Revitalized Vettel Takes Hungarian Grand Prix Pole

Photo Credit: Nissan/Infiniti USA

After dominating the early part of the 2011 Formula 1 season, Sebastian Vettel had been going through what can constitute as a slump. At the past grand prix at German's Nurburgring circuit, Vettel started 4th place in the #1 Red Bull-Renault for what was his worst grid position for the 2011 season. Maintaining Red Bull Racing's undefeated streak in qualifying for the British and German Grand Prix was Vettel's teammate Mark Webber. As Sebastian Vettel leaves his home grand prix in Germany with a less than spectacular result, the reigning world champion in the Formula 1 series could have a new sense of purpose entering Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

An intense battle during Saturday qualifying saw drivers of Red Bull Racing, McLaren F1 and Scuderia Ferrari clamouring for the pole on the tight 4.381 kilometer Hungaroring track. After the Q2 session in Formula 1 qualifying for Sunday's race, the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso posted a 1 minute, 20.262 second time around the track to lead at this point in time trials. Immediately ahead of Jenson Button and Mark Webber, Alonso held the benchmark into Q3 which was quickly eclipsed.

Setting a time more than half a second faster than his Q2 session best around the Hungaroring, the McLaren-Mercedes of Jenson Button was 3rd fastest. In the second row, Button starts alongside the 4th place Felipe Massa's Ferrari and a grid row ahead of Massa's teammate Alonso. Showing strength of McLaren, Lewis Hamilton rose from 7th fastest in Q2 to 2nd quickest in the final Q3 qualifying. Hamilton's 1 minute, 19.978 second time was more than 1.2 seconds better than the previous session.

Starting from pole for the 2011 Hungarian Grand Prix is the Red Bull-Renault piloted by Sebastian Vettel. Setting top time in qualifying with a 1 minute, 19.815 second lap, Vettel like Hamilton made up considerable ground from Q2 to gain a front row spot for Sunday's grand prix. The Hungarian Grand Prix pole position for the German driver marks the 8th time in 2011 Vettel starts out front of a Formula 1 race. In the 7 previous outings where the #1 Red Bull-Renault started on the pole, Sebastian Vettel went on to win the grand prix 5 times.

2011 Formula 1

Hungarian Grand Prix

Hungaroring

Starting Line-up

1. 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing
2. 3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren
3. 4 Jenson Button McLaren
4. 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari
5. 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari
6. 2 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing
7. 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
8. 14 Adrian Sutil Force India
9. 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
10. 17 Sergio Perez Sauber
11. 13 15 Paul di Resta Force India
12. 10 Vitaly Petrov Lotus Renault GP
13. 16 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber
14. 9 Nick Heidfeld Lotus Renault GP
15. 11 Rubens Barrichello Williams F1
16. 19 Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso
17. 8 12 Pastor Maldonado Williams F1
18. 18 Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso
19. 21 Heikki Kovalainen Team Lotus
20. 20 Jarno Trulli Team Lotus
21. 24 Timo Glock Marussia Virgin Racing
22. 23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT F1
23. 22 Daniel Ricciardo HRT F1
24. 25 Jérôme D’Ambrosio Marussia Virgin Racing

  

Webber Outlasts Others to Win Hungary GP

Photo Credit: Lotus Racing

A tight 70 lap race on the Hungaroring circuit, the Hungarian Grand Prix greeted the 2010 Formula 1 series running their last race before a nearly one month break until Belgium. With a lot of new equipment likely to roll out by the late August race, this is possibly the last opportunity where news honestly know where they stand on the F1 grid.


Rain and thunderstorms held off for the running of the Hungarian Grand Prix as the 24 car Formula 1 field took start topped by the two Red Bull-Renaults on the grid. With Vettel leading, the second Red Bull Racing car of Mark Webber fell under attack of the Ferrari belonging to Fernando Alonso. Alonso passed Webber spliting the Red Bull-Renaults through the opening laps of the Hungarian Grand Prix.


On lap 23, a major 2010 championship event occurred as Lewis Hamilton's McLaren-Mercedes lost power. Entering the Hungarian Grand Prix as the drivers championship points leader, Hamilton left the race just prior to 1/3 race distance. A rough day overall for McLaren, Jenson Button would finish 8th in the race after struggling to find speed for much of the race weekend.


Out front, Sebastian Vettel built his advantage over the field leading by 11.7 seconds at one point. Unfortunately for Vettel, his interval on second place would soon be erased once a safety car was deployed. As a result of debris on track from both a collision between Robert Kubica and Adrian Sutil, a scary incident where Nico Rosberg's Mercedes GP car lost a wheel on pit road neccesitated the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG safety car to gather the field. Making use of the period, many of the drivers were sent to pit road for service. However, in a mind-bending move, the Red Bull Racing stayed on track to take the lead. A radically different strategy from Vettel who had pitted, Webber was also running softer Bridgestone tires which were feared to be wearing out.


With Webber remaining in the lead as the field restarted, Sebastian Vettel eased back on the accelerator allowing him to either gain more momentum to pursue his teammate or allow his teammate to run away and leave the field. This action is considered a violation of the restart procedure Cited to be a radio communication breakdown where Vettel would have been caught off-guard by the restart, the FIA nonetheless had the German bring his Red Bull-Renault down pit road to serve a drive-through penalty.


As Vettel dropped down the running order, Webber led the grand prix and was in fact gaining major ground over the now 2nd place Alonso. With the softer tires holding together, Webber pitted on lap 43 with a 23-plus second lead allowing the Red Bull-Renault to hold top position. With the gap a deciding factor, Mark Webber won the 2010 Hungarian Grand Prix adding a 4th win to his breakout season. Joining webber on the podium, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso would come home 2nd and Red Bull Racing teammate Sebastian Vettel took 3rd place disappointed with the race-costing penalty. The second Ferrari of Felipe Massa would cross the line 4th at the Hungaroring in an important race for the Brazilian. A year following a nearly-career ending (perhaps life ending) on-track incident, Massa return in 2010 should filter out any remaining demons the driver has in Formula 1 racing.

The winding corners of the Hungarian circuit also allowed two Formula 1 rookies to present their best runs of the season. Driving for Renault F1, Vitaly Petrov crossed the line 5th following up a strong qualifying run on Saturday. Nico Hulkenberg also brought has Williams-Cosworth to a 6th place result. Interesting enough, these drivers were 1st and 2nd last season in the GP2 series with Hulkenberg winning the 2009 GP2 championship.

Along with strong efforts resulting for 2010 F1 rookies, veteran Formula 1 team BMW-Sauber, which started the season seriously in peril, also ended the day celebrating both cars within the top 10. BMW-Sauber's double point-scoring day, Pedro de la Rosa led the team past the line in 7th spot. Impressive, de la Rosa's teammate Kamui Kobayashi might be earning more respect following his 9th place charge. Overcoming a dismal qualifying effort as well as a team penalty, Kobayashi would hustle his BMW Sauber-Ferrari from 23rd to 9th at the line.


With some Formula 1 drivers enjoying landmark runs in Hungary, one of the sport's legendary drivers is enduring another rough performance. For other Formula 1 race, the driving of returning 7-time F1 World Champion Michael Schumacher has garnered the scrutiny of the FIA stewarts. Remembering the illegal pass for position at the end of the Monaco Grand Prix earlier this season, this latest incident at the Hungaroring involved an on-track battle with former teammate Rubens Barrichello. Sparring in a aggressive fight for a prized 10th and final points-scoring position, the Mercedes GP of Schumacher exercised a reckless block on Barrichello's Williams-Cosworth through the Hungaroring's front stretch. Having played 2nd driver when the pair were teamed at Ferari, Barrichello found no reason to accept their previous arrangement sqeezing by for the 10th spot. Not only losing the point, Michael Schumacher will lose 10 grid places in qualifying for the next race at Spa as well as the racing credibility for undertaking this potentially-dangerous maneuveur.

With his latest victory, Mark Webber leapfrogs the wounded Lewis Hamilton for the Formula 1 drivers championship lead by 4 points. Sahking up to become a tight fight for the 2010 drivers crown, Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso are within 20 points of Webber with 7 races to decide the victor.

As mentioned before, the 2010 Formula 1 World Championship is on a extended hiatus until August 29th where they race the Belgium Grand Prix.


2010 Formula 1
Hungarian Grand Prix
Race results



1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari
4. Felipe Massa Ferrari
5. Vitaly Petrov Renault F1
6. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth
7. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari
8. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
9. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari
10. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth
11. Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
12. Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari
13. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes
14. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth
15. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth
16. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth
17. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth
18. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth
19. Sakon Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth
20. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
21. Robert Kubica Renault F1
22. Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
23. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes
24. Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari

Hungarian Grand Prix Pole Scored by Red Bull's Vettel

Photo Credit: Mercedes GP



Racing on a track highly dependent on vehicle downforce, the 4.381 kilometer Hungaroring hosts the latest round of the 2010 Formula 1 tour, the Hungarian Grand Prix.

For the 11th time in 12 races, a Red Bull Racing is top seated after Formula 1 time trials. Taking the pole for the 4th straight event on the F1 calendar, Sebastian Vettel outpowered his teammate Mark Webber in the Q3 session of qualifying by 4/10ths of a second. On the Red Bull Racing team's website, Vettel complimented the entire race team saying “Mark and I were pushing hard to finish first and second, but this is your moment, enjoy it – you built this wonderful car”.

With Red Bull-Renaults taking the front row, the second row on the Hungarian Grand Prix grid as also an all-team sweep. In 3rd, Fernando Alonso took position over Felipe Massa. One year ago, this grand prix was the site of Massa's frightening accident set off when the Ferrari driver was struck in the helmet by a suspension component turned projectile. With Massa missing the remainder of 2009 season with head and neck injuries, the Brazilian driver returned this season and made the opportunity to personally thank the Budapest hospital. On the Ferrari website, Felipe Massa broadcasted praise to those who looked after him in the once life-threatening situation. " I wish to take this opportunity to once again thank everyone for what they did for me one year ago; they are really extraordinary people.”

Following the controversial German Grand Prix, the Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 was left the team $100,000 U.S. lighter after a blatent case of team orders saw Fernando Alonso pass teammate Felipe Massa without contention. The team is still under investigation for the incident with possible remification for Formula 1 driver's and manufacturer's points.

Mercedes-Benz powered race cars complete the third row but are the products of different organizations. Placing the McLaren-Mercedes up ahead of a Mercedes GP car of Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton settled into 5th. Hamilton will work to defend his 2009 victory on the Hungaroring.

Earning admiration of Formula 1 observers for readying a team after losing major funding, the BMW Sauber group has charged into a solid mid-field runner. Lately, this has included contending for a top-10 point paying position at the finish of grand prixs. Continuing a to place their Ferrari-engined vehicles competitively, Pedro de la Rosa brought the BMW-Sauber into 9th place. Despite delivering some excellent Formula 1 which included a 6th place at Silverstone 2 races prior finishes, the second BMW Sauber driver Kamui Kobayashi experienced a less than glorious qualifying. Winding up 18th in the time sheet, Kobayashi's car will receive a 5-grid spot penalty for the team not submitting to post-qualifying inspection.

The Hungarian Grand Prix is set for 8 A.M. Eastern Time (2 P.M. local time) on TSN in Canada or Speed for American viewers. set to compete in warm conditions, it is also likely that the grand prix could be run on a wet race track as rain and even thunderstorms are forecasted.


2010 Formula 1
Hungarian Grand Prix
Starting Grid

1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari
4. Felipe Massa Ferrari
5. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP
7. Vitaly Petrov Renault F1
8. Robert Kubica Renault F1
9. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari
10. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth
11. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
12. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth
13. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes
14. Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP
15. Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari
16. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes
17. Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari
18. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth
20. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth
21. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth
22. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth
23. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari
24. Sakon Yamamoto HRT-Cosworth