Sebastian Vettel Takes Pole in Hungary
Sebastian Vettel soared to another pole position at a record 1m 18.773s in Budapest to place Red Bell in the starting row for yet another race this season. The 23 year-old German prodigy swept the asphalt clean, with team-mate Mark Webber taking second qualifying position at 1m 19.184s. Red Bull's dominance throughout the race remained undisputed, with Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso reining in third, Felipe Massa fourth, and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton in fifth place.
Red Bull Dominate
Conditions at Hungaroring, nicknamed “Monaco without barriers,” were ideal for the Red Bull drivers, with lots of sun and heat to set up a dry track. Vettel and Webber capitalized on the terrific weather, manoeuvring their way throughout the labyrinthine track with stealth and precision. Reputed as a virtually impossible track for overtaking, Vettel is almost guaranteed victory at the race, unless Webber can fly with the same seamless grace that earned him the win at Silverstone. Though the Australian's qualifying time leaves a broad interval between him and Vettel, it will be interesting to see how tensions play out between the two talented drivers in Budapest, provided there are no team orders as in the case of last weekend's spectacle which saw Massa relinquish his lead to Alonso. Given that Ferrari has declared that “the two Red Bulls are clearly ahead of everyone else,” it will also be fascinating to observe how the group can employ a strategy which will enable them to catch up to the speedier cars, and how they will fight off a resilient Lewis Hamilton who managed to edge his way close to the starting grid despite team-mate Jenson Button's disappointing eleventh place. “I know that the Red Bulls are impossible to beat,” Hamilton stated, according to BBC Sport.
“It's a second in the middle sector and half a second in the final sector. For Jenson and me, we just look at the onboard footage and laugh. I don't know what they're doing, but it's incredible. I pulled every inch out of the car. We've got to work hard but it's a good position for us to start and we're on the clean side. Finishing third or fourth would be spectacular.” Indeed, it looks as though Red Bull have left their competition in the pits during this stage of the tournament, much to the satisfaction of Vettel who claimed that the car felt “very comfortable,” and thanked his engineers for building “this wonderful car.”
Crucial Points
Another win for the Red Bulls is crucial, who are currently ranked second at 272 pts in the Team Championship, 28 pts behind McLaren and 64 pts ahead of Ferrari. Having won only two races this season - the European and Malaysian Grand Prix's, Vettel will want to seek another victory to add another 25 pts to his 136. The driver has so far claimed seven pole positions, and on other occasions has never fallen lower on the starting grid than 3rd place, proving his phenomenal adeptness at speed and strategy. Though translating that into action on race day has proved a difficult feat for the youngster, Vettel's impressive record and continuing improvements, along with the formidable engineering of the Red Bull machines, are promising signs for another victory on the race track in Hungary. Red Bull team principle Christian Horner commented, “This was our most dominant qualifying race of the year, but the race is a different story. We hope to have a good day on Sunday.” The rest of the racing world awaits what will assuredly be a riveting competition.
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