Formula One 
/ James Frankland / 30 July 2011 / Leave a Comment 
The front three for Sunday's Grand Prix
"Vettel was top of Saturday’s practice session by three tenths of a second, and secured an eighth pole position of the season later in the day."
The world champion is in pole position but, with the two McLarens directly behind him, does James Frankland believe we might see a consecutive British victory?
Red Bull always seem to find time when they need it most. Having finished behind Lewis Hamilton in both of Friday's free practice sessions, the Milton Keynes-based team used up the first of their curfew allocations to work deep into the night on Sebastian Vettel's car. The result? Vettel was top of Saturday's practice session by three tenths of a second, and secured an eighth pole position of the season later in the day.
Red Bull needed to up their game in the face of a determined push from McLaren, who qualified second and third in Hungary, Hamilton shading Jenson Button by less than half a tenth. The Ferrari duo occupy fourth and fifth places, Felipe Massa - returning to the track at which he suffered a fractured skull in 2009 - ahead of Fernando Alonso, who has rather better memories of this venue: it was where he scored his debut Grand Prix victory back in 2003. Last year's winner, Mark Webber, is in sixth and has an uphill task ahead of him to repeat his 2010 triumph.
Hungary is a track that does not breed overtaking, although the placement of the DRS zone, which can be used for the full length of the start/finish straight, should aid efforts this year. As ever the onus will be on whoever leads into the first corner to generate themselves at least a one second gap straight away, else they risk falling into the clutches of those behind.
At last year's race, Red Bull had a massive margin over the rest, for the circuit accentuates what makes the blue car so good - its efficient use of the downforce it generates and its grip through medium and high-speed corners. Vettel only failed to win here last year by making an uncharacteristic mistake under a safety car period and I expect he'll remember that tomorrow. His error allowed Webber to build momentum in his own championship challenge and he won't want to give Hamilton, or any of the chasing pack, the same confidence boost ahead of the four-week summer break.
Tyre strategy for cars further down the order has been key to picking up points and in Hungary, Williams have had a go at trying to give their season a boost, deliberately not running Pastor Maldonado in the second qualifying session so the rookie can start with one more fresh set of tyres. The team have suffered a difficult season with a car that is not really suited to high downforce tracks, but Maldonado knows the track well from his GP2 days and could be a good outside bet for a points finish at [5.5]. Slightly shorter odds can be found on Kamui Kobayashi [1.82] starting 13th, and the [2.82] for Paul di Resta, who starts only one place out of the points in 11th, is also worth considering.
Finally, if you fancy that come race day, Mark Webber can match his teammate's pace and join him on the Hungarian Grand Prix podium, then his odds of [3.65] are worth a look. He may need some strategic help from his pit wall colleagues to achieve that, mind.
Recommended Bets
Sebastian Vettel to win @ [2.58]
Mark Webber to finish on the podium @ [3.65]
Paul di Resta to score points @ [2.82]
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