Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix preview
There is no time to rest for the Formula One teams as the Hungarian Grand Prix comes just a week after the sport was again hit with controversy, this time at the German Grand Prix.
In Germany, Fernando Alonso won the race after his Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa was told to let him through in a coded radio message. Ferrari were fined $100,000 for breaking the rule on team orders, and potentially face further punishment as the incident has been referred to the World Motor Sport Council.
In Hungary, Massa will make a return to the track where he suffered a fractured skull last year after being struck by a spring from the suspension of Rubens Barrichello’s car. Last Sunday also marked the exact day of the accident a year ago, and Massa could have won the race, but Ferrari had other ideas.
Massa insists he is not the second driver in the team, saying he would walk away from Formula One if this were the case. “The time when I say I am No.2 driver I will not race any more. So I am not. To be honest, all of you are trying to put words in my mouth.”
The Brazilian only has eyes on this weekend’s race in Budapest and has put behind him the events of the last race. “There’s no real point in going back to last weekend. We need to think about the present,” he said. “I think we have spoken a lot about what’s happened in the last race. So yes, I will fight for victory here in whatever conditions.
“I’m not here really just to race, I’m here to win. That’s really my point. As long as I am in the condition to win, we need to go to the end, to fight for victory. As long as the condition is different then I definitely want the best for the team. I work for the team, I’m professional and I think everybody needs to understand my point,” Massa added.
Alonso stood on the top step of the podium last Sunday, and the Spaniard believes his reputation will not be affected by the controversial incident. “I don't think anything has changed for me or that anything will come back to me,” he said.
“I am still the same and I will always fight for the best things possible, for my team, for the sport and hopefully I can do well my entire career. So I do not think at all that my reputation has taken any bad affect because of this.”
The double world champion was favoured ahead of Massa in Germany, but he says there is no favouritism within Ferrari. “I think there is no No.2 driver, and also no No.1 driver. I think it is more about the respect for each other, and moreover respect for racing for the Scuderia, which means a lot.”
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton is leading the drivers’ standings, 14 points ahead of reigning world champion Jenson Button, who is setting out on trying to claw back the gap on his teammate.
“I'm 14 points behind Lewis, which in old money [under the previous points system] was about six, and I don't want that to grow any more. I thought I was going to claw a few points back in Germany, but that didn't happen, so I hope I do this weekend,” said Button.
All the focus will be on Ferrari this weekend, and whether Massa finds himself ahead of Alonso once again. While everyone is keeping a close eye on them, the Red Bulls quietly went about their business today in the practice sessions, with Sebastian Vettel setting the fastest time in both sessions.
Vettel (1:20.976seconds) was ahead of his teammate Mark Webber (1:21.106s) and the Renault of Robert Kubica (1:22.072s) in the first practice session, while in practice two, Vettel (1:20.087s) was quicker than Alonso (1:20.584s) and Webber (1:20.597s).
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