2012 Hungarian Grand Prix The Hungarian Grand Prix
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Lap 1: Hamilton gets a good start and leads while Vettel attacks Grosjean round the outside into Turn 1, but the Frenchman holds on.
Lap 1: The five red lights go out and we are racing in Hungary!
Hamilton comes back to pole position and is ready to rock for a second time. The field is forming up nicely. Let's try again...
Schumacher is underway and rolls towards the end of the pitlane, ready to get away when the field have taken the lights.
Meantime, Hamilton is back round and heading to Turn 11, as Mercedes mechanics now attend to Schumacher's car.
This additional formation tour will reduce the race distance to 69 laps.
Marshals quickly push Schumacher away towards the pitlane gap.
Michael Schumacher has caused the delay and he sits motionless as the rest of the pack moves away for a second tour.
Delayed start - new formation lap.
The start has been aborted. The cars will now begin another formation lap.
The grid is ready and we are ready for 70 racing laps this afternoon. We await the lights...
Hamilton aims his car towards pole position and guides the MP4-27 into his slot. The front few rows are now in position.
The dirty side of the grid is often a challenge here, with things incredibly dusty off the racing line.
Round Turn 13 and into the final corner now as the mechanics run back to their pit garages.
Hamilton's starts have been variable this year and he must surely be concerned by Grosjean's propensity for a first-lap tangle.
Up the hill and round to the chicane at Turns 6 and 7, Hamilton takes them round and is aiming to warm up his soft tyres.
Hamilton leaves his position quickly and all 24 leave the grid without problem.
Webber's car is definitely on medium compound tyres as the cars pull away.
The formation lap begins and Hamilton leads the field of 24 away from the grid.
Pic, Glock and de la Rosa are also on the medium compound from the rear of the field.
The engines fire with a minute to the formation lap.
Initial indications are that Webber is gambling on medium compound rubber from 11th on the grid.
Cooling fans are working overtime down there on the grid, to keep the machinery and drivers as refreshed as possible until the engines are started.
Drivers further back could try to complete the first stint on the medium compound, with the car using major rubber life when full of fuel.
Vettel is leaving his gloves off, so he can keep his hands cool until the last possible moment.
A large crowd is packed into the natural bowl, with track temperature up to a very warm 46 Celsius.
Tyres being bolted on the cars now, with the top 10 drivers locked into the use of softs from the final qualifying segment.
Just five minutes remaining until the formation lap begins at the Hungaroring.
One DRS zone here, detected through the final complex of corners before allowing the chasing driver's wing to open on the run down to Turn 1
Hamilton climbs aboard his pole-sitting McLaren and needs to convert his peerless qualifying speed into a good result this afternoon.
Tyres
Tyre degredation is typically high around this twisting circuit, meaning strategists have a tough afternoon ahead plotting the best way to complete this event on another warm day.
Soft tyres were the way to go for a single lap in qualifying, meaning they are the starting choice for the top 10, but the yellow-striped Pirelli is not particularly durable here, so the first stint could be quite short.
The medium compound rubber once again looks like an excellent race tyre, giving both speed and longevity, so is likely the favoured compound for the majority of the distance.
Once again the closing stages are set to be a battle over who has the best remaining grip, with plenty scope for a third stop to make late progress up the order.
Alonso doesn't look too worried about that as he is greeted by Bernie Ecclestone on the grid.
Vettel in third and Button fourth will both be looking to make a dent in Alonso's points margin heading into the summer break.
Championship leader Alonso lines up sixth on the grid today but has built his points advantage on strong raceday performances.
Conditions have ranged from sublime to ridiculous already today. It all started with the latter shortly after 04:00, with spectacular storms giving Formula 1 an early alarm call.
The rain ended at around 08:00 and since then the circuit has dried out - although the race will start on a 'green' track. Blazing sunshine and rising temperatures since the GP3 race and this will continue for at least the next hour.
There remains a slight chance of rain towards the late stages of the race, but the most likely scenario is a fully dry event from here, with air temperature topping out at 32 Celsius and track surface temperature up to 50 degrees.
The rain ended at around 08:00 and since then the circuit has dried out - although the race will start on a 'green' track. Blazing sunshine and rising temperatures since the GP3 race and this will continue for at least the next hour.
There remains a slight chance of rain towards the late stages of the race, but the most likely scenario is a fully dry event from here, with air temperature topping out at 32 Celsius and track surface temperature up to 50 degrees.
Romain Grosjean takes a break from the intense heat before heading to his Lotus on the front row of the grid.
Here's how the standings look at the half way stage of 2012:
World Championship standings, round 10:
Drivers: Constructors:
1. Alonso 154 1. Red Bull-Renault 230
2. Webber 120 2. Ferrari 177
3. Vettel 110 3. McLaren-Mercedes 160
4. Raikkonen 98 4. Lotus-Renault 159
5. Hamilton 92 5. Mercedes 105
6. Rosberg 76 6. Sauber-Ferrari 80
7. Button 68 7. Williams-Renault 47
8. Grosjean 61 8. Force India-Mercedes 46
The crowd rises for the Hungarian national anthem.
Hungary
Hello everyone and welcome to AUTOSPORT Live for coverage of round 11 in this year's FIA Formula 1 world championship - the Hungarian Grand Prix.
This is the last event before the sport takes its annual month-long summer break. Lewis Hamilton has started his weekend off perfectly, taking the fastest time in two out of the three practice sessions and then backing it up with a sensational lap of 1m20.953s to claim McLaren's 150th pole position, ahead of Romain Grosjean and Sebastian Vettel.
Jenson Button starts today's 70-lap race from fourth on the grid, while Kimi Raikkonen is fifth and championship leader Fernando Alonso will aim to protect a healthy points lead going into the holidays from the outside of row three.
By: Emlyn Hughes, Geoff Creighton
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