Vettel pips Webber for Hungarian pole

BUDAPEST: Sebastian Vettel edged his Red Bull teammate Mark Webber to pole position after clocking the fastest time during qualifying for today’s Hungarian Grand Prix. The 23-year-old German clocked a time of one minute 18.773 seconds, just 0.4 seconds quicker than his Australian teammate as the Red Bull cars were in a league of their own. This is Vettel’s seventh pole of the season.

Ferrari duo Spaniard Fernando Alonso and Brazilian Felipe Massa, almost a second slower, will start in third and fourth ahead of drivers’ championship leader Briton Lewis Hamilton of Mclaren. German Nico Rosberg was sixth quickest for Mercedes followed by Russian Vitaly Petrov who out-qualified his Renault team-mate Robert Kubica for the first time this season. Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa of Sauber will start in ninth ahead of Williams driver Nico Hulkenberg.

Vettel led the Red Bull assault in the Q1 opening mini-session which saw Japan’s Kamui Kobayashi of Sauber eliminated along with the three new teams. Kobayashi appeared to have been held up by Bruno Senna of Hispania on his final flying lap and was pipped to the 17th fastest time in the final minute of the session by Force India’s Adrian Sutil.

That meant he joined Timo Glock of Virgin, Lotus drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli, Lucas Di Grassi in the second Virgin and Senna ahead of his Hispania team-mate Sakon Yamamoto.

McLaren’s worst fears were realised in Q2 when their defending drivers’ world champion Jenson Button failed to make the top ten and will start in 11th place.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 1^st, 2010.