Page last updated at 10:17 GMT, Saturday, 30 July 2011 11:17 UK
By Sarah Holt
BBC Sport at the Hungaroring
Vettel is looking for his eighth pole position of the season
Sebastian Vettel set the pace for Red Bull in final practice to lay down his marker for an eighth pole of the season at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Red Bull broke a curfew on working overnight to overhaul Vettel's car and the changes helped him lead the field.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso was 0.3secs adrift with McLaren's Jenson Button and Mark Webber's Red Bull close behind.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton finished seventh after failing to complete a lap in qualifying preparation trim.
Sunny skies helped lift the track temperatures to 36C on Saturday morning and the warmer conditions played their part in helping the drivers find extra grip and pace.
But a decision by Red Bull on Friday to break the six-hour overnight curfew, which was introduced by the sport's governing body this year to stop teams working round-the-clock on their cars, to work on Vettel's car seemed to be the key to his improved performance.
"We broke the curfew for the first time this year - and we are allowed to do that four times - to primarily focus on set-up work," explained Red Bull boss Christian Horner.
"We learnt a lot of lessons yesterday and are trying to put them into practice. But McLaren and Ferrari are strong so it'll be tight.
"Sebastian is pretty relaxed. He always enjoys this track so we'll see."
Vettel arrived in Hungary determined to return to the top after seeing Ferrari and McLaren win the last two races in Britain and Germany.
Red Bull flew round the low-speed, high-downforce Hungaroring in 2010, with Vettel on pole and his team-mate Webber winning the race.
Webber has looked comfortable all weekend but had an untidy run on the soft tyres and finished almost half a second behind Vettel's leading time.
"Just from the naked eye the Red Bull looks like the easiest car to drive to me," commented BBC 5 Live analyst Anthony Davidson.
"Time and time again it looks the most settled and I still think they have the advantage in qualifying."
Hamilton ruined his first run on the soft tyres when he ran wide going into the first corner. He suggested on the pit-to-car radio that his brakes weren't responding quickly enough.
The 2008 world champion, who won the last race in Germany, was 1.4secs off the pace while his McLaren team-mate Button was third fastest.
Massa underlined Ferrari's improvement by setting the fifth fastest mark ahead of Nico Rosberg's Mercedes. His team-mate Michael Schumacher struggled to find rear traction, and he was eighth.
Qualifying position is deemed to be of even greater importance at the Hungaroring where it can be difficult to overtake.
But this year the moveable rear wing (DRS), Kers power-boost and tyre strategy are expected to help the drivers move through the field.
Credit: BBC (www.bbc.co.uk)
No comments:
Post a Comment