Hungarian Grand Prix 2006, Qualifying

Dramas before the qualifying. The most exciting ever Q1 and Q2 sessions in The 2006 Championship. The current and the former world champion, were both penalised. A very strange penalty which is new in Formula 1. Maybe the FIA are trying to be a little more creative and dynamic with the changing times.

Q1 started as usual. This time another new face. A Polish driver in Formula 1™ for the first time, but the 21 year old has really impressed in his first race. The guy is brimmed with confidence and it never looked like he was racing for the first time in Formula 1. Absolutely no lack of commitment on the chicanes and no hesitation in using all the road on the exit. At the start of Q1, Steve Slator was doubtful that the two front runners after being penalised will not be able to make the cut to Q2. Things just dont work out that way with some back markers having technologically inferior machines. The difference of 2 seconds is easily manageable when you are competing against rookies driving a little crude cars (compared to Ferrari, McLaren and Renault…and maybe even the Toyotas, Williams and Hondas). Nico Rosberg was the only disappointment in session 1. Rest of the results were pretty much expected. Sakon Yamamoto has failed to make an impression. Frank Montagny was a much better driver in any race. If Super Aguri believe they can grow by giving chances to the japanese drivers, so be it. Michael was fastest yet again and was closely matched by his team-mate Massa. The Renault of Fernando Alonso seemed to have a lot of understear. The new mass damper system on the R26 doesnt seem to have made a big improvement in the pace.

The lap times were corrected after the offset of 2 seconds being added to the times of Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso. Still good enough to keep them into the top 16. Q2 was next and this time it did become clear that this was the last session for Micheal and Fernando. Amazing performance by Schumacher yet again, he recorded a lap time of 1 min 19.4 seconds. On provisional pole, it was still not enough for the team, the 2 second penalty would have decimated any efforts made by the driver and the pit crew. Stunning lap times by Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello brought some confidence back in the Honda garage. Toyota as always were competitive and did not want to be left unnoticed. One big performer was the debutant Robert Kubica. Consistent lap times in the 1 min 20 sec bracket and no noticeable mistakes on track. Brilliant run. This guy has made a big impression in the first race and seems like he will come close to challenging the top runners very soon. Felipe Massa yet again matched his team-mate’s performance but looked contented with his performance. Kimi Raikkonen and Pedro de la Rosa were consistent with their performance and outperformed the Renault of Fisichella. The game was not over. Schumacher came on track once again, and yes this time with a new strategy. Scorcher of a lap clocking 1.18.875. Thats probably the quickest you can go in a car equipped with a 2.4 liter V8 engine on a 4.3 Km long race track of Hangaroring. It was time now for Fernando Alonso to give the final try. Big improvement in his lap time, but still half a second slower than Michael. Chequered flag was out about a minute before Alonso finished his lap, but no worries (“no worries at all” if you live in australia ), the times count. P1 for Schumacher and P2 for Alonso.

Q3 started without M. Schumacher and Fernando Alonso. The lap times were corrected yet again. With the 2 seconds added to the times of each of these two drivers they were sent back to 12th and 15th places respectively, and in the relegation zone, split by DC and Klien in the RBR Ferraris. Kubica was in top 10, what a performance from the test driver. Q3 started with Massa stuck somewhere in the middle of the pack. But the Ferrari was quick on the short straights and very stable while braking, two overtaking moves boosted the confidence of the Brazilian driver aiming for the first pole of his career. It was time to get some frech rubber and put some stunning lap times. Pit-stops were next. Massa came out and fast again. Very quick lap and looked like he will be on P1. More drivers came on and put some amazing lap times. Hondas and the Toyotas were very quick, but ahead of the field were McLaren. Raikkonen was closely matching the pace of Massa. A new set of tyres was needed now to make a further improvement. Massa later complained about cold tyres but the tyre lock-ups at the turns looked like mistakes to me. It was time now for the Ferrari driver to make a further improvement. With just one minute left as he started his flying lap, this was his final chance. Tyre lock-up on a right turn, missing of the apex and overshooting a corner cost him those vital seconds dearly. Still managed to make an improvement and keep the P1. But not for long, the flying Finn was eating up the track in his MP4-21. Nearly 3 tenths of a second faster than the Ferrari, McLaren suddenly looked like they got their maximum performance at the right time. A very smooth drive from the ICE MAN, and boy oh boy was he not delighted. Shy by nature, its not a common sight to see a finn putting both his hands in the air as he comes out of the cockpit after bringing his car to a halt.

In the next post I will take a closer look at some of the specific events. Time now for quick predictions.

Jenson button finshed 4th but will be penalised 10 places for an engine change. What can this do to the starting order at the back of the grid? From 4th to 14th for Button. Schumi moves onto 11th, followed by the two Red Bull racing cars, effectively 14th place will be for Fernando Alonso. But I am expecting that Button will be parking his Honda ahead of Alonso at the starting Grid. This would mean that Michael and Fernando will be separated by 3 cars. Doesnt look like much of a problem for the spaniard, he overtook three cars at Hockenheim before he reached the first corner. As always, the first turn will be very interesting. With the two champions at the back of the order, it becomes an all the more risky business. First corner always has some collisions and mishaps, hopefully it will be a little different at Hangaroring this time around. With the drivers like Klien, DC and Nick Heidfeld around, who have been involved in accidents in the last couple of races, things dont look very promising for the world champions.

Kimi has the best possible chance of the season with Michael and Fernando at the back of the grid. Once again it will be down to the pit stops and reliablity. He won here last year, can he do it again? Felipe Massa can look forward to his first ever grand prix victory and the Honda team can be a little more optimistic. Rest of the teams can hope to finish in points with the two front runners at the back. Running longer and minimising the pit stops will be the key on the track where overtaking is next to impossible. This race will be the most amazing race of the season , IF Schumacher and Alonso can manage to stay in the race till the end. Its LIVE on sunday on Star Sports @17.30 IST.

© 2006 Kamal Agarwal