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30 July 2010

Although McLaren has played down its hopes of success in the Hungarian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel insists that Red Bull can’t afford to discount the championship leaders from the fight for victory.

Vettel led the way through both free practice sessions at the Hungaroring, ending the day half a second quicker than Fernando Alonso in second.

Lewis Hamilton in the quickest of the two McLarens was more than a second off the pace in sixth place and Vettel insisted that Hamilton and team-mate Jenson Button couldn’t be discounted.

“I think this morning didn’t really give a clear picture of each team’s pace, but this afternoon it was tighter,” he said, referring to the fact that Red Bull was a second clear of everyone else in the first session. “The Ferraris seem very quick again here, on both the long and short runs.

“They will be quick again tomorrow and we also shouldn’t forget the McLarens; they have proven many times this year that they can make a step forward from Friday to Saturday. It’s a difficult track here, quite bumpy and rough, but the car feels good.”

Team-mate Mark Webber ended the day third quickest, just 0.013secs behind Alonso, and agreed with Vettel that Saturday’s final session would give a better indication on what to expect from the remainder of the weekend

“That was pretty good – we got through everything we wanted,” he said. “The car ran faultlessly and the guys did a good job. The track keeps getting quicker and we learned quite a bit today.

“The Ferraris look quick again, so we’ve got to keep an eye on them – you never know what fuel loads people are running on Friday. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”