Because on a Saturday- and on this Saturday in particular- the Red Bulls are on another planet. Sebastian Vettel claimed pole position for tomorrow’s Hungarian Grand Prix with ease, beating teammate Mark Webber by 4 tenths of a second. Third placed Fernando Alonso was more than a second adrift of the poleman, a margin equivalent to several hours in Formula One terms. Here’s how the walkover went down.

© LAT/Autosport

Qualifying 1 – Same Old, Same Old.

Why don’t we just create a template for the first part of qualifying? It could read ‘”all six of the new teams’ cars were eliminated, along with [insert name of unlucky 18th placed qualifier here]. The Red Bulls were quick, and it looks like one of them will be on pole.”

That would have worked perfectly today, as Hispania, Virgin and Lotus all dropped out, along with one unlucky extra. No surprise that the back row tomorrow will be an all-Hispania affair, with di Grassi and Trulli starting directly ahead of them. That left Timo Glock and Heikki Kovalainen battling to make their respective teams quickest of the newbies, and it was the German who prevailed, putting his Virgin Racing machine 19th on the grid. A hearty well done to Timo and the team.

And the dreaded 18th spot? Despite both Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button lingering in the drop zone late on the big guns escaped, and it was Kamui Kobayashi who dropped out in Q1. A bit of a surprise, as Kamui’s been putting in some impressive performances of late, but the Japanese hotshoe had his final run spoiled by a Hispania, and found himself benched early on. Out front the Red Bulls were very quick, and the smart money remained on them the second session loomed.

Qualifying 2 – Petrov Shines, Button’s In Decline.

On to Q2, traditionally the most competitive Saturday session. This one appeared seriously promising, with a few young drivers- particularly Petrov and Hulkenberg- having looked solid all weekend, and seemingly capable of gatecrashing the top 10 shootout. So who would miss out?

Petrov more than lived up to billing, producing a stellar lap to end the session 4th quickest and comfortably through to the top-10 shootout. Hulkenberg also made it through- just- in 10th place, whilst Pedro de la Rosa gave Sauber something to smile about after Kobayashi’s elimination by progressing with the 9th quickest time. Joining these three standouts were the usual suspects: both Red Bulls, both Ferraris, Rosberg, Kubica and Hamilton.

Michael Schumacher could only manage 14th, though his recent form makes this no great surprise. The bigger story was reigning champion Jenson Button’s elimination, the Brit being pipped by Hulkenberg by just 0.017s. Also eliminated were both Force Indias, both Toro Rossos and Rubens Barichello in the Williams.

Top-Ten Shootout – Red Bull Rule (Again).

And so Q3- also knows as the top-ten shootout, or the bit where a Red Bull gets pole- was upon us. Alonso put in the first quick lap, comfortably quicker than teammate Massa with Hamilton third fastest. Then Webber’s Red Bull appeared, and the paddock stood in silent expectation. Slower than the Ferrari in the first sector, Webber then demonstrated the Red Bull’s otherworldly brilliance by going half a second quicker through the middle sector, before adding another 3 tenths before the lap was over. But Vettel was out too, and going even quicker.

And did he ever make it count. After a little sawing at the wheel through the final corner Vettel planted his foot for the pit straight. The Red Bull streaked across the line, and Seb was 4 tenths quicker than his teammate- and over a second clear of Alonso’s Ferrari. Mega stuff from the Red Bulls.

As the front runners wound up for a second attempts de la Rosa, Petrov and Kubica were attempting their sole runs. Robert locked up badly in to turn 2, ruining his lap, leaving Petrov with a chance to outqualify his teammate for the first time this season. Vitaly too made a hash of his lap, but both got a second chance. It was the Russian’s time to shine, and after 11 straight defeats to Kubica he finally bested the Pole, sealing 7th on the grid. Bobby K had to be content with 8th. Meanwhile de la Rosa secured 9th, with Hulkenberg completing the top 10.

But there were still matters to be sorted at the front. Alonso was now out, trying in vein to get near the Red Bulls. No chance, though he would not be knocked from his 3rd place. Best of the rest will have to do. Behind him Massa went 4th- could he make another stellar start and get by his teammate?

Finally, Webber attempted to usurp his teammate. But his lap was scruffy, and the session ended in anti-climax- Webber second, Vettel secure on pole. The German attempted an even better lap, but couldn’t quite do it, though his second best attempt was still better than anything his teammate could manage.

So it’s the 11th Red Bull pole in 12 qualifying sessions, and today their quickest car was over a second clear of the quickest opposition machine. When Christian Horner takes a minute this evening he’ll once again wonder why his team isn’t romping off with both titles, and will be praying that his drivers can bring their cars home for a one-two tomorrow. On the evidence of today’s qualifying session it should be a breeze.

© LAT/Autosport

That’s not to say that a procession is likely on Sunday, the track does encourage overtaking, especially the bravest of drivers – just look back at some of the epic races in 1986 and 1990 (courtesy of the BBC) here.

To ensure you know your way around the circuit, here’s Badger’s guide to a lap of the Hungaroring.  No pointless gear numbers or corner speed stats, just plain English guide to the corners and when to get the power down.  Can you guess who kindly provided the voiceover for our Hungarian guide?

Enjoy

“Who’s feeling hungry for victory” – indeed, who do you think will do the business on Sunday?!

The early signs are that Red Bull have every intention of doing just that, with Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber dominating FP1. FP2 again saw Vettel on top, with Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari splitting the German and his teammate, but the consensus is that this one is already Red Bull’s to lose.

Perceived wisdom is that this is the view Red Bull's rivals will get of their cars in Hungary. © Sutton/Autosport.

But before all that, fancy some pre-practice news? Well, as you’ve probably deduced by now, Sakon Yamamoto continues in the Hispania car this weekend, meaning Karun Chandhok sits out a second consecutive race. Well done to Sakon for continuing to prove that whilst money can’t buy you love it can secure you a seat with a struggling F1 team.

Sticking with the driver juggling Spanish squad, Bernie Ecclestone has suggested this week that ‘at least two teams’ won’t last beyond 2010, and Hispania are undoubtedly one of them. Would anyone miss them?  Bernie reckons not, saying that Lotus aside the new teams have been a nuisance. Let us know your thoughts on that one.

Sakon's giving the thumbs up, but is it really all okay at Hispania? © Sutton/Autosport

And what about Red Bull’s ‘movable front wing’? Rival team bosses have been questioning the legality of the device, but having passed FIA scrutineering it would seem it’s as legal as a cleverly coded team order. Team boss Christian Horner isn’t concerned: “At the end of the day we are very happy that the car complies with the regulations and the tests that the FIA have carried out. I think the technical team should take it is a compliment when others are questioning the car’s legality.”

That same technical team should also be proud of what their car achieved on the track today. FP1 belonged solely to Red Bull, with Sebastian Vettel leapfrogging teammate Mark Webber at the midway point in the session and staying at the top until the chequered flag fell. The gap between the two was just over a tenth of a second. Third quickest was Robert Kubica, the Renault once again looking potent on a twisty circuit, but the Pole ended the session a full second adrift of the Red Bull drivers. Ominous pace from the energy drink lads.

Next up were a clutch of drivers from whom this a is a happy hunting ground: 2006 Hungaroring winner Jenson Button was 4th; Rubens Barichello, who won here in 2002 was 5th; Pedro de la Rosa- whose only F1 podium to date was here in 2006- was 6th and Fernando Alonso, whose maiden F1 win was in Hungary seven years ago ended the morning 7th. This circuit may not be the most exciting on the calendar, but it’s definitely a significant one to several drivers.

Meanwhile 2009 winner Lewis Hamilton struggled in FP1, only managing 18th fastest, whilst Felipe Massa, returning to the scene of his horrific accident last year, posted the 12th fastest time.

On to FP2, where the fastest Friday times are traditionally set. Following his pace in the morning session there were no surprises when Sebastian Vettel once again topped the leaderboard, lapping the Hungaroring 1.20.087s. He’ll be dipping in to the 1.19s tomorrow, and you’d have to make him favourite for pole.

But there were also signs that the Red Bull boys won’t have it all their own way this weekend, with Ferrari once again showing some decent pace. Fernando Alonso split Vettel and Webber in FP2, though frustratingly for Fernando it’s unlikely that Sebastian will move over for him, even if he does prove faster come the race. Everybody’s favourite supporting cast member Felipe Massa ended the session 4th.

That’s enough cynicism- time for a good news story. 5th place went to under-pressure Renault driver Vitaly Petrrov, who enjoyed one of his most impressive sessions of the season. Vitaly’s being cheered on by a large Russian contingent of fans, and a strong performance on Sunday would do his hopes of driving a yellow car in 2011 wonders. He was followed by Lewis Hamilton, teammate Robert Kubica and Nico Hulkenberg’s Williams, with Button and Schumacher completing the top 10.

Verdict? You don’t need a degree in Formula One analysis to work out that Red Bull look very strong (though it does help), and despite Ferrari’s good showing in FP2 it’d be something of a shock to see anyone but Webber or Vettel atop the podium come Sunday afternoon. Renault look capable of a great weekend, and we’d fancy Kubica to beat at least one McLaren in qualifying if all goes to plan for him. Nico Hulkenberg may be a good bet for a top-10 grid slot, whilst Mercedes look vulnerable to another embarassing elimination in the second round of qualifying. But, as Germany proved- to Felipe Massa in particular- you should never bank on anything, no matter how confident you are of it or how much you believe yourself deserving of it. Crazy things can often become the norm in Formula One.

© Sutton/Autosport

A thoughtful shot credit: LAT/Autosport

Robert Kubica. One of the most difficult races to pick so far this year. Alonso certainly isn’t worthy of it, Massa disqualified himself by moving over, Vettel went backwards from the start, Hamilton and Button weren’t particularly stellar and Webber carried a problem throughout much of the race.

We suppose, by default, it has to go to Kubica. Again the best of the rest, the general feeling around the paddock is that he’s getting more out of the car than there is to be given. However, it’s somewhat difficult to tell when he’s thoroughly outclassing his team mate at every turn.

He really deserves to be put in a championship winning car, just to have a shot at it. Sadly for him, the McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull drives look to be locked up for next season, if not beyond. The next option, Mercedes, appear to have their driver line up settled for next year barring another Schumacher retirement, which isn’t something Kubica was or should be willing to hang around for.

His best option, Ferrari, went for a man they knew would play second fiddle to Alonso, not something we can see Kubica doing. “Here’s a potentially championship winning car, Robert, but do us a favour and don’t actually win in it, will you? Just get out of the way when His Magnificence Sir Fernando Alonso moans a bit.” No, we can’t see it happening either.

Therefore, we at Badger think he’s done exactly the right thing in committing to Renault and we’d be very surprised if he didn’t have a clause or two in his contract authorising his release should a ‘big’ team come in for him.

Sadly, and it’s very much a reflection of the race we endured at the weekend, there’s not that much more to say.

Part 3 finds us at the wrong end of the grid with the new teams and Force India.

The image that defined a season? credit: Sutton Images/Autosport

Force India

• Qualifying: Sutil (19^th – including a five place grid penalty) Liuzzi (21^st)
• Race: Liuzzi (16^th) Sutil (17^th)

This weekend was not what you’d call ideal. In fact, it was probably one of the worst race weekends Force India have ever had to endue. Just to give you a picture of their strife, here’s a brief breakdown of their problems.

Sutil was forced to sit out practice 3 on Saturday morning due to problems with his drivetrain, which then led to a gearbox change. This meant that even before qualifying he knew he was going to be docked five places. Then, during qualifying, Liuzzi managed to smash up his car fairly comprehensively, so qualified 21^st. Sadly, it was only going to get worse (and considerably more embarrassing).

Come the race, the two team mates touched into the first corner, meaning Sutil didn’t make up any places and Liuzzi thought he’d damaged his front wing. They both then headed to the pits – Sutil for a change of tyres to get his stop out of the way and Liuzzi, unsurprisingly, for a new front wing.

Cue a mix up in the pits and one of Liuzzi’s super soft tyres was fitted to Sutils car. Cue another round of pitstops to correct the error and a referral to the stewards.

Carnage.

Badger’s best: Liuzzi

Virgin

• Qualifying: Glock (23^rd) di Grassi (24^th)
• Race: Glock (18^th) di Grassi (ret)

Another tale of woe for the Virgin team.

Glock managed to accrue a ten-place grid penalty in qualifying for changing the gear ratios. Really guys, how did you manage that? In the search for last place, he was only saved by his team mate not entering a lap in qualifying at all due to more gearbox problems.

The race was slightly more positive for young Lucas, making up four places at the start and generally being quite quick (relatively, anyway), until his suspension went. Cue yet another retirement.

Glock managed to get himself stuck behind Senna’s HRT until the pit stops and from then on maintained a steady if unspectacular pace. He made a very reasonable point after the race, saying he hopes the team “can find a way to get a smoother build-up over the weekend because it will make life a lot easier.” Never a truer word was spoken.

Badger’s best: Glock

HRT

• Qualifying: Senna (20^th) Yamamoto (22^nd)
• Race: Senna (19^th) Yamamoto (ret)

It was decided this weekend that everyone’s favourite Indian driver (sorry Narain Karthikeyan…) should take a break, to allow Yamamoto to stay and Senna to return. They’re just going crazy at HRT, aren’t they?

Not a terribly exciting weekend. Bruno thought he did well in qualifying, but presumably would have still only beaten his team mate in normal conditions. He got a slow puncture during the race, but managed to finish. Yamamoto had problems with his gearbox and retired reasonably early on.

While they keep changing their drivers, it’s going to be hard to compare their respective pace. When we’ll start to take a proper interest is if/when Klien gets put in the car.

Badger’s best: Senna

Lotus

• Qualifying: Trulli (17^th) Kovalainen (18^th)
• Race: Kovalainen (ret) Trulli (ret)

A mixed weekend for the Lotus team -  a good performance by Trulli in qualifying (nearly a second faster than Kovalainen) was followed by another gearbox failure early in the race and another retirement.

Kovalainen didn’t really have much pace throughout the weekend, with his main contribution being thwacking de la Rosa as he was being lapped.

All that said, Lotus are still the quickest of the new teams by quite a margin.

Badger’s best: Trulli

Badger’s series of team and driver analysis: The Top Dogs, the Chasing Dogs and the Sleeping Dogs…

The second part of this week’s Hot Rod or Hot Dog sees us taking a look at the midfield runners from Germany.

Still the best of friends? credit: LAT/Autosport

Mercedes

• Qualifying: Rosberg (9^th) Schumacher (11^th)
• Race: Rosberg (8^th) Schumacher (9^th)

A team now going backwards at quite a lick, it seems clear Mercedes have begun to focus on next year’s car to the detriment of this year’s model. From talking of the “big four” teams at the beginning of the year, we’re now down to the “big three”, with Mercedes not even certain of having the fourth quickest car on the grid any more.

At the home race for both Schumacher and Rosberg, both drivers were fairly evenly matched again, but it’s the younger of the two who continues to get more out of the car. What was Schumacher’s rustiness has now developed into his lack of testing time, rather than perhaps the more obvious answer that Rosberg is quicker.

On a completely different note, Rosberg will be hoping that they get it right next year. If he was going to trundling around in the midfield, he may as well have stayed at Williams.

Badger’s best: Rosberg

Sauber

• Qualifying: Kobayashi (12^th) de la Rosa (14^th)
• Race: Kobayashi (11^th) de la Rosa (14^th)

A frustrating race for Kamui Kobayashi by his own account. However, we at Badger see this as a positive sign for both him and the team. Frustration implies a hope of better things; something in very short supply earlier in the season.

Both drivers complained about the tyres after the race, remarking on the lack of grip offered when the car was fully fueled. However, both then had quite separate moans. Kamui was left to bemoan the car’s lack of top speed while fighting with Schumacher and Petrov, while Pedro was looking good for a very racy end to the Grand Prix after coming in for soft tyres close to the end. However, it all fell apart a bit when he was lapping Heikki Kovalainen, who closed the door on him while being lapped, leaving Pedro to come into the pits for a change of front wing with the knowledge his afternoon was thoroughly wrecked.

Overall, Kobayashi was quicker again, as expected. He’s cementing his place for next season (if sponsorship money hadn’t already done that) and putting Pedro under pressure. Just how cheap can he be?

Badger’s best: Kobayashi

Williams

• Qualifying: Barrichello (8^th) Hulkenberg (10^th)
• Race: Barrichello (12^th) Hulkenberg (13^th)

Another team who’ve made a large leap forward in recent races, but who slipped into bad old habits in Germany. It’s all very well starting in the top 10, but if you can’t stay there it rather defeats the point of being there in the first place.

Let’s start with the good. Two cars in the top ten is a result, if not a massive result in fact. Even Hulkenberg got himself in there.

Now, the not so good. Both drivers’ races were spoiled by their starts and, having lost track position, the car was quick enough to keep up but not to pass. That said, you’d have to have been driving a rocket ship to pass at Hockenheim, so we at Badger wouldn’t feel too sorry for yourselves, chaps. On another note, Hulkenberg described the race as “uneventful”. You’re telling us, Nico.

Badger’s best: Barrichello

Toro Rosso

• Qualifying: Alguersuari (15^th) Buemi (16^th)
• Race: Alguersuari (15^th) Buemi (ret.)

Quite an interesting race for the Toro Rosso team, all things considered.

Having seen some of the bigger teams get involved with scraps between the drivers, Alguersuari and Buemi obviously wanted some of the action. It’s probably best we let the drivers tell it in their own words:

JA: “I was on the inside going into Turn 6 and I braked well leaving enough space, but there seemed to be some problems in front of me, as the cars ahead all slowed much more than is normal. I braked again, but it was not enough and I drove into him [Buemi]. Naturally, I am sorry for that.”

SB: “I made a really good start and was able to pass three or four cars and then when we came to the hairpin, I was braking in the middle of the corner and my team-mate came from a long way back and ended up driving onto the top of my car.”

As you can see, a slight difference of interpretation. What they really needed to do was both go out and have some fisticuffs – that would have made it a lot more interesting. They’re both in helmets after all, so we at Badger think it would have been fine. A tip for next time, lads.

After all of that nonsense, Jaime trailed round to finish fifteenth. Needless to say he’s now “looking forward” to Hungary and doubtless having someone taste his food.

Badger’s best: Alguersuari

Badger’s series of team and driver analysis: The Top Dogs, the Chasing Dogs and the Sleeping Dogs.  First of all, here’s the Top Dogs after Germany

So, Hockenheim – to be honest, the racing wasn’t that interesting and your correspondent actually dozed off at one point (don’t worry, the wonders of modern technology allowed for rewinding). However, thankfully for this article and the wider F1 press, Ferrari managed to generate reams of copy by trying to play God yet again. When will they learn?

A picture is worth a thousand words... credit: Autosport/Sutton Images

Ferrari

• Qualifying: Alonso (2^nd) Massa (3^rd)
• Race: Alonso (1^st) Massa (2^nd)

Okay. Deep breath. The story of the race up to that incident is quickly told. Both Massa and Alonso beat Vettel off the line to take first and second respectively. They then trundled round until their pit stops, pitted and returned to the same positions.

Then on lap 49 Massa deliberately slowed to allow Alonso through after an instruction from the pit wall and sparked the incident that’s got F1 in the papers for all the wrong reasons.

The story’s genesis can really be traced back to Felipe Massa’s signing of a new two-year contract earlier this year. “That’s a bit odd” we thought, “he’s been no great shakes this season.” Now the reasons for that have become abundantly clear. Massa is a number two driver to Alonso, presumably only kept on to please the moody Spaniard who, after his season at McLaren, clearly doesn’t relish having a competitive team mate. Quick enough to be World Champion again, certainly, but willing to race for it? Not a chance.

The issue itself is different to Ferrari’s Austrian switch in 2002. For a start, it’s clear to anyone watching F1 this season that Alonso is quicker than Massa and that he needs the points, which Schumacher simply didn’t in 2002. Nevertheless, at only just over half way through the season, and with Massa clearly able to hold off Alonso for the race victory, the whole thing is decidedly murky. So you’re faster than him, Fernando? Well then, get into gear and pass him. Don’t go whining to the team to make him move over. Just as an aside, it’s against the rules. What price fixing a race? $100,000 you say? We’ll take four.

Then, to top it all off, came Ferrari’s insistence that it was purely Felipe’s decision. Come. Off. It. If you’re going to do it, don’t insult the intelligence of everyone watching. It’s not nice. Rob Smedley was presumably saying sorry for something in no way connected to making a not-terribly-well-coded radio message.

Grubby.

Badger’s best: Massa

Red Bull

• Qualifying: Vettel (1^st) Webber (4^th)
• Race: Vettel (3^rd) Webber (6^th)

Another race in which Red Bull managed to spoil their qualifying performance and come home lower than they started.

Vettel’s qualifying lap was brilliant, no doubt about it. However, there’s really no point in it if you then can’t sustain it. Then it becomes only a stat, a record to be cited in forthcoming seasons that no one will remember. Vettel said after the race that he got the maximum out of the car, but when Webber is finishing sixth and if he really wants to press home his advantage, he should have done better.

Webber, for his part, wasn’t really on form all weekend. Jumped by Hamilton and Button and then suffering from an oil consumption problem, he’ll just be glad Vettel could only manage third. A quieter weekend for the Red Bull drivers, but you get the feeling that their own personal battle isn’t finished. Expect more fireworks. Hopefully big ones.

Badger’s best: Vettel

McLaren

• Qualifying: Button (5^th) Hamilton (6^th)
• Race: Hamilton (4^th) Button (5^th)

When you don’t have the car, you don’t have the car.

A weekend in which the McLarens were never really anywhere near the ultimate pace and struggled to compete with the Ferraris and Red Bulls. Perhaps the upgrades on the car, perhaps the set up they’d gone for (surely no one needs that much of a straight-line speed advantage…), they’ll be looking for a big step in Hungary, lest their grip on the two titles loosens.

Button did well to out qualify Hamilton and was unlucky to be blocked by Vettel around the outside of turn one at the start of the race. After losing a few places and making one back almost immediately, he then ran a long first stint to jump Mark Webber and settled into a groove behind Lewis for a spot of formation flying.

Nothing too much of interest and nothing that tells us anything about the relationship between the two drivers. That’s your lot, folks.

Badger’s best: Hamilton

Renault

• Qualifying: Kubica (7^th) Petrov (13^th)
• Race: Kubica (7^th) Petrov (10^th)

Not bad for the Renault team, again finishing as the best of the rest.

A good scrap with Hamilton at the start led to Kubica losing a couple of places followed by holding off Schumacher. Realistically, barring retirements, seventh was the best he could have hoped for. Seeing as he achieved that, he’s done well. The question beginning to form in our minds is whether he could be going even faster if he had a good team mate to push him. Does it matter that much his team mate, even in a world of flying pigs and fairies, simply is never going to challenge him properly?

Speaking of whom, Petrov managed to score his first point in dry conditions. We’re pretty sure he didn’t enjoy being harangued by his engineer over the radio though. It almost sounded like he was directing the village idiot. Oh for the days of closed radio communications. He wasn’t helped by the fact he thought he was eleventh when he was, in fact, tenth. We suppose that’s a way to increase your happiness when you exit the car…

We still don’t think he’s doing enough to merit a seat next year, so he’s almost in the position of an American politician, having to raise enough money to even have a shot at being selected. It’s all about the roubles.

Badger’s best: Kubica

So, onto the start – what’s going to happen into and after turn one? The first two sectors of Hockenheim are pretty quick so those cars with great top speed will be in good shape to make a move in the opening laps – that’s what Button and Hamilton will be wanting anyway. As for the front row, we have Vettel who has lost out a few times already this season and has question marks over his ability to hold position when challenged strongly, unfortunately for him, Alonso is alongside and he’s desperate to get Ferrari’s title challenge back on track – with his toys firmly back in the shiny red pram, he’ll be determined to come out of turn one in first place, otherwise it could be another Valencia-style effort for Vettel where with a faster car he can just scamper off into the distance.

Of course, with a firey Spaniard needing a win and a young German trying to readdress himself as number one in his team, there could well be some argy-bargy off the line and that would leave Webber and the McLaren duo looking handy, we all know all too well that although they don’t qualify great, the British champions’ car is more than quick enough in race conditions. As for Massa, he’s in a similar position to Alonso, albeit just a bit quieter.

This is just some musings, what are your musings for the start – any ideas folks? Here’s the order before turn one:

Can Webber get a grip on the championship this weekend?

Badger’s been a bit busy today, not wanting to disclose what we’re busy with just yet, but anyway later than normal, here’s the run-down from Friday over at the Hockenheimring.  If you need reminding of the track – watch our Track Guide – but today was all about the weather with practice one being extremely wet with drivers spinning off left right and center including Lewis Hamilton who was left to walk back to the pits without a brolly after damaging his McLaren – not the ideal start to the weekend for the current championship leader.

As for Ferrari, Fernando Alonso seems to have put his toys back in the pram to get down to business and put the prancing horse in first place in the second of today’s practice sessions.  Massa followed in third with the ever quick Red Bull of Vettel getting in the mix in the top 3.

Looking beyond the title challengers – it’s worth pointing at that Virgin seemed to have turned the tables on the newbies championship with convincing performances in both sessions and finishing ahead of the Lotus chaps.   The first session highlights just how much a wet race on Sunday could benefit the new teams and if it does they could be in line to receive some points – a serious achievement with this being only their 10th grand prix ever.  Good luck to Glock especially – it’s his home race too.

Times from today:

Weather was changeable so you can’t read too much into these times except maybe congratulate Force India for a superb result – Sutil was happy in front of his home crowd.