Sunday, May 20th, 2012
Sebastien Vettel lead the way again when it came to Formula One qualifying, by taking pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Vettel was the dominant force, but can he finally translate that into race winning strategy?
If Vettel could convert pole positions to wins, the championship would be his by now.
The Red Bulls remain the class of the field – with Vettel and Mark Webber sewing up places on the front row with the minimum of fuss. Vettel’s main problem in the last two races has been at the start, failing to capitalise on pole position at the British and German Grand Prixs and being swamped at the first corner.
Vettel has the advantage of the “clean” side of the track here which should give him extra grip at the start and with team mate Mark Webber alongside him, in theory he should be able to get to the first corner first. The greatest threat could come from Fernando Alonso, who will also have the advantage of the extra grip as he is tucked in behind Vettel.
Passing is always difficult on the Hungaroring circuit, so the pressure may be on at the start, so don’t be surprised to see some damage done to someone!
Of the other drivers, Lewis Hamilton is wringing as much as he can out of the McLaren, but it looks to lack the ultimate pace of the Red Bulls, while who could back Felipe Massa to win in the current circumstances?
If the Renault pair get a good start then they might have a chance of keeping other drivers stuck behind them in a train and Vitaly Petrov has shown some previously unseen pace to outqualify Robert Kubica.
While Vettel should win, Fernando Alonso is the value bet here. He has a great chance of beating Webber to the first corner with the way the grid works at Hungary, and he will be right there to pounce on any early mistakes. If he can get in front, he will be mighty difficult to pass.
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