 |
|
|
|
Cautious Vettel tops Hungary practice
Sebastian Vettel cut an uncertain figure on Friday after dominating both free practice sessions for his Red Bull team ahead of Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.
The 23-year-old German, whose impetuosity and inconsistent form has undermined Red Bull's bid for supremacy this season, topped the times all day, but refused to be drawn into confirming he is the man to beat this weekend.
Having seen the Red Bull outfit take 10 poles out of the 11 available so far this year, but then translate that speed and positional advantage into just five wins, he seemed to have decided that a cautious approach was the wise one.
Asked if he felt he and Red Bull had proved themselves to be a league apart, after topping the times by half a second ahead of two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Ferrari, Vettel was quick in response.
"No, I wouldn't say that," he said. "I think that in the morning we know what happened and the gaps were very big, but this afternoon was much more like it. I think the Ferraris will be very close -- and I think in the long run, if you look at the pace, it was very similar.
"So again it looks tight. I think the fight for pole will be between us and the rest of the field, especially the McLaren and Ferraris.
"It is not just one or two contenders -- to be on pole you need to beat more than one or two guys on the grid."
Vettel may have struggled to stamp his authority on the title race in the manner that many anticipated this season, but he continued to prove he has few peers for sheer speed with a best lap of 1min 20.087sec in the afternoon.
He wound up fastest by almost half a second ahead of his nearest rival Alonso, with Red Bull teammate Mark Webber, 33, back in third.
Alonso, unmoved by the reaction to his 'team orders' win in Germany last weekend, said: "We are happy, but we know Friday means very little. We all try different things. It's only Friday, but so far quite happy."
Alonso's Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa, 29, making his return to the track where he suffered serious head injuries a year ago, was fourth fastest and displayed no fear during a typically aggressive performance.
Vitaly Petrov was fifth for Renault, ahead of 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton of McLaren, Robert Kubica in the second Renault and rookie Nico Hulkenburg, 22; winner of the GP2 race here last year, but now racing for Williams.
Hamilton's McLaren teammate, defending drivers world champion Jenson Button was ninth and seven-time champion Michael Schumacher 10th for Mercedes, three places ahead of his teammate and compatriot Nico Rosberg.
Hamilton said: "We're massively down -- almost a second -- in the middle sector, and then a couple of tenths in the first and last sectors.
"We've got a lot of work to do and I guess this weekend's just about scoring as many points as we can and hoping that the guys ahead have troubles.
"We'll just try and edge out as much as we can. I think being in
the top five could be tricky this weekend."
