Hungary GP Qualifying **WARNING**Spoiler

I like how Steve Matchet described Ferrari's performance "Sucks"

 

Ok How light is Michael running?? Montoya is a second slower than MS??

 

Schumi's first pole of the season.64th pole and just one short of Senna

 

MS 1st
JPM 2nd
JT 3rd

Looks like tommorow will be an very interesting start Michael must be on a 3 or 4 stop race while everyone else is on a 2- or 3 stop.

 

Here are the results:
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Are the Bridgestone's on steroids??? Haven't seen the lap yet (in a couple of minutes), but truly unxpected results for a handling circuit. Hopefully this plays out in the race tomorrow. Ferrari have been lurking all weekend.

Can the championship race actually become exciting all of a sudden (read:unpredictable)?

 

In order for this to work tommorow Michael is going to have to charge away at the start without destroying his tires. I hate to say this but i dont see it happening

 

Regardless of what happens tomorrow it sure is nice to see a ferrari back on pole.

 

The interesting thing about Bridgestone's is that they've changed compounds/construction dramatically every race, a fact David Hobbs noted occurred again this week. So, it's really a crap shoot on whether this is a true improvement of the chassis/car dynamic or a guy running on a super light fuel load.

I think they may have figured something out. Even on light loads in the past, they still have not been competitive with the leaders. He BLEW the field out this time, and Ruebens is actually pretty close to the McLarens.

Is it possible he's not running a 4-stopper? We'll find out tomorrow.

 

Well they have been pretty competitive this whole weekend compared to other teams with these tires so Michael may be ok. At least he is front of the road block called Trulli. Who knows how many people he will hold up.

 

It's great to see MS and Ferrari back on top. The Bridgestones for this weekend are very good but are they going to last?
Looks like MS is on 3 stop strategy. Rob you said maybe 4? You think he was almost empty for qualifying? Its going to be hot tomorrow and I'm scared for his tyres.

Look at the time difference between 2nd JPM and 5th RS. Not much difference.
If it wasn't for that mistake Ralf did....he would have been 3rd.

Also Fernando lost 1 or 2 positions with that last corner mistake.

Should be a good race!
Go Schumi!

 

For all those non-believers:
HAHAHAHAHA!

For all the true ferrari fans and supporters:
CONGRATULATIONS!

A Ferrari on pole again is a great simply fantastic. A testament to the dedication of the team and their partners.

Bridgestone has finally got it right. They have maintained the pace through the weekend and I think Michael has an optimal amount of fuel load. If he was exremely light, I think he could have had a faster time. It looks like he is on a 3 stop strategy.

ALONSO CRACKED UNDER PRESSURE!!!!! (hate to say this... I told you so)

The start will be fantastic. Both Michael and Juan have nothing to lose. Kimi is right infront of Alonso and that will be interesting to look at. Expect the Toyotas to be moving chicanes again. Rubens needs to get infront of them as soon as possible.

 

One thing that will help Micheal is that he's not behind the Toyota safety car named Jarno Trulli. He seemed VERY confident in the interview room, despite JPM's dismissive statement. In other races he sounded hopeful, here he thinks they have got it right (especially Bridgestone).

As I said, this looks like it's all about the latest tire offering. Even Schu stated "we were honestly surprised by the performance". Man, I'd love to see Ferrari f things up for Flavio/Alonso the same weekend they dismissed them as no longer a factor in the championship.

Let's see a Ferrari win this weekend. First time it's seemed truly possible this season.

 

I would not say that he is empty but he is quite lighter than the others, and running at least 1 stop more than the others. Since i dont know what everyone else is doing i put that 4th stop in there. If i recall it was at Hungary a few years back Michael changed from a 3 stop to a 4 stop race and won. Hungary is a historicaly tough track to pass on and very dirty off line so if he can get out front and hide a 4 stop race might work.

Needless to say i am still not real hopeful about tommorow.

 

Does anyone know what the engine situation is with the front runners?Is Schumi on a fresh engine?We know that Kimi has a new engine but its been hard to keep up with what the others have.

 

Really impressive for MS and ferrari....but I'm a bit nervous about the race. I'm use to seeing MS and RB qualify with 1/2 a second or each other, not 2 seconds apart. I'm just hoping MS isn't qualifying with an empty fuel tank.

 

GOOD TO SEE HIM SMLIE IN THE INTERVIEW ROOM TODAY !

MS P1 !

 

Hang on I've just realised why Ferrari have all this performance this weekend.It has nothing to do with the tyres or fuel strategy.They fitted a polished Titanium gear knob to the gear lever and a slick shift gate to the gearbox all courtesy of Hills engineering.And they probably washed the car just before qualifying.Go Michael Go, Go Michael Go, Go Michael Go

 

Impy,

Did you forget to take your meds this morning???

Michael is light on fuel this is the only way that he can be a second faster than the rest of the field.

Yes the car looked like it was on rails but i have doubts that the tires will hold up the entire race.

 

Ferrari
Michael Schumacher (1st, 1:19.882): "I drove a good lap and I am delighted to be back here after suffering for so long. I am happy to be on pole, happy that it is with this margin and also that we look in good shape for the race. This is good for Bridgestone, who have suffered with us and this result is an excellent return for the effort they have put in. We saw from Rubens' performance yesterday that, not only was the package quick over a single lap, it was also consistent over a longer run. There is no reason not to believe in a Ferrari comeback, but at the same time we will have to wait and see if this result is a case of the car and tyre suiting this track or if it will become a general trend. This is a great result and a great motivation for the whole team. As for being on pole, I think it is more important that I am on the clean side of the track, because I do not share the view that at this circuit, grid position is vital, because I think strategy in the race will be more important.. I am not worried about the hot conditions."

Rubens Barrichello (7th, 1:21.158): "Basically I think I drove a good lap apart from the fact that I lost a bit on the brakes at the beginning of the lap due to a change in set-up on the car, which made the brakes feel a little bit different. Bridgestone has done a phenomenal job to provide us with a tyre that has allowed us to be competitive again in qualifying. I have a good strategy and I know I can expect to have a very consistent performance level in the race. So I really hope I can get a good result."

Jean Todt, Team Principal: "We had forgotten what pole position tasted like and today, we can savour it again thanks to an extraordinary lap from Michael. This result makes us very happy and is the reward for the vast amount of work carried out over the last few months by the team along with our friends at Bridgestone. Rubens' seventh place is also a good result, given that his time is very close to that of the cars ahead of him. Now we face the toughest task of the weekend, namely the race. As usual, reliability, strategy and the consistency of tyre performance will play key roles. For our part, as usual, we will give it our all. A good result would be important for the morale of the team and all our fans."

Ross Brawn, Technical Director: "I am absolutely delighted with this performance as it has been a hard year for us. Everyone, particularly Bridgestone, has kept working and we could see from the beginning of the weekend that we have a very strong tyre here and we have had the proof of that today. It proves we never gave up and we will do our best to repeat today's performance tomorrow in the race. Of course, this is not just down to the tyres. We have had some updates to the aero package over the last few races and they have also contributed to this result."

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When Ross Brawn says "we have a very strong tyre here"

I am going to take his word for it.

FERRARI 1 - 2!

 

Forza Ferrari!

 

Psychological warfare. Make heavy duty statements and hope your competition bites on it and make them change the race plans. McLaren, Renault are all sitting back laguhing about it.