Hungrian Grand Prix – Qualifying

LH was fastest in practice yesterday, followed by his McLaren teammate

Air temperature 23°C, track 41°C, wind 10.3m/s, humidity 47%, pressure 987.3mBar

Qualifying session 1 (Q1):
GF first on track followed by new boy JA (Alguersuari) in the Red Bull Toro Rosso, replacing Bourdais
(Without SBo, I can now use just SB for Buemi )
Force India mechanics are working on AS’s car after a crash in the earlier practice session
GF 1:24.691
JA 1:23.951
SB 1:22.380
SB 1:21.813
(JA P2)
(FM P3)
(KR P2)
KR 1:21.602
(LH P2)
SV 1:21.590
KR 1:21.500
10mins = halfway through Q1; RK, NH & AS yet to set a time
AS is in his car with 6mins left of Q1
Some drivers had tried to set times on the soft (prime) tyres but everyone is on the super-soft (option) compound for a final push
5mins left of Q1
Looks like everyone from NR (P4) down is out for a final flying lap
AS back in the pits after an installation lap
(HK jumps from P16 to P7)
3mins left; everyone is on track now
2mins left; bottom 5 are GF, NP, TG, JA, AS
(LH P4)
SV 1:21.478
(FM P2)
JA runs off – stopped on the outside of a corner – yellow flags
NR 1:20.793
1min left
Chequered flag falls; bottom 5 are FA, GF, TG, JA, AS
(GF jumps to P11, relegating RK)
(FA from P18 to P6, pushing down NH)
(AS P18 on his one flying lap)
Back of the grid is P16=NH, 17=GF, 18=AS, 19=RK, 20=JA

Qualifying session 2 (Q2):
1min gone; no-one on track
KR leaves the garage, followed by JT
KR 1:24.552
MW 1:21.067
SV 1:20.964
(LH P3)
NR 1:20.895
KR runs wide onto the grass; recovers
FA 1:20.885
FA 1:20.826
5mins left; bottom 5 are NP, SB, TG, KR, JT – KR is almost 2sec slower than TG!
(JT P6, relegating HK)
3mins left
(HK squeaks in to P10)
(KR P6)
2mins left; bottom 5 are HK, FM, NP, SB, TG
SV 1:20.604
(FM P8)
MW 1:20.358
(TG only up to P12)
(LH P2)
(JB P6)
(HK P5)
Chequered flag; bottom 5 are RB, KN, TG, NP
FM has stuffed the Ferrari in the tyre wall – yellow flags
(KN P3)
Medical car attending – FM is still in the car but seems to be moving
Middle of the grid: P11=SB, 12=JT, 13=RB, 14=TG, 15=NP

FM is still in the car; overhead view shows he went straight off at Turn 4, rubber shows the brakes were locked but the Ferrari is fairly buried in the tyre wall
Ambulance attending, but this may just be precautionary

Race control: Q3 will be delayed
Car is being lifted away on a crane, so FM must be out of the car
Replay shows FM’s accident started before he entered Turn 4 and the car just headed straight for the tyre wall
Speculation is that something hit FM’s helmet during the accident but that could be just because last week’s death of Henry Surtees (John Surtees’ son) when he was hit by a wheel in a Formula Two race [BBC report]

BBC report a piece of rear suspension was missing from RB’s Brawn when he came into the pits at the end of Q2

Race control say Q3 will start at 15:10 local time, so in ~5mins

Slow-motion of FM’s accident show something on the track hitting either FM or the car just before Turn 4
A replay of RB’s car losing a piece of bodywork is at a different corner, so I don’t think the two incidents are related

Qualifying session 3 (Q3):
Battling for the top 10 grid spots are LH, HK, FM, KR, FA, MW, SV, NR, KN & JB … except FM obviously won’t be taking part, so he’ll be in P10
NR is first on track
NR 1:23.620
FA 1:22.717
(KR P2)
NR 1:22.386
5mins left of Q3; JB still in the garage
LH 1:22.286
MW 1:22.021
JB leaves the pits with time for just one flying lap
3mins left; order is MW, LH, FA, SV, NR, HK, KR, KN, JB, FM
BBC report RB has been to the medical centre to see FM, who was conscious; they believe it was RB’s suspension piece that hit him
1min left
NR 1:21.890
BBC report their timing info has gone off … and there goes mine
Chequered flag is out
No on-screen timing info either, so there’s no way to know the positions 🙁
FA and JB compare lap times in parc ferme
There confusion even amongst the drivers, but it appears that FA is on pole
FIA official tells the drivers to wait because they’re still trying to work out who’s where!
The good news is TSN are staying with the FIA feed but the BBC commentary has finished, so now we can hear the drivers/officials and engine noise 🙂

It looks like FA is on pole
Aha! Official timing data is back!
P1=FA (1:21.569), P2=SV, 3=MW, 4=LH, 5=NR, 6=HK, 7=KR, 8=JB, 9=KN, 10=FM

So the outcome of an eventful qualifying session is the provisional grid: FA, SV, MW, LH, NR, HK, KR, JB, KN, FM; SB, JT, RB, TG, NP; NH, GF, AS, RK, JA.