| pos | name | nat. | constructor/engine | time * | session | diff [s] | diff [%] |
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton (22) | GB |  | McLaren/Mercedes | 1'17.886 | 3 | --- | --- |
| 2 | Robert Kubica (4) | PL |  | BMW Sauber/BMW | 1'18.498 | 3 | 0.612 | 0.786 |
| 3 | Kimi Räikkönen (1) | FIN |  | Ferrari | 1'18.735 | 3 | 0.849 | 1.090 |
| 4 | Fernando Alonso (5) | E |  | Renault | 1'18.746 | 3 | 0.860 | 1.104 |
| 5 | Nico Rosberg (7) | D |  | Williams/Toyota | 1'18.844 | 3 | 0.958 | 1.230 |
| 6 | Felipe Massa (2) | BR |  | Ferrari | 1'19.048 | 3 | 1.162 | 1.492 |
| 7 | Heikki Kovalainen (23) | FIN |  | McLaren/Mercedes | 1'19.089 | 3 | 1.203 | 1.545 |
| 8 | Nick Heidfeld (3) | D |  | BMW Sauber/BMW | 1'19.633 | 3 | 1.747 | 2.243 |
| 9 | Rubens Barrichello (17) | BR |  | Honda | 1'20.848 | 3 | 2.962 | 3.803 |
| 10 | Mark Webber (10) | AUS |  | Red Bull/Renault | --- | 3 | --- | --- |
| 11 | Timo Glock (12) | D |  | Toyota | 1'18.031 | 2 | 0.145 | 0.186 |
| 12 | Kazuki Nakajima (8) | J |  | Williams/Toyota | 1'18.062 | 2 | 0.176 | 0.226 |
| 13 | David Coulthard (9) | GB |  | Red Bull/Renault | 1'18.238 | 2 | 0.352 | 0.452 |
| 14 | Jarno Trulli (11) | I |  | Toyota | 1'18.327 | 2 | 0.441 | 0.566 |
| 15 | Nelsinho Piquet (6) | BR |  | Renault | 1'18.393 | 2 | 0.507 | 0.651 |
| 16 | Adrian Sutil (20) | D |  | Force India/Ferrari | 1'19.108 | 1 | 1.222 | 1.569 |
| 17 | Giancarlo Fisichella (21) | I |  | Force India/Ferrari | 1'19.165 | 1 | 1.279 | 1.642 |
| 18* | Sébastien Bourdais (14) | F |  | Toro Rosso/Ferrari | 1'18.916 | 1 | new gearbox |
| 19* | Sebastian Vettel (15) | D |  | Toro Rosso/Ferrari | --- | 1 | chassis |
| 20* | Jenson Button (16) | GB |  | Honda | 1'23.565 | 1 | 5.679 | 7.291 |
| legend |
| session 1 |
20 minutes with all cars, knock-out positions 16-20. Cars may run with low fuel. |
| session 2 |
15 minutes with remaining 15 cars, knock-out positions 11-15. Cars may run with low fuel. |
| session 3 |
10 minutes with remaining 10 cars, fight out qualify positions 1-10.
Cars must run with race fuel level and refill used fuel from qualify before race. |
| 18* | Sébastien Bourdais (14): Sebastien qualified 16th in session one, but due to an accident in free practice he got a new gearbox and thus was penalised for 5 positions on the grid. |
| 19* | Sebastian Vettel (15): Sebastian could not participate in qualify due to a heavy crash in Saturday's free practice where he damaged the chassis seriously. Thus he has to start the race from pit-lane. |
| 20* | Jenson Button (16): Jenson qualified 18th but decided to start from pit-lane so may be allowed to do some modifications on the car's setup. |