Hungary gives wings to Vettel and Webber in qualifying

A week has just passed, the F1 world is barely recovering from the persistent headache after a difficult-to-digest German GP, and it’s already time to prepare for a Hungarian race where the flexibility of their wings should benefit the Red Bulls, who appreciate these lands close to their native Austria.

This is how Sebastian Vettel stormed the Budapest circuit by securing pole position, his seventh of the season. Red Bull completely locked out the grid, with a 100% RBR front row as Mark Webber took 2nd place.

Halfway through Q3, Vettel achieved a time of 1m18.773s that no one was able to match. Only Mark Webber could claim to have kept pace with his teammate with a time of 1m19.184s, a gap of 0.419s.

On the second row, the Ferraris confirm this improved feeling glimpsed in Germany with Alonso in 3rd place and Massa in 4th. The performance of the Spanish world champion is noteworthy as he is the only driver, apart from Vettel and Webber, to drop below 1m20s, with a time of 1m19.987s. Despite this time, he still finishes over 1.2s behind Vettel.

In the third row, Lewis Hamilton, left without his teammate in Q3, spent those ten minutes trying to find the miracle cure to regain a competitive McLaren, but he will have to settle for 5th place. Just like Hamilton, Nico Rosberg outpaced his teammate, placing his Mercedes in 6th place, with a motivated Vitaly Petrov closely behind, driven by his need for results. The young Russian driver marks his best performance in F1 with this 7th place. He even enjoys the luxury of being ahead of Kubica, who is 8th. The message sent to Eric Boullier is clear; it now needs confirmation in the race.

To finish this Top 10 ranking, it is important to highlight the performances of the Sauber and Williams teams, with Pedro de la Rosa in 9th and Nico Hülkenberg in 10th.

Jenson Button, the reigning world champion, falls short of Q3 by finishing in a disappointing 11th place. It’s difficult for the McLaren driver to accept this starting position for the Grand Prix. This failure is also true for Michael Schumacher, who was also outperformed by his teammate, finishing in Q2 in an unremarkable 14th place.

The young Japanese Sauber driver, Kamui Kobayashi, was eliminated in Q1, which is a surprise given his recent performances and de la Rosa’s success. On his last flying lap, he was hindered by an HRT and finished in 18th place. Returning to the pits, he ignored FIA orders to stop at the technical inspection garage. Despite a denial from the Japanese driver, explaining that he didn’t see the red light at the pit entrance, he will be penalized five places on the grid and will start in 23rd position.

On the new teams’ side, it’s Timo Glock of Virgin Racing who finishes in the best position, 19th. At HRT, Yamamoto, still in Chandhok’s seat, finishes in the last place of the qualifications; however, he falls short by only 0.05s from his teammate Bruno Senna.

The start of this Hungarian Grand Prix will be crucial, Vettel must not act with Webber as he did with Alonso in Germany. By focusing only on the Spanish driver, he left the track wide open for Massa, who took the lead from the first corner. For Red Bull, it will be difficult to contain the desire for domination between its two drivers. Alonso in 3rd position can take advantage of this Australian-German chaos, just as he can count on being on the right side of the track. Behind him in 5th position, Hamilton could also benefit from the good side of the track to try to get closer to the race lead. Massa, on the wrong side like Webber, behind whom he is positioned, will have to elbow his way to put his Ferrari on the right track. Will we witness a showdown between the two Scuderia drivers?

What is understood and what the top five drivers are aware of is that the Hungaroring is not a place for overtaking.

The first to lead at turn #1 will have gained a definite advantage from the start of the race.

On a mechanical level, Hungary during this period brings its share of high temperatures.

The decision could also be made, then, through the process of withdrawals.