Ferrari’s difficult week got a little better yesterday in practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix but it was Red Bull who most enjoyed proceedings. As controversy continues to swirl about the Italian team’s victory at the German GP last week, Fernando Alonso had to settle for second and team-mate Felipe Massa fourth as Sebastian Vettel emphatically dominated practice here.
Sebastian Vettel claimed a stunning pole position for his home grand prix, fending off the resurgent Ferrari of Fernando Alonso by just two one-thousandths of a second. The front‑row pair were almost half a second clear of Alonso’s team-mate Felipe Massa in third but German joy for the Red Bull driver at the top of the time sheets will be tempered by the sight of Michael Schumacher failing to make it through to the final part of qualifying and the seven‑times world champion will start tomorrow’s race from 11th on the grid.
Sebastian Vettel had a storming second practice session today and as a result, William Hill have slashed the odds of Vettel being the fastest qualifier from 7/4 to 10/11. It really does seem to be all about Vettel, with every other driver except Mark Webber (2/1 from 7/2) having their odds lengthened. Alonso is now 4/1 having been 2/1 and the British pairing of Hamilton and Button have drifted quite substantially Hamilton 20/1 from 9/1 and Button 40/1 from 25/1.
The odds suggest that Vettel will romp to pole tomorrow, but our punters are still wary about his temperament and he is still friendless with regards to winning the race itself, said Hills spokesman Joe Crilly.
William Hill Odds:
Hungarian Grand Prix Fastest Qualifier: 10/11 Sebastian Vettel; 2/1 Mark Webber; 4/1 Fernando Alonso; 10/1 Felipe Massa; 20/1 Lewis Hamilton; 40/1 Robert Kubica; 40/1 Jenson Button; 100/1 Nico Rosberg; 150/1 Bar
Hungarian Grand Prix Race Winner: 6/4 Sebastian Vettel; 11/5 Fernando Alonso; 7/2 Mark Webber; 10/1 Lewis Hamilton; 10/1 Mark Webber16/1 Jenson Button; 33/1 Robert Kubica; 66/1 Nico Rosberg; 100/1 Michael Schumacher; 150/1 Bar
