Renault’s Fernando Alonso took his first pole position since 2006, though the qualifying session at the Hungaroring was temporary halted following a frightening incident involving Felipe Massa.
Sebastian Vettel and German Grand Prix winner Mark Webber will start second and third for Red Bull Racing, while championship leader Jenson Button could only manage eighth for Brawn GP.
Early pacesetter Lewis Hamilton lines up fourth on the grid in the much-improved McLaren. Even though the world champion missed out on the opportunity to qualify on the front row, his KERS system will give Lewis an advantage off the grid come race day. Perhaps he can score his first win? If that’s the case, it will be a rich reward after a difficult season so far.
Saturday’s qualifying session was filled with drama and confusion, not only of Massa’s crash into the tyre wall in Q2, but also the official timing system going down causing some drivers to be completely unaware of where they had qualified.
The Massa incident was the most concern and television replays reveal that the Ferrari driver was struck by debris on the approach to the high-speed Turn 4. The part in question looked to be a component coming adrift from the rear-end of Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn GP car…
At the time of writing this post, Felipe Massa has been taken to a nearby hospital in a ‘stable’ condition. Any updates on the state of his injuries will be posted in the comments below.
When Q3 eventually got underway, double world champion Fernando Alonso initially set the benchmark with the quickest time. Immediately Nico Rosberg in the flying Williams beat it.
But just as the timing screens went blank, the Spaniard fought back and reclaimed pole with a lap time of one minute, 21. 569 seconds, to claim his first top spot since China three years ago.
The Red Bull pair of Vettel and Webber came through to take second and third ahead of Hamilton’s McLaren, with Rosberg regulated down to fifth.
Last year’s winner Heikki Kovalainen managed to avoid being knocked out in Q1 and Q2 to take sixth place on the grid.
While championship leader Button only did one run in Q3 to line up eighth, in between Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari and Kazuki Nakajima’s Williams.
Barrichello’s suspension issues left him only P13 on the grid (his worst qualifying performance of the season), while Massa had made the Q3 cut before his accident, so is classified P10.
Sebastien Buemi has hinted that Toro Rosso will be making big strides with its new upgrades and he backed this up with a fine P11, ahead of the Toyotas. While the under-pressure Nelson Piquet Jr was only P15 for Renault.
It was another nightmare qualifying session for BMW Sauber with Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica both eliminated in Q1. The pair are sandwiched between the Force Indias of Giancarlo Fisichella and Adrian Sutil respectively.
As for Formula One rookie, Jaime Alguersuari, who will became the youngest man to compete in the Formula One World Championship, the Spaniard suffered an engine problem in Q1 that meant he was forced to pull over trackside. He will start his maiden Grand Prix from last. Not the ideal spot for a newcomer, but lets see how Jaime will do come the race.
Qualifying times from the Hungarian Grand Prix:
1. Alonso Renault 1:21.569
2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:21.607
3. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:21.741
4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.839
5. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:21.890
6. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:22.095
7. Raikkonen Ferrari 1:22.468
8. Button Brawn-Mercedes 1:22.511
9. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:22.835
10. Massa Ferrari 1:20.823
11. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:21.002
12. Trulli Toyota 1:21.082
13. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 1:21.222
14. Glock Toyota 1:21.242
15. Piquet Renault 1:21.389
16. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber 1:21.738
17. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 1:21.807
18. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:21.868
19. Kubica BMW-Sauber 1:21.901
20. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:22.359
Even though the double world champions is on pole position, the Spaniard rules out the possibility of taking his first win of the season. Read the Autosport.com story below:
Fernando Alonso says he is not thinking of victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix despite securing pole position on Saturday.
The Renault driver gave his team its first pole since the 2006 season in a session marked by Felipe Massa’s accident and by the confusion caused by the timing failing at the end of it.
But despite emerging on top, Alonso admitted Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber are favourites for tomorrow.
The Spaniard also hinted at having opted for a low-fuel run in Q3.
“This is a special circuit for me I had my first win here in 2003, so I will always be happy when I drive in Budapest and it will be interesting tomorrow,” said Alonso.
“We made a step forward and the car did improve in the last two races. We are more competitive, maybe not as quick as these two guys. We hope to score some good points tomorrow.
He added: “We will try (to win) but being honest and realistic, our target is to get some good points. After the last four races where we only scored points in the Nurburgring we need some points for the constructors’, and we know if we start very heavy we go around 8th/9th position.
“We are aggressive this time, we did what we wanted for pole, from now on we will push for the race. We need to go for it.”
The two-time champion said he has been encouraged by Renault’s progress in the last races, and he is optimistic of a strong second half of the season.
“It seems that in the last two or three races the new stuff we put in the car is working really well,” he said. “I am confident we found a good direction to go in terms of improving the car and this is the first good result of the championship so far.
“So hopefully the second half of the season will be more in this room, but hopefully we can fight for Q3 and be in top five a little bit more often.”
Sebastian Vettel says he is wary of the KERS-equipped cars at tomorrow’s Hungarian Grand Prix after qualifying on the front row on Saturday.
The Red Bull driver will start from second position behind Fernando Alonso, but will have the McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen in fourth and sixth.
Both cars are equipped with KERS, which has proved to be a big advantage at the starts, and it is likely to be even more tomorrow on a track where overtaking is virtually impossible.
“It was a pretty difficult start to the weekend but yesterday we were struggling with the set-up,” said Vettel. “Overnight we did a good step, so it should be good tomorrow but for sure the biggest challenge is the threat from cars behind with KERS.
“The KERS cars are somewhere there, it is a question of where they will pass, left or right, down into Turn One. We will see tomorrow.”
The Red Bull driver, however, said he was not too worried about starting from the dirty side of the track.
“We have seen the last couple of races that it was a not a disadvantage,” he added. “Rubens was able to nearly pass Mark but for sure, the advantage is the clear side but I don’t think it is massive around here.”
Story taken from Autosport.com
The latest update on Felipe Massa according to BBC Sport – read below for details:
Felipe Massa is unlikely to race in the Hungarian Grand Prix after being hurt in a high-speed accident during qualifying session two on Saturday.
The Ferrari driver applied his brakes but went head on into a tyre wall at Turn Four after a piece of debris on the track appeared to hit his helmet.
He was treated by medical teams before being airlifted to hospital, as is standard procedure in Formula 1.
Ferrari confirmed that Massa was “stable” following the incident.
In a further update on his progress, officials from the Italian team told BBC Sport that the Brazilian had suffered a cut above his eye but that it was a “superficial” injury.
The incident delayed final qualifying by 20 minutes.
The 28-year-old – winner of 11 grands prix in his career – went off the Hungaroring track at around 200kph, with reports suggesting the debris had fallen off the rear of compatriot Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn GP car.
Barrichello told BBC Sport that he believed a rear bar or rear spring had fallen off – “something broke” – after qualifying in 13th, but made no mention of Massa’s crash.
Brawn later confirmed that Barrichello’s car was missing a part, or parts of its rear suspension.
The incident comes less than a week after Henry Surtees, 18, was killed in a what was described as a “freak” accident during a Formula Two race at Brands Hatch.
The son of motorsport legend John Surtees was struck by a wheel which flew off a competitor’s car.
Despite starting last on the grid for his first-ever Formula one race, Alguersuari is pleased with his performance despite car problems in Q1. Read the story for more, as taken from Autosport.com:
Formula 1 rookie Jaime Alguersuari was content with his performance in qualifying in Hungary despite finishing at the bottom of the times.
The Spaniard made history on Saturday when he became the youngest driver to qualify for a grand prix, but his session came to an early end when he was hit by problems before his final run.
Despite that, the Toro Rosso driver was pleased to continue with his error-free weekend.
“Finishing qualifying with a failure is never good – I had a problem with the throttle control system – but we have to be content because I didn’t make any mistakes so far this weekend,” said Alguersuari.
“On my first two sets of tyres I did a good job. As for the race, I am really looking forward to it and I will be happy if I finish.”
Team-mate Sebastien Buemi confirmed the team has made significant progress thanks to the introduction of a big upgrade package, the Swiss qualifying in 11th.
“Finishing eleventh, one tenth off P10 shows we have made progress, a very big step forward since the last race,” Buemi said.
“It was a good qualifying for us, even if it is frustrating to finish eleventh because you want Q3. But it means we can run whatever fuel load we want for the race and I think we will be in good shape for tomorrow.”
Latest updates on Felipe Massa’s condition courtesy of Autosport.com.
Felipe Massa will need to undergo surgery after it emerged he has suffered bone damage of his skull and a brain concussion in his accident at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Brazilian will be forced to miss the race after he was hit in the head by debris believed to belong to Rubens Barrichello’s car.
Massa was airlifted to a Budapest hospital, where he remains in stable condition.
Ferrari said in a statement that Massa will need to undergo surgery and will have to stay under observation in intensive care for an undisclosed period of time.
“After the accident during the qualifying session of the Grand Prix of Hungary, Felipe Massa was airlifted to the AEK hospital in Budapest,” the statement said. “Felipe was conscious at the arrival at the hospital and his general conditions remain stable.
“Following a complete medical examination it emerged that he had suffered a cut on his forehead, a bone damage of his skull and a brain concussion. These conditions need to be operated on after which he will remain under observation in intensive care.”
The team said further information will be released later tonight.
Rubens Barrichello and Lewis Hamilton believe something needs to be done to improve safety in Formula 1 following Felipe Massa’s accident at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Ferrari driver Massa was hit in the head by a flying piece of debris and the Brazilian suffered a damaged skull as a result of the impact.
Although Massa survived the incident, it came less than a week after F2 racer Henry Surtees was killed when a flying wheel hit him during a race at Brands Hatch.
Barrichello feels the two accidents were not a coincidence and he insists something needs to be done about it.
“I honestly don’t believe in coincidence in life,” Barrichello said. “Things happen for a reason and I think this is the second message. Imola [1994] was a message. The cars were improved. Unfortunately we lost a boy, which is tremendously sad.
“It is not a coincidence that something happened right now. In the GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) we talked quite a lot about it yesterday – and something needs to be done. Yes. Absolutely.”
He added: “We need to sit down and have a look at it. I think the cars are a hell of a lot safer, really a lot safer. But there is no coincidence on this fact that something that needs to be looked at.”
World champion Hamilton agreed with Barrichello that drivers need to discuss the situation to get something done.
“During qualifying I saw the crash. It’s very scary, and I do hope he is okay,” said Hamilton. “It has to be a big shock for any driver to have that happen, and very unfortunate because rarely do you see it happen.
“On the positive side, with the GPDA and the FIA, they seem to have made a good step with safety. If you look at Heikki’s crash, he went under the barrier there in Barcelona, whereas here the barrier did quite a good job.
“I believe things happen for a reason, and for two incidents to happen in such a short period of time, we can’t ignore it.
“We’ve got to make sure we learn from it, and improve if we can.”
Massa’s team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, on the other hand, said the accident was just an unfortunate occurrence and he reckons there is little to do to avoid it.
“It is just an unlucky situation what happened today,” he said. “It could have happened two years ago, or it could happen five years ago.
“The cars have an open cockpit so there is always the chance that something can hit it. It is not the first time that someone has been hit and unfortunately sometimes drivers get very badly hurt or die. It is part of the risk in motor racing. For sure Felipe was very unlucky today and hopefully will be okay, but you cannot get rid of that issue.
“You would need to make a rule for a bullet proof window in front of you to get rid of that issue. It is just unfortunate that these things happen sometimes.”
From the 2009 season, the FIA is making public the weights of the cars, with their fuel load included, following Saturday’s qualifying session.
Below is the weight of each car following qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, sorted by qualifying position.
Pos Driver Team Weight (kg)
1. Alonso Renault 637.5
2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 655.0
3. Webber Red Bull-Renault 652.0
4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 650.5
5. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 654.0
6. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 655.5
7. Raikkonen Ferrari 651.5
8. Button Brawn-Mercedes 664.5
9. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 658.0
10. Massa Ferrari
11. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 671.5
12. Trulli Toyota 671.3
13. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 689.0
14. Glock Toyota 679.2
15. Piquet Renault 667.7
16. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber 658.0
17. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 680.5
18. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 683.5
19. Kubica BMW-Sauber 666.0
20. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 675.5
Felipe Massa has successfully undergone surgery for the injuries he suffered in his accident in qualifying in Hungary.
Ferrari said the driver will now remain under observation in the intensive care unit at the AEK hospital in Budapest, where the Brazilian was taken after being hit by a spring during Q2.
Massa had suffered a damaged skull and brain concussion, as well as a cut on his forehead.
The Italian team said a further update on his condition will be issued tomorrow morning.
Brawn confirmed the spring belonged to a damper from Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn car, weighing around 800 grams.
“We had a problem at the back, so we are still investigating and we haven’t had the piece back from the FIA yet so once we get it back we can understand what occurred and then draw some conclusions,” said team boss Ross Brawn.
“It is the first time we’ve had a problem with the car. The car has been really reliable and we are obviously looking all through the data to understand what caused the problem. It is hard to comment at the moment until we have studied everything.
“We put a new component on Jenson’s car in qualifying just to be safe, but we are still studying everything that went on to understand what happened.”
Source: Autosport.com
That’s great news to hear and I wish Felipe all the best.
It just goes to show how dangerous this sport really is, I wonder if a closed cabin would be safer or would that introduce its own more serious problems?
I had a terrible time while watching the qualifying as I saw the Surtees crash live on Eurosport, I could see the tyre coming onto the track and had that terrible feeling that it was going to hit Henry. It’s the kind of thing a motorsport enthusiast never wants to see happen, it’s difficult to be entertained by a race when you’re worrying for the life of a driver.
As it says on the back of every ticket, motor racing is dangerous and all the competitors are fully aware of the risks involved but to experience these kind of incidents in a relative safe period of the sport is heartbreaking.
Anyway, more on Massa’s condition and according to Autosport.com, the Brazilian has remained in a stable condition after a successful surgery last night.
Felipe Massa remains in a stable condition in the AEK hospital in Budapest this morning, as doctors and Ferrari were left encouraged that there had been no further complications overnight.
Massa underwent successful surgery yesterday afternoon as a result of the skull fracture and brain concussion he suffered in a crash at Turn 4 during qualifying at the Hungaroring after he was hit on the head by a spring from Rubens Barrichello’s car.
As is standard procedure for such operations, Massa was put into an induced coma and remained under observation in intensive care at the hospital.
A statement issued by Ferrari on Sunday morning said: “After undergoing an operation yesterday afternoon, Felipe Massa’s condition remains stable and there were no further complications through the night.
“He will be given another CT scan today, which will provide more precise information.”
Sources have told AUTOSPORT that the doctors at the hospital are ‘optimistic’ about Massa’s recovery, but cannot say anything for definite until the brain scans have been performed.
Until those tests have been completed, it is also too early to judge how long Massa’s recovery will take – or if he will be back in Formula 1 action this season.
Barrichello visited the AEK hospital in Budapest last night to find out news on his fellow Brazilian’s condition, while Massa’s father and other family members are flying out to Budapest to be with him, having not travelled to the race.
F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone also visited to the hospital for an update on how Massa was, and afterwards expressed his shock at the events.
“We thought we’d got through these problems,” said Ecclestone. “I’ve spoken to Sid Watkins [F1 safety expert] and he’s looking into it.”
In addition, Brawn GP team boss Ross Brawn has commented that safety is a number one priority but drastic action needs to be looked at following these incidents.
Ross Brawn thinks it vital that Formula 1 does something to ensure there is no repeat of the incidents suffered by Henry Surtees and Felipe Massa, but has warned against a knee-jerk reaction that could compromise safety further down the road.
Just one week after Surtees was killed after being struck by a wheel at Brands Hatch in a Formula 2 race, Massa suffered a fractured skull and concussion after he was hit on his helmet by a spring.
The two separate crashes have renewed calls for F1 to look again at improving cockpit safety, with suggestions that cages or canopies be fitted to minimise the chances of drivers being struck in the face.
However Brawn, from whose car the spring that hit Massa came off, believes that F1 should not move too hastily in changing things – and instead must conduct a detail examination into what will improve matters.
“We need to keep a perspective of it I guess,” said Brawn. “From what has been seen last weekend and this weekend, we need to have a proper study to see if there is a need to do something.
“You really are into the area of structures, windscreens and canopies, and anything is possible. We just need to digest what has happened, and understand it properly.”
Although canopies or a roof would help prevent drivers getting injured by flying debris, the fear of using them has been that it makes it more difficult for extraction following accidents – especially if the car has rolled over.
“I think it is time to look at the whole thing, and take a balanced approach,” Brawn said. “You can have covers, you can have canopies, but you have got to get at the drivers to extract him if there is a problem.
“So you don’t want a structure that collapses down on the driver, and there are a lot of secondary considerations. It is something we will look at I am sure.
“In the history of F1 it is a fairly rare occurrence, the [cockpit] sides are quite high now and we have the headrests around the drivers. So that is why we will have to take a balanced view.
“If there is a need to react then I am sure F1 will react very promptly, but it is making sure that we don’t do anything to make the situation worse on balance.”
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh believes that the Surtees and Massa crashes should act as a similar safety wake-up call to the events of Imola in 1994 – when Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger were killed.
“Inevitably we all become complacent if we’re not confronted with a serious accident,” he said. “Obviously ’94 was a massive wake-up call for all of us in Formula 1 at the time.
“That led to everyone, the FIA, teams, contributing to a lot of big steps forward in safety, and I think we have to go again. For everyone involved we’ve got to make sure we do everything we can.”
He added: “Motor racing is dangerous and racing drivers are incredibly brave, and that is something we should all remember. Every time a racing driver goes up the pitlane we become a bit nonchalant about it.
“Sometimes we give them a hard time if we don’t think they are pushing hard enough, but in fact they’re incredibly brave. In Formula 1 we’ve perhaps concentrated too much on politics. We’ve got to get back to the championship, the fight, the show and safety.”
Despite Massa’s injuries, Brawn did single out the advances made in helmet safety for praise – which may well have contributed to the Brazilian not suffering even more.
“Without knowing all the details, it sounds like the work done on helmets over the past few years has been essential,” he explained. “As you know, the helmets have improved quite a lot over the past few years, so the work that was done there is a great credit to the people who initiated that and pushed it through.”