Vettel pips Hamilton for pole
Saturday 30th July 2011
Sebastian Vettel returned to top spot on the grid at the end of one of the most hotly contested qualifying sessions of the season.
Lewis Hamilton led the way after the first run in the top-10 shoot-out for Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix, only to be deposed by the reigning world champion in his second outing at the Hungaroring.
The pole is Vettel's 23rd of his career, and eighth in 11 grands prix this season, but his first for three races following a lean run by his own high standards.
Hamilton, who endured a poor middle sector in his second run at the 2.722-mile circuit, missed out by 0.163secs to Vettel who posted a lap of one minute 19.815secs for his second successive pole at this track.
Hamilton's McLaren team-mate Jenson Button starts third in what will be his 200th grands prix, his best grid slot for five races as the Woking-based team proved they can again compete with Red Bull over one lap.
Felipe Massa out-qualified Ferrari team mate Fernando Alonso for the first time this season to grab fourth, while Vettel's team-mate Mark Webber could only manage sixth.
Nico Rosberg will start seventh ahead of Adrian Sutil in the Force India, with the second Mercedes of Michael Schumacher and Sauber's Sergio Perez completing the top 10.
Alonso set the early benchmark in the Q3 shootout before Hamilton became the first driver all weekend to dip into the 1:19s, with Vettel slotting into second.
On the second round of flying laps, Alonso could not find anything extra but Vettel was pushing his Red Bull to the limit behind him and snatched top spot away from the McLaren driver.
Hamilton was not able to produce a response and had to settle for second position with Button taking third and Massa also climbing above Alonso into fourth place.
Webber ended a disappointing sixth while the two Mercedes and Sutil opted for a single run and Perez did not post a time at all in Q3.
Earlier, Hamilton had set the early pace in Q1 before being dislodged at the top of the timesheets by Alonso while, at the bottom of the standings, both Hispania drivers -usually perennial backmarkers - out-qualified the Virgin of Jerome D'Ambrosio.
Most of the front runners opted to bolt on the quicker super-soft tyres for the second qualifying session and Vettel immediately picked up the pace with a lap in the low 1:21s.
Webber then went below the 81 second mark before being usurped first by Button and then Alonso, with Hamilton staying on the harder tyre compound but still managed to make it safely through the session.
Seven-time world champion Schumacher booked his spot into the top 10 with a last-gasp effort to end British driver Paul di Resta's hopes of making the final qualifying session.
Vettel had, on Friday, called on Red Bull "to raise their game" due to their dip in form in the last two races, and they did so to such an extent they broke the overnight curfew for the first time this season.
Teams are not allowed to work on cars between the hours of 2am-8am, although they have four exemptions in case of exceptional circumstances.
With Red Bull determined to keep their noses in front, with Vettel 77 points ahead of Webber in the drivers' standings, mechanics are understood to have made wholesale changes to the cars, finishing at 5am.
Expressing his gratitude, Vettel said: "It seems we did the right thing.
"Q1 and Q2 were about getting through to the last session, and we got the result.
"We changed a lot on the car overnight, the boys did not get a lot of sleep, so this is the best way of saying thanks.
"I've my confidence back in the car, so now I'm looking forward to tomorrow."
Hamilton, who was ecstatic at clinching a front-row start at last weekend's German Grand Prix, knew he had missed an opportunity on this occasion.
"It's still a great achievement for us," said the 26-year-old, a two-time winner at this track.
"We knew we had the pace, but today they (Red Bull) had good pace, but with Jenson behind me I'm happy we can get some good points from here.
"You can always look back and think you could have found some more speed.
"But I went wide on turn nine, and then at the last corner I lost whatever advantage I had, otherwise it would have been very close."
As for Button, he appeared the more content of the British duo as he said: "I'm pretty happy with that.
"Qualifying has been my issue of late, but this was a good lap, so I'm happy to be up there and fighting.
"Tomorrow is a big day for me, my 200th grands prix, and when you are that close to the front you have to go for the win."
Credit: ESPN STAR (www.espnstar.com)
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