Daily Update Formula1 News

Qualifying in Hungary saw Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen wrap up the first all-McLaren front row since Monza 2007, leaving Felipe Massa to take third for Ferrari and team mate Kimi Raikkonen a little breathless on the third row in sixth place.

Massa was the only man to trouble Hamilton throughout qualifying. The Englishman lapped in 1m 19.376s to dominate Q1, but was only third in Q2 where the Brazilian set the pace with 1m 19.068s.

Tyre choice proved crucial. Hamilton used the softer Bridgestone in Q2 and planned to run it in Q3, but Massa’s speed on the harder tyre in that second session prompted McLaren to switch to the prime tyre instead. On that, Hamilton proved dominant again with a lap of 1m 20.899s, which gave McLaren their eighth pole in Hungary, and him his 10th overall.

Kovalainen backed him strongly with 1m 21.140s, the difference in times most likely explained by fuel load. Massa was only fifth with seconds to go, but banged in a lap of 1m 21.191s at the end and is confident that Ferrari have the package to challenge McLaren on Sunday.

So who was between the two red cars? Robert Kubica gave all the visiting Poles something to cheer with fourth place for BMW Sauber in 1m 21.281s, while Timo Glock enjoyed his best-ever qualifying to take fifth for Toyota with 1m 21.326s. Raikkonen was thus left on the inside of row three on 1m 21.516s.

Both Renaults made it through to Q3, with Fernando Alonso seventh on 1m 21.698s and Nelson Piquet 10th on 1m 22.371s. Between them were Mark Webber in eighth for Red Bull on 1m 21.732s, and Jarno Trulli in the other Toyota on 1m 21.767s.

Sebastian Vettel recovered superbly from his lack of track time on Friday to claim 11th for Toro Rosso with 1m 20.144s. Jenson Button was 12th after a strong effort for Honda yielded 1m 20.332s, then came Red Bull’s David Coulthard (1m 20.502s), Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Bourdais (1m 20.963s) and Nico Rosberg, who had problems and did not actually run after making it through from Q1.

Button’s late burst speed in Q1 pushed BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld into oblivion, and the German was clearly inferring with a waved hand that he felt he had been impeded through the final corner by a car ahead of him. He had to be content with 1m 21.045s for only 16th place, leaving him a mountain to climb in Sunday’s race.

Williams’ Kazuki Nakajima could not improve on 1m 21.085s for 17th ahead of Honda’s Rubens Barrichello on 1m 21.332s, Force India’s Giancarlo Fisichella on 1m 21.670s and team mate Adrian Sutil, the only man not to dip below 1m 22s, on 1m 22.113s.
Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps
1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.376 1:19.473 1:20.899 12
2. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.945 1:19.480 1:21.140 16
3. Massa Ferrari 1:19.578 1:19.068 1:21.191 16
4. Kubica BMW Sauber 1:20.053 1:19.776 1:21.281 19
5. Glock Toyota 1:19.980 1:19.246 1:21.326 24
6. Raikkonen Ferrari 1:20.006 1:19.546 1:21.516 19
7. Alonso Renault 1:20.229 1:19.816 1:21.698 15
8. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:20.073 1:20.046 1:21.732 18
9. Trulli Toyota 1:19.942 1:19.486 1:21.767 20
10. Piquet Renault 1:20.583 1:20.131 1:22.371 19
11. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:20.157 1:20.144 17
12. Button Honda 1:20.888 1:20.332 15
13. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:20.505 1:20.502 16
14. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:20.640 1:20.963 16
15. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:20.748 10
16. Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:21.045 7
17. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:21.085 9
18. Barrichello Honda 1:21.332 8
19. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 1:21.670 9
20. Sutil Force India-Ferrari 1:22.113 10

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After playing second fiddle to McLaren team mate Lewis Hamilton for much of 2008, Heikki Kovalainen has his best chance yet of a maiden Formula One win on Sunday, following his spectacular qualifying performance at Silverstone.
However, with changeable weather predicted, the grid for the British Grand Prix may yet prove academic. After three sessions of qualifying in which rain spots and heavy crosswinds played significant roles, this is how it was formed…
McLaren
Heikki Kovalainen, 1m 21.049s, P1
Lewis Hamilton, 1m 21.835, P4
McLaren had the pace to get both cars on to the front row, but first and fourth places still make them statistically the team that starts with the strongest chances. Kovalainen reported his MP4-23 to be all over the place on his first run in Q3 thanks to the crosswind, but put a sweet lap together on his second run to take the first pole of his F1 career. Hamilton went off the road at Priory on his first run, and admitted that he was more cautious through there on his second try. Some of the gap between them may be explained by respective fuel loads, but the truth is that the Finn has been very hooked up all weekend. Will this be his big breakthrough?
Red Bull
Mark Webber, 1m 21.554s, P2
David Coulthard, 1m 20.174s, P11
Everybody was surprised to see Webber plant his Red Bull RB4 second on the grid, even the Australian himself. This is almost certainly the car in the top four with the lightest fuel load, but it was still a good performance that bodes well for a strong race from this emergent team. Coulthard was disappointed with 11th, and blamed the engine oil leak that lost him valuable track time to finish setting up the car in the morning.
Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen, 1m 21.706s, P3
Felipe Massa, 1m 23.305s, P9
Raikkonen was much happier with his Ferrari than he was on Friday, but still felt that it was not as good as it had been in the previous week’s test due to changes in the track conditions. He is one driver for sure desperate to know the fuel loads of his immediate rivals. Massa looked good all through practice, but suffered a problem with the right rear wheel nut on his Ferrari during his final tyre change, and never made it out for his second run.
BMW Sauber
Nick Heidfeld, 1m 21.873s, P5
Robert Kubica, No time, P10
BMW Sauber were another team damned by ill fortune towards the end of Q3, when Kubica’s car suffered a mechanical problem at the rear which kept him in the pits when everyone else was doing their second runs. Heidfeld, however, was back to his old self with a strong run to fifth place, having run Kubica very close in Q2 when the F1.08s picked up a serious amount of pace.
Renault
Fernando Alonso, 1m 22.029s, P6
Nelson Piquet, 1m 22.491s, P7
Alonso said his sixth place was a satisfying result for Renault in the changing track conditions, and looks forward to a strong finish. Piquet was also pleased with his best qualifying performance in taking seventh, on his illustrious team mate’s tail. He was happy with his R28.
Toro Rosso
Sebastian Vettel, 1m 23.251, P8
Sebastien Bourdais, 1m 20.531s, P13
Vettel has looked good all weekend, and eighth on the grid showed that Toro Rosso are really getting to grips with their STR3. He was really happy with its balance and thus able to really lean on it in the fast stuff. Bourdais did a great job to leap to sixth place after the rain shower in Q1, and was relatively happy with the compromise set-up his crew arrived at on his car after struggling throughout practice. But he admitted that qualifying 13th was not satisfying.
Toyota
Timo Glock, 1m 20.274s, P12
Jarno Trulli, 1m 20.601s, P14
After Magny-Cours, Toyota came down to earth with a bump at Silverstone. Glock said he was mystified why things didn’t work out better than 12th place for him, while Trulli continued to struggle to get his TF108 decently balanced.
Williams
Kazuki Nakajima, 1m 21.112s, P15
Nico Rosberg, 1m 21.668s, P18
Williams were in trouble again on their home track. Nakajima got through to Q2 while struggling for grip, but Rosberg was a faller in Q1 as he blamed the way his FW30 jumped ‘around all over the place’ in the corners.
Honda
Rubens Barrichello, 1m 21.512s, P16
Jenson Button, 1m 21.631s, P17
Barrichello admitted honestly that 16th and 17th places were a reflection of Honda’s potential on such a quick track, and both he and Button were unfortunate that their final Q1 runs came just as the rain fell. Resultant lack of tyre temperature killed their slim chances of making it through to Q2.
Force India
Adrian Sutil, 1m 21.786s, P19
Giancarlo Fisichella, 1m 21.885s, P20
Sutil and Fisichella were encouraged by how close they got to the Hondas, but the former struggled with graining front tyres. Fisichella had a problem with his VJM01’s engine cover, and his chances of going quicker were frustrated when he spun in the complex on his final Q1 run.

David Tremayne
ref[formula1.com]

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Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Laps
1. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.957 1:19.597 1:21.049 15
2. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:20.982 1:19.710 1:21.554 16
3. Raikkonen Ferrari 1:20.370 1:19.971 1:21.706 18
4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:20.288 1:19.537 1:21.835 13
5. Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:21.022 1:19.802 1:21.873 16
6. Alonso Renault 1:20.998 1:19.992 1:22.029 15
7. Piquet Renault 1:20.818 1:20.115 1:22.491 19
8. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:20.318 1:20.109 1:23.251 16
9. Massa Ferrari 1:20.676 1:20.086 1:23.305 16
10. Kubica BMW Sauber 1:20.444 1:19.788 12
11. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 1:21.224 1:20.174 14
12. Glock Toyota 1:20.893 1:20.274 14
13. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:20.584 1:20.531 16
14. Trulli Toyota 1:21.145 1:20.601 13
15. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 1:21.407 1:21.112 14
16. Barrichello Honda 1:21.512 9
17. Button Honda 1:21.631 11
18. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 1:21.668 6
19. Sutil Force India-Ferrari 1:21.786 9
20. Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 1:21.885 8

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Heikki Kovalainen has said he has got no qualms about getting back in a Formula One car, ahead of his likely return to action in Turkey following his Spanish Grand Prix crash.
The Finn has resumed full training for the first time since his 145mph crash and, although he still needs to pass an FIA medical to be allowed to compete in next weekend's Turkish Grand Prix, he is raring to get back behind the wheel.
"I am feeling good, the stiffness in my neck has pretty much gone and I have been back training," Kovalainen said on Friday having just returned home for the first time.
"I left Spain on Thursday and went back to Finland, where I have spent some time working with the team doctor at our facility there on ensuring I am fit for the race. Initially during the week we were doing some light training before starting on my full programme just before the weekend. Lewis will also be here over the weekend doing his training before the race.

"The next stage for me is the fitness test at the track in Turkey on Thursday with the FIA. I can't wait to get back into the car and race with the team next weekend, but at the end of the day that decision is out of my hands, the FIA will make it based on safety grounds only."

When asked if he had any doubts about getting back in the cockpit, Kovalainen said: "None whatsoever, I want to get back racing as soon as possible, since the accident at Barcelona it has been my only focus.

"Everyone involved in the sport, the FIA in particular, is always working on improving safety for the drivers, but Formula One is a risky business. You know that as a driver, but you don't think about it. If you worry about things like that, you lose focus; I guess it is just not in my psyche."
McLaren have admitted they have a plan in place for Istanbul in case Kovalainen is not allowed to race, although they are optimistic about his progress since last weekend.
The tam's F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh said: "Our team doctor has kept an eye on him during the week both in Spain and then at the Kuortane Sports Institute in Finland and there has been no development of any secondary symptoms so everything is positive on that front.
"Before travelling to Istanbul, we will organise a full neurological examination for Heikki with our specialists in Finland as a matter of course. He will then have the mandatory FIA evaluation on Thursday at the circuit, which is a routine neuro and physiological test completed after any concussion.
"Of course we have a plan in place should the FIA request Heikki sits this race out, as at all Grands Prix, but we have a race driver who is naturally impatient to get back out there and this is the aim of the team. That said, we will fully respect the decision of the medical professionals, they are the specialists."
Kovalainen's damaged car from Spain has been quarantined at the McLaren factory pending a full forensic investigation into the causes of the accident.
The team have prepared their spare monocoque into a new race car for Kovalainen for Turkey.
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A lot incident in qualified GP sepang, The FIA gift punish for Mclaren cause zigzag when Fernando Alonso and Nick Heidfeld for create best time in qualified, Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen give punish the pole back five grid.

There is complent from Heidfeld and Alonso to steward it's be the start of punist. Heidfeld and Alonso think duo McLaren make their change for create best time cause the duo run slow in track, Sunday (22/3/2008).
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