Finnish Formula One driver Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus F1 Team in action during the second practice session at the Hungaroring race track in Mogyorod near Budapest, Hungary, yesterday.
BUDAPEST: Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel set an impressive pace as Red Bull dominated practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix yesterday with Pirelli’s new tyres looking very much to their liking.
The German, fresh from victory in his home race at the Nuerburgring three weeks ago, was quickest in both sessions ahead of Australian team-mate Mark Webber with a best lap in the afternoon of one minute 21.264 seconds.
If he had done that in qualifying last year at the slow Hungaroring circuit, the 26-year-old championship leader would have been on the front row of the grid.
Vettel’s morning time of 1:22.723 was already a warning sign on a hot and cloudless morning with air temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius and track temperatures a sizzling 44.
Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen - who could be Vettel’s team-mate next year - was third fastest in the first session with Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso fourth on the timesheets.
The top five drivers were separated by less than three-tenths of a second in the afternoon when Raikkonen’s French team mate Romain Grosjean was third quickest to underscore Lotus’s potential.
Alonso, Vettel’s closest title rival with 34 points to make up after nine of the 19 races, was again fourth.
Vettel has never won in Hungary, one of only two circuits on the current calendar that has yet to see him on top of the podium, but has broken new ground this season and is chasing his fifth win in 10 races.
Mercedes, who have been the form team in qualifying with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, focused on getting to grips with the new type of tyre after being forced to miss a test at Silverstone last week.
That was a punishment for a ‘secret’ test with Pirelli in Spain in May.
Since then, Pirelli have faced a wave of negative headlines after a spate of blowouts at last month’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone led them to change the tyres to last year’s construction with 2013 compounds. Rosberg was eighth and seventh respectively while Hamilton - three times triumphant in Hungary for McLaren and last year’s winner from pole - was 13th and sixth.
McLaren, without a win this season, looked in better shape at a circuit that has brought them six wins in the last eight seasons.
Jenson Button, twice a winner in Hungary, was sixth fastest in the morning while Mexican team mate Sergio Perez clocked the ninth best time.
Germany’s Adrian Sutil, preparing for his 100th race for Force India, was seventh and 10th.
At the back, Venezuelan reserve driver Rodolfo Gonzalez replaced Britain’s Max Chilton for the opening session with Marussia and was comfortably slowest.
Sutil reaches 100 races still chasing first podium
BUDAPEST: Adrian Sutil is a man in a hurry but he needs to move up a gear in Hungary this weekend to have a chance of a first podium finish in his 100th Formula One Grand Prix.
The Force India driver, who has only ever raced for the one team in its various guises since his debut in 2007, told reporters that he was proud of the milestone but any celebrations would be limited.
“The fact is, it’s now 100 Grands Prix and no podium and I want to be on the podium so I need to hurry up. I don’t want to wait a long time to achieve this goal,” the German said determinedly.
“But I never give up. I like it here and try to make it better and still believe we can make it...this year we had some opportunities, it was close. But it’s just that you are so on the limit to be in this area (of finishing in the top three), one little mistake and it’s already gone. Whereas with a top team you can do mistakes and you finish still on the podium easily.”
Sutil brings some sponsorship to the team but his future at Force India beyond this season remains open. He said he knew where he wanted to go and was confident in his qualities as a driver.
REUTERS
