessed to date. If the neophyte American race fan was hoping to see some slick pit work and fast wheel changes he was disappointed, as most teams, the Scuderia included, simply sent their drivers out to do as many laps as possible in each of the sessions. Naturally, with this being a new circuit, Pirelli took a cautious approach to tyre choice and, in the unexpectedly cool conditions we have encountered all weekend, getting even the softer of the two compounds, the Medium, up to operating temperature was proving problematic. For the Scuderia it was as if the spectre of its car’s weak point a couple of seasons ago had returned.

Having qualified seventh and ninth, just like they did in Abu Dhabi a fortnight ago, although this time Felipe was the quicker of the two, the Scuderia drivers move up a place on the grid tomorrow. Romain Grosjean, who was fourth in the Lotus takes a five place grid penalty for requiring a gearbox change. You’d say that gaining a position in the Stewards room is a handy help, but in fact, as this track surface is so green and slippery, moving from the racing line to the dirty side of the track might be more of a hindrance than a help.

As for Fernando’s title rival, it cannot be denied that Sebastian Vettel has totally dominated this first visit to Austin, topping every time sheet, including taking a pole position that honestly seemed a foregone conclusion well before the action got underway this afternoon. His team-mate Mark Webber is handily placed to help, setting the third fastest time. Splitting the two Red Bull drivers to share the front row with the German is Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren. Kimi Raikkonen, the winner in the desert two weeks ago will start his Lotus from fourth, while the third row sees Michael Schumacher place his Mercedes in fifth spot on the inside of Felipe. Sharing the fourth row with Fernando is Nico Hulkenberg in the Force India.

Tomorrow’s race is an important one in many ways: Formula 1 has struggled to find a permanent home in the United States for some time, so a crowd-pleasing show tomorrow would be a step in the right direction. For the Scuderia it could decide if the championship is still within Fernando’s grasp on Sunday night and if he lives to fight another day in Sao Paolo. Whatever the popularity of the sport here, Ferrari has always been hugely popular with American race fans and they can rest assured that everyone in the team will be doing their utmost to keep the flame burning until Brazil.