Nico Rosberg recorded his third successive pole position at the Hungaroring after his Mercedes team-mate caught fire with a suspected fuel leak.
Lewis Hamilton was the favourite for pole position after setting the quickest time in all three practice sessions, but he was eliminated just five minutes into Q1 when he stopped in the pit entry with the rear of his Mercedes ablaze.
It was a terrible sight for the 2008 world champion as he faces another fight from the back of the grid. Unlike Hockenheim, this twisty and dusty circuit is going to more challenging for Hamilton to charge through…
Even without the presence of his main title rival, Rosberg faced a tricky moment in Q3 when rain started to fall.
The championship leader was the first on to the track on slick tyres with conditions worsening, but with the first corner particularly wet he slid off into the runoff area on his first flier, ruining his lap.
But Kevin Magnussen, who was directly behind, also outbraked himself, hitting the tyre barrier on the outside of the corner and bringing out the red flag.
When qualifying resumed after an eight-minute delay, the rain had eased and while the track was slippery, everyone opted to continue on slicks.
With the track drying up, Rosberg set the initial pace until the Williams of Valtteri Bottas went even quicker to grab provisional pole.
But unlike Rosberg, who stayed out and used only one set of softs in Q3, Sebastian Vettel pitted for a new set of Pirellis and took top spot from the Mercedes driver on his final lap.
Moments later Rosberg improved, taking that all-important pole position by almost half-a-second with a time of one minute, 22.715 seconds.
Vettel held onto second position ahead of Bottas, the latter also opting to pit for new tyres, with Daniel Ricciardo was fourth fastest.
Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa were fifth and sixth, both also having two runs in the restarted Q3 segment, with Jenson Button eighth ahead of Jean-Eric Vergne.
Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg was the slowest of those to set a time in Q3 in ninth, with Kevin Magnussen classified tenth having not set a time before his Turn 1 crash.
Daniil Kvyat was in contention for a top ten slot, but he locked the rears at Turn 12 on his final lap in Q2 and spun, ending up P11.
Sauber’s Adrian Sutil was P12 ahead of Sergio Perez, who suffered a hydraulic leak during Q2 and could only attempt one run.
Esteban Gutierrez took P14 ahead of Romain Grosjean, with Jules Bianchi ending up P16 following his excellent performance to make the second stage of qualifying.
Kimi Raikkonen made a shock exit from Q1, ending the session P17 fastest. Not an ideal result for Ferrari or the 2007 world champion.
With Hamilton and Pastor Maldonado, whose Lotus had stopped early in Q1, not running, most teams opted not to send their cars out for a second run on the basis that they only needed to finish ahead of the Caterhams and the Marussias to make the next phase.
But Raikkonen was the slowest of those who did not attempt a run on soft rubber and when Bianchi put in his final lap, the Finn was relegated to the dropzone while sat in the garage.
Caterham driver Kamui Kobayashi was P18 ahead of Max Chilton, who suffered a fuel pressure problem on his final run, with Marcus Ericsson slowest of those who set a lap.
Hamilton will start from P21 on the grid and ahead of Maldonado thanks to starting a flying lap. But overtaking around the Hungaroring is going to be a challenge.
Qualifying positions, Hungarian Grand Prix:
1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m22.715s
2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m23.201s
3. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 1m23.354s
4. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault 1m23.391s
5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m23.909s
6. Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1m24.223s
7. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m24.294s
8. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Renault 1m24.720s
9. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m24.775s
10. Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes No time
11. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso-Renault 1m24.706s
12. Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 1m25.136s
13. Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 1m25.211s
14. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 1m25.260s
15. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m25.337s
16. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Ferrari 1m27.419s
17. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1m26.792s
18. Kamui Kobayashi Caterham-Renault 1m27.139s
19. Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari 1m27.819s
20. Marcus Ericsson Caterham-Renault 1m28.643s
21. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes No time
22. Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault No time
107 per cent time: 1m30.886s
This was a terrible qualifying session for Lewis Hamilton. A fire in the early part of Q1 forced the championship challenger out. Autosport.com has the full story.
Lewis Hamilton’s Formula 1 qualifying woes continued at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday when a fuel leak in Q1 caused his Mercedes car to burst in to flames.
The Briton had been hoping for a trouble-free run to take his first pole position since the Spanish Grand Prix in May.
But Hamilton’s qualifying session lasted just a few minutes when his car caught fire following a fuel leak.
Although marshals attended to the fire when Hamilton stopped in the pit lane entry, the damage to his car was extensive.
Hamilton was hugely disappointed with his second successive car problem in qualifying, having suffered brake failure in Q1 at last weekend’s German Grand Prix.
“I think it is getting to the point where it is beyond bad luck,” said Hamilton, who will start 21st on the grid. “We need to do better.”
Hamilton told television crews after returning to the paddock that the issue came up on his first flying lap.
“I bailed out of that timed lap that I was doing and was going to do a second lap, and then something happened to my brakes,” he said.
“Something in the brake system failed. I had to engage some systems, and then the engine just died.
“I was right next to the pit lane entry so I thought I could roll back [to the garage] but then I looked in the mirror and realised I was on fire.
“It was on fire but I was still trying to get to the garage. I thought maybe we could still do something.
“Then they said ‘stop, stop, stop’. It’s all pretty bad.”
HAMILTON’S QUALIFYING WOES
Hamilton’s last pole position came at the Spanish Grand Prix back in May. Since then, he has had a run of troubles in qualifying that have served to dent his title hopes:
MONACO: 2nd after he has to abort a lap when Nico Rosberg runs off at the end of Q3
CANADA: 2nd after locking up on final run in Q3
AUSTRIA: 9th after running wide on first Q3 effort and then spinning on second effort
BRITAIN: 6th after mistakenly aborting his final lap in Q3
GERMANY: 20th after suffering brake disc failure in Q1
HUNGARY: 21st after fuel leak causes fire in Q1
Nico Rosberg has admitted that he will play it safe following his Mercedes team-mate’s woe. Autosport.com has the details.
Formula 1 championship leader Nico Rosberg says he needs to “play it safe” in the Hungarian Grand Prix with title rival Lewis Hamilton starting at the back of the field.
Rosberg took his sixth pole position of the season at the Hungaroring on Saturday, while Mercedes team-mate Hamilton was eliminated in the early part of Q1 when his car caught fire.
While Hamilton charged through the field last weekend at Hockenheim to finish on the podium, the Hungarian circuit is traditionally one of the hardest to overtake on in F1.
“It makes it easier of course because he is my competitor,” said Rosberg. “It’s a free opportunity tomorrow.
“I need to play it safe and avoid any unnecessary things happening and get as many points as possible.
“Also I would prefer to be out there battling with Lewis, that would give me the maximum adrenaline rush.
“It won’t be a gloves-off battle with Lewis but I am still very, very happy.”
With both Mercedes drivers suffering reliability issues in recent races, Rosberg admitted that it remains a concern for the team.
“It’s massively disappointing when the car breaks down,” he said. “I had it two races ago at Silverstone.
“It’s tough, not something you can control. It’s a pity for the team, not a good thing and we need to keep working on it.”
As much of Mercedes’ advantage this season has been attributed to the manufacturer’s engine, Rosberg said it was significant for the team to still be leading the way on a track that has so few straights.
“I have been surprised that we have been able to be so quick this weekend,” he added.
“Our engine is definitely very, very strong and here the engine doesn’t come into play so much, so it shows how good our car is.
“With FRIC not being on the car, we are still finding our way, so with lots of long corners here I am pleased with where we are.”
Kvein Magnussen admitted after qualifying that he was shocked by the rain at Turn 1. The McLaren lost control on the approach to the first turn and crashed out. Autosport.com has the story.
McLaren Formula 1 driver Kevin Magnussen said he was “extremely surprised” by the change in track conditions that led to his crash during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Dane brought out the red flags early in Q3 when he hit the tyres hard after locking up on a damp track at Turn 1.
Magnussen said that he was caught out by the conditions, as Turn 1 was the wettest part of the track at that time.
“It was much wetter in the first corner than the last corner,” he said. “I came out of the last corner and there was full grip.
“It went from full grip to no grip and basically I didn’t slow down. I braked where you normally brake but that wasn’t at all where you had to brake this time.
“I was extremely surprised when I hit the brakes and there was no grip. I couldn’t stop.”
The F1 rookie added that he knew the conditions were presenting an opportunity where it was worth taking a risk to get a good result.
“Sometimes you have to go for it,” he said. “It was a chance you have to take and hope that other people make mistakes.
“But it didn’t work out so we’ve got to hope for the best in the race. Fingers crossed the car is OK.
“I didn’t get a great look at the car, but it felt like there was a lot of damage.”
As for Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, who got knocked out in the late stages of Q1, the 2007 world champion said that this error shouldn’t happen. Autosport.com has the details.
Kimi Raikkonen says that his Ferrari Formula 1 team should not be making the kind of strategic error that led to him being eliminated in Q1 at the Hungaroring.
The 2007 world champion missed the cut in the first segment of qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix when Ferrari decided to keep him in the pits in the closing stages, and his time was beaten by the Marussia of Ferrari protege Jules Bianchi.
Raikkonen admitted that he was unsure if it was the right decision to not run as he felt happier on the softer tyre compound, but the team believed it had made the right call.
“The plan was to do another run but we never did,” the Finn told reporters after the session.
“The team told me, ‘we are fine, we don’t need to go out’.
“I questioned it a few times but they said there was no need, and obviously we can see the end result.
“As a team in Formula 1, as Ferrari, we shouldn’t make these kind of things. We are not in our first year, any of us.
“It’s not good for me, not good for the team, but mistakes have been made.
“People make mistakes, but obviously there are things we need to change to make it better.”
Raikkonen and team-mate Fernando Alonso were knocked out in the first part of qualifying for the British Grand Prix, with the Spaniard saying afterwards the Scuderia needed to “speed up” its decisions.
When asked if he could have simply overruled the team and demanded to go out, Raikkonen said that he placed his faith in Ferrari to make the right calls.
“I’ve got trust in the team and I believe in the people,” he added. “I questioned it but I cannot go against advice.
“We are here as a team, we make decisions as a team and today the outcome was this.
“I don’t really see the point in shouting around. I’ve done mistakes in the past and will make more in the future.”
Bianchi, who took Raikkonen’s place at the recent Silverstone test while the Finn recovered from his crash in the British GP, said that Ferrari might have been caught out by his below-par first run in Q1.
“Maybe what they got wrong is that I made a big mistake in the first run,” said the Frenchman.
“They didn’t know that and they saw my laptime was pretty high, so they didn’t expect me to gain a second.
“That was maybe the trickiest thing for them to manage. But it’s good for me to be in Q2.”
Kevin Magnussen is set to start from the pitlane for the Hungarian Grand Prix because he will need a new chassis and gearbox following his qualifying accident.
The Dane slid off the track during a brief downpour at Turn 1 during the first runs of Q3, and crashed heavily in to the tyre barriers.
Having got the car back to its garage to analyse the damage, McLaren suspects that he will need a replacement chassis for the race – which means he will not be able to take up his provisional tenth place on the grid.
McLaren racing director Eric Boullier said: “I think the chassis and gearbox have to be changed.
“We are just waiting for final clearance from the team, but this is what we expect. This means starting from the pitlane.”
Magnussen reckoned that he was simply unlucky to have faced such conditions at the first corner when the rest of the circuit had been pretty much dry.
“It was completely dry at the last corner on to the straight,” he said. “I braked a little bit early, maybe 20 metres, but still it was just wet.
“I locked up and it didn’t stop really. It was unfortunate.”
Source: Autosport.com
The Brackley-based team has stated that this run of unreliability issues is just unacceptable. Autosport.com has the full story.
Mercedes says the run of reliability problems that have hit its Formula 1 drivers in recent races are unacceptable.
Lewis Hamilton will start from the pit lane for the Hungarian Grand Prix with a new chassis after his qualifying efforts were wrecked by a fire in the opening minutes of Q1.
And just a week after Hamilton was forced out of qualifying in Germany following a brake disc failure, Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff says changes have been made to get on top of the situation.
“We must solve the reliability problems,” said Wolff. “We have set up a group of quality management, which is already implemented, and this is not something we can accept.
“We will work very hard to get on top of these problems. We have had various issues, like the brake disc in Germany which wasn’t exactly the fault of the team.
“Today we have to find out what happened, because it’s not always clear where it comes from – sometimes it’s the chassis side, sometimes it’s the power unit side or a supplier.
“I’m extremely upset for Lewis because this is the fourth reliability issue he has had this year and the championship is very tight and it’s a shame for him.”
Wolff was also quick to rubbish talk that the fact Hamilton had experienced the majority of Mercedes’ reliability problems this year was a sign of favouritism towards Nico Rosberg.
“We want the two cars to fight it out on track and not have a championship influenced by reliability issues,” he said.
“We take it very seriously and we need to get on top of these issues. I can understand the annoyance of the fans.”
Despite the Hungaroring being so tight, which makes overtaking difficult, Wolff reckoned a podium could still be on for Hamilton.
“I wouldn’t exclude a podium, honestly,” he said. “He had huge speed today and if you get it right strategy-wise, different to others, an off-set strategy, I wouldn’t exclude it.”
But Hamilton was less convinced.
“This is not a track you can really overtake on so coming from last to the podium is a lot less likely,” he admitted.
“I’m quite far back, I don’t anticipate getting that far up this time.
“I think I will struggle to get into the top 10 tomorrow, or at least the top five.
“I can’t really believe it but that’s the way it is. These things are sent to try us and how I come out of it is what is important. I’m always up for the fight.
“I’ll probably leave here more than 20 points behind Nico but there are still more races to go.”