Pole sitter Mark Webber and his teammate Sebastian Vettel destroyed their competition for the Spanish GP grid.

"I don't believe anybody will catch them this year," said German rookie Hulkenberg, who outqualified his teammate Rubens Barrichello on Saturday but lamented a backwards step for his British team.

Referring to Red Bull's clearly superior pace over its nearest competitors, he added: "The gap may not always be nine tenths, but at least half a second.

"It is not a simple task to find that much time in the wind tunnel, and you must remember that they will develop as well," the 22-year-old told Motorsport-Magazin.com.