Hungarian GP – Free Practice 3: Vettel Beats Alonso and Button, Hamilton Disappoints

Pit lane open, it’s Team Lotus’s Heikki Kovalainen who leads the way on this Saturday morning, followed by a pack of single-seaters whose primary concern will be to first get used to the new track temperature and then to the strong gusts of wind sweeping the Hungaroring circuit. Installation laps completed, everyone returns to the pits and already five minutes have passed in this third free practice session. Norbert Haug, in the Mercedes garage, displays a conventional smile while Mark Webber, at Red Bull, shows a stern face.

Ten minutes into the session, and still no candidate for a time. The wind seems to be the cause, with teams and drivers not really wanting to face such conditions. Jérôme D’Ambrosio breaks the silence that prevailed on the Hungarian circuit and goes out for his first timed lap, which is noticeably not at full throttle (1:32.884). The two Team Lotus cars are also on track, as are the two Saubers. Kamui Kobayashi logically takes the lead of this session with 1:27.338, as Heidfeld, Rosberg, and Schumacher also hit the track. Nico takes the lead of the session with 1:24.464, beating his teammate by a thousandth, all on soft tires. Button clarifies things with 1:23.526, then 1:23.016. A third of the way into the session, Button leads Rosberg, Schumacher, Perez, and Heidfeld.

« I’m losing the rear tires » announces Michael Schumacher to his pit crew: the German driver has completed only 6 laps with these new soft tires. It should be noted that the Red Bull drivers, the Ferrari drivers, and Lewis Hamilton have not yet taken to the track for a timed lap. Vettel and Hamilton compensate for this and take the top two spots on their first flying lap. The defending champion is six-tenths ahead of the Briton. Meanwhile, Maldonado, di Resta, and Hamilton make mistakes at the chicane and cut it. Webber takes the second place of the session as Vettel improves his time by three tenths, with a 1:22.021. Maldonado misses the chicane again. Hamilton clocks a 1:22.667, placing him P2 at 0.646 behind Vettel. Midway through the session, Vettel leads Hamilton, Webber, Button, and Rosberg.

The Ferraris finally start in this session. Massa sets the fifth-fastest time. Alonso eases off and will try his luck again. The temperature is gradually rising at the Hungaroring, now reaching 35°C. Massa strengthens his fifth place, but Alonso pushes him back a rank by clocking the fourth-fastest time. Schumacher takes sixth place, at 1:23.037, far from the leaders. Trulli and then Massa have a minor scare in turn 5. Rosberg takes second place at 1:22.534, but on super-soft tires. Perez misses his entry into the final turn and goes too wide. The top eight of this session are in the pits. With 20 minutes left in the session, Vettel leads ahead of Rosberg, Hamilton, Webber, and Alonso.

Calm period in Hungary. The Force India cars, far behind, are on track to improve. Liuzzi loses a small aerodynamic element on his HRT. The wind, which had died down, is starting to blow again. Petrov, on soft tires, is still searching for balance on his Lotus Renault GP. He is currently 13th. Vettel makes a small mistake at the chicane. With 13 minutes left in the session, Vettel, Webber, Rosberg, and Alonso are on track. The 2010 champion does not improve his time, but still manages the second-best performance of the session. Alonso has fitted the super soft tires and records the best time in 1:21.469. Times are expected to significantly improve in the last ten minutes with Alonso leading ahead of Vettel, Webber, Rosberg, and Hamilton.

Vettel and Webber are waiting to go out, while Massa takes the second position with a time of 1:22.002 on super softs. Hamilton and Button are on the track. Lewis misses the first corner and has to back off: « the brakes weren’t up to temperature » he reports over the radio. For Jenson, who fared better at the end of the straight, it’s the second-fastest time at 1:21.639. Webber is on track while Vettel exits the pits, both on super softs. The Australian has a very mediocre lap, full of mistakes, yet still manages the 3rd fastest time at 1:21.645. Vettel takes the lead in the session with 1:21.168. Webber does not improve. The German driver asserts himself by dominating this session. Hamilton, who struggled on super softs, did not have the opportunity to set a significant time. Questions will be answered this afternoon during qualifying, which you can follow in live commentary on Motors Inside starting at 2 p.m.

The Free Practice 3 standings of the Hungarian Grand Prix /f1/news/10991-follow-the-hungarian-gp-qualifying-live.html: