Saturday 27 July 2013

Hungary Grand Prix: Qualifying

The talking point in the run up to the Hungarian Grand Prix was the track surface temperature and a few nervous rumblings regarding the Pirelli tyres and the fear that we may have a repeat of the ludicrous events of Silverstone. Nothing materialised in the qualifying session but we will have to wait and see what happens in the race.

The first session was relatively predictable, with the exception of Di Resta's exit. Di Resta's poor fortunate, that saw him drop out in the first session, was a precursor to Force India's turn of luck this weekend. Sutil was knocked out at the end of the second session and the two Force India drivers will find it difficult to achieve much in the race from outside of the top ten. It was McLaren's Sergio Perez who threw up the surprise that bumped Sutil out of the top ten in the final seconds of Q2. He outpaced his teammate, Jenson Button, once again, as Button's woes deepen and the he continues to watch his contention for the title dwindle.

It was yet another Mercedes versus Red Bull fight, in the final session of qualifying. Sebastian Vettel's strategists made a smart move by saving a fresh set of option tyres, for one very quick lap, halfway through the session. Nobody was able to quite match Vettel's earlier time, as the chequered flag flew for each of them. That was of course until Lewis Hamilton put in his final quick lap. He pipped Sebastian to pole and despite Seb's best efforts he was unable to retake the top spot. It was an exciting end to the Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying, regardless of the familiar result. Will Mercedes race pace continue to improve in to Sunday's grand prix?

Qualifying result:

Pos.DriverTeamTimeLaps
1.ukLewis HamiltonMercedes01:19.38815
2.deSebastian VettelRed Bull01:19.42612
3.frRomain GrosjeanLotus01:19.59515
4.deNico RosbergMercedes01:19.72016
5.esFernando AlonsoFerrari01:19.79115
6.fiKimi RäikkönenLotus01:19.85117
7.brFelipe MassaFerrari01:19.92915
8.auDaniel RicciardoToro Rosso01:20.64114
9.mxSergio PerezMcLaren01:22.39816
10.auMark WebberRed Bullno time13
 
11.deAdrian SutilForce India01:20.56917
12.deNico HülkenbergSauber01:20.58013
13.ukJenson ButtonMcLaren01:20.77710
14.frJean-Eric VergneToro Rosso01:21.02912
15.vePastor MaldonadoWilliams01:21.13315
16.fiValtteri BottasWilliams01:21.21913