FERRARI FILLS SECOND ROW, HAMILTON FIFTH

+ Click to Enlarge 'IT'S GOOD BE ON POLE': Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel grins for the fans after qualifying for the 2010 Hungarian GP while team mate Mark Webber (right), half a second slower and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso (left), 1.7sec off the pace in third, put a brave face on things. Below, Vettel lifts the inside front wheel of his Red Bull on his way to a fastest lap of 1min18.773. Photo: Reuters

July 31, 2010
By Alan Baldwin

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel has stormed to his fourth consecutive pole in a Red Bull sweep of the Hungarian GP front row with Mark Webber.

Vettel's seventh pole of 2010 was also Red Bull's 11th in 12 races and they looked utterly dominant at the twisty Hungaroring, a slow circuit where overtaking is difficult and grid position crucial.

Vettel's understatement as glaring as his supremacy when he said with a broad grin: "It's good to be on pole. We've been there a couple of times this year. I'm confident for tomorrow that we have a very good chance to win."

The gap between Vettel and Webber was a discouraging
0.419sec and the Australian could only congratulate his team mate, who bizarrely described the tricky circuit as "like a woman alongside you that doesn't behave well."

Webber looked deflated at the prospect of following his team mate around on Sunday, saying simply: "I wasn't quick enough today.

"It's going to be an interesting start and then after that we know with these regulations the race can be interesting in terms of trying to stay awake," he added.

"Let's see how the start goes and then after that I'll try and stay awake."

Ferrari filled the second row, with Fernando Alonso lining up alongside Felipe Massa, who qualified without incident after suffering life-threatening head injuries at the track a year ago.

Alonso, winner at the previous German GP in a cloud of controversy over Ferrari's use of banned "team orders", was a huge 1.2sec slower than Vettel and said third was the best he could have hoped for.

Like Webber, he was none too hopeful of beating Vettel and described the Red Bulls' performance so far as "dominant and untouchable".

He said: "We know this circuit is difficult to overtake on. The start, the first corner, first lap will be 60 or 70 percent of the final result."

McLaren's championship leader Lewis Hamilton qualified fifth while World champion team mate Jenson Button, second overall and 14 points behind Hamilton, qualified a disappointing 11th.

Hamilton said: "Your target is always pole, but the Red Bulls are impossible to beat, they're 1.7sec ahead. Jenson and I look at the onboard footage and we just laugh. I don't know what Red Bull is doing but it's incredible."

Renault's Russian rookie Vitaly Petrov outqualified team mate Robert Kubica for the first time in 2010, the two lining up seventh and eighth.

FIVE-PLACE PENALTY

Seven-times World champion Michael Schumacher failed to make the top 10 for the fourth time in the past five races for Mercedes while team mate Nico Rosberg will start sixth.

Spain's Pedro de la Rosa, who had his career best result in Hungary when he finished second to Button in 2006, will line up ninth with German Nico Hulkenberg 10th for Williams.

Kamui Kobayashi, meanwhile, was handed a five-place penalty for failing to stop to have his car weighed after the first qualifying session.

Kobayashi, who has scored all his Swiss-based team's 15 points so far this season, had qualified 18th in the 24-strong field but will now start 23rd at a circuit where overtaking is notoriously difficult. - Reuters

Starting grid for the Hungarian GP at the Hungaroring on Sunday
1 Sebastian Vettel (Germany) RedBull
2 Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull
3 Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari
4 Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari
5 Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren
6 Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes
7 Vitaly Petrov (Russia) Renault
8 Robert Kubica (Poland) Renault
9 Pedro de la Rosa (Spain) Sauber
10 Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) Williams
11 Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren
12 Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Williams
13 Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India
14 Michael Schumacher (Germany) Mercedes
15 Sebastien Buemi (Switzerland) Toro Rosso
16 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) Force India
17 Jaime Alguersuari (Spain) Toro Rosso
18 Timo Glock (Germany) Virgin
19 Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) Lotus
20 Jarno Trulli (Italy) Lotus
21 Lucas Di Grassi (Brazil) Virgin
22 Bruno Senna (Brazil) Hispania
23 Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) Sauber
24 Sakon Yamamoto (Japan) Hispania

Hungarian GP Qualifying result at the Hungaroring on Saturday
1 Sebastian Vettel (Germany) RedBull 1min18.773
2 Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull 1min19.184
3 Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari 1min19.987
4 Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 1min20.331
5 Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren 1min20.499
6 Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes 1min21.082
7 Vitaly Petrov (Russia) Renault 1min21.229
8 Robert Kubica (Poland) Renault 1min21.328
9 Pedro de la Rosa (Spain) Sauber 1min21.411
10 Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) Williams 1min21.710

Out after second qualifying session
11 Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren 1min21.292
12 Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Williams 1min21.331
13 Adrian Sutil (Germany) Force India-Mercedes 1min21.517
14 Michael Schumacher (Germany) Mercedes 1min21.630
15 Sebastien Buemi (Switzerland) Toro Rosso 1min21.897
16 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) Force India 1min21.927
17 Jaime Alguersuari (Spain) Toro Rosso 1min21.998

Out after first qualifying session
18 Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) Sauber 1min22.222
19 Timo Glock (Germany) Virgin 1min24.050
20 Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) Lotus 1min24.120
21 Jarno Trulli (Italy) Lotus 1min24.199
22 Lucas Di Grassi (Brazil) Virgin 1min25.118
23 Bruno Senna (Brazil) Hispania 1min26.391
24 Sakon Yamamoto (Japan) Hispania 1min26.453