We?óÔé¼Ôäóre past the halfway point in the 2008 season so you know the drill by now: Ferrari and McLaren are up front and at the moment it looks like McLaren have the edge. BMW will be closest to them with Robert Kubica leading the charge.
But who will be best of the rest in Hungary? Ah, that?óÔé¼Ôäós the really interesting bit. Step forwards Mark Webber, Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli. But in what order?
There is a fascinating tussle for fourth place in the constructors?óÔé¼Ôäó championship between Red Bull, Renault and Toyota. (Williams and Toro Rosso are potentially in the mix as well but we?óÔé¼Ôäóll get to them in a moment).
Each of the three teams has one driver leading their charge: Mark Webber, Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli respectively. So which will do best at the Hungaroring?
Ordinarily we?óÔé¼Ôäód look at their form at the Monaco Grand Prix for an indication ?óÔé¼ÔÇ£ Monte-Carlo and the Hungaroring both being tight, slow, high-downforce circuits. But the wet race in Monaco this year makes that kind of comparison less useful.
Alonso has shown an excellent knack for qualifying his Renault higher than it should be this year. But he has struggled with the R28?óÔé¼Ôäós high rear tyre wear over a race distance – as Pat Symonds mentioned when I spoke to him last week.
Alonso qualifying well then holding up the cars behind him could at least make for an entertaining race. That?óÔé¼Ôäós the sort of thing we?óÔé¼Ôäód been used to seeing from Jarno Trulli but this year the ?óÔé¼?£Trulli train?óÔé¼Ôäó increasingly seems to be a thing of the past. However Toyota do still seem to have their occasional off days when they struggle to get the TF108 dialled into the demands of a particular circuit.
Webber has been perhaps the most consistently competitive of the three at each round. But like the others he increasingly has to pay attention to the rise of his future team mate Sebastian Vettel.
Vettel who has thrived since the introduction of the new STR3 at Monaco. If he can make it into Q3 once again and score more points Toro Rosso may close in on that battle for fourth place.
Vettel?óÔé¼Ôäós rise has partly come at the expense of Nico Rosberg. The Williams-Toyota FW30 does not seem to have kept up with the pace of development and Rosberg only just scraped into Q2 last time out.
The Hungaroring places a premium on qualifying well, however. So any of these drivers that does especially well on Saturday can expect to score on Sunday. But which ones will?
Nirupam
29th July 2008, 8:38
My Prediction (top 10 starting grid):
1. Lewis
2. Kovi
3. Massa
4. Kimi
5. Kubica
6. Trulli
7. Heidfield
8. Alonso
9. Webber
10.Vettel
And finishing line-up
1. Lewis
2. Massa
3. Kimi
4. Kubica
5. Kovi
6. Heidfield
7. Alonso
8. Vettel
Nirupam
29th July 2008, 9:39
My Prediction:
Starting Grid:
HAM-KOVI-MAS-KIMI-ALO-KUB-VETTEL-TRU
As I dont see Ferrari can match the pase with McLaren’s this weekend.
And Finishing Lineup:
HAM-MAS-KIM-KUB-KOVI-ALO-WEB-VETTEL
(This list depends on “the Truli Train” though!! ) :) ;)
Marty
29th July 2008, 10:02
A few years ago, I do recall Damon Hill doing something special in an Arrows before the engine gave way. I forsee someone coming from the midfield pask this time… and it could be a Spaniard.
Also, this was the beginning of the end for Hams and Alonso last year. If Kovi outqualifies Hams, could it make the race interesting if he has his first win in sight and then has to give way to a quick Hamilton being chased hard by Kimmi? If only I could script these races.
Jean
29th July 2008, 10:30
My predictions for Q3 = Massa/Ham/Kimi/Kov/Alo/Kub/Heid/Webbo/Tru/Vet
Massa has one big thing running for him , which is the ability to bounce back after poor performances , by Ferrari standards. Above is for dry weather conditions.
danny
29th July 2008, 13:17
Hope Alonso can do a Damon Hill in his crappy Renault.
DG
29th July 2008, 13:30
It really needs the Red Bulls, Toyotas and the Renaults to push harder for the second half of the season and keep on terms with BMW, and for both drivers in these teams to finish in the points every race, hopefully taking points from McLaren and Ferrari.
Williams, Honda, Torro Rosso and Force India also need a bigger push to get it right more often and have some surprise qualifying and race finishes.
I am really enjoying the closeness of the teams this season, with nobody having a definate advantage over the others. I dont think Mclaren will use their current advantage properly, and Ferrari are just as liable to miss an opportunity as any team on the grid.
michael counsell
29th July 2008, 13:48
The difference between a good lap and an average lap in qualifying can be up to a second due to the fact that every corner flows into another.
The rest will not be distinguishable from the “best” as has been the case for the last few races when all kinds of teams have been in the top 5 in every practices session, qualifying session and race result.
Nick
30th July 2008, 3:29
Kimi will win.