Formula-1 news

Lewis Hamilton slipped in the fastest lap so far this weekend right at the end of Saturday morning’s final practice session.

The 2008 world champion opted for a low-downforce set-up on his McLaren, and beat Fernando Alonso’s late rush for Ferrari with a lap of 1m 22.498s. Sebastian Vettel also improved to 1m 22.545s to trail the Englishman by only 0.047s as he edged out Alonso’s 1m 22.644s…

The title fight couldn’t be better poised as it enters its final European stage after the summer break, with only 20 points – less than you get for a win – separating the top five drivers.

In Hungary Mark Webber moved up to the lead with 161 points after becoming the only driver to win four times this season. He is chased by McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton on 157, Red Bull team mate Sebastian Vettel on 151, McLaren’s Jenson Button on 147, and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso on 141…

Drivers: Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso), Pedro de la Rosa (Sauber), Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) and Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull).

Q: Gentlemen, first of all, what did you do during the break? Pedro, with the family I guess?
Pedro de la Rosa: Yes, it has been a very good break. I was always with the family. We went to Majorca, on holiday, where we normally go. Great time I must say, very good. I did a lot of cycling and realised how bad I am at that, but it was very good…

1st Mark Webber (Red Bull), 1h41m05.571s; 2nd Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), 1h41m23.392s; 3rd Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), 1h41m24.823s.

Q: Mark, a commanding win by the end of 70 laps. But it was probably the 43 you managed in your first stint that really set it up.
Mark Webber: Yeah, that’s right. The start we always knew was going to be a little bit tricky on that side. Fernando got a good start…

Drivers: 1. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), 1m 18.773s; 2. Mark Webber (Red Bull), 1m 19.184s; 3. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), 1m 19.987s

Q: Sebastian, 100th Grand Prix for Red Bull Racing. A front row lock-out and a commanding performance from yourself in qualifying.
Sebastian Vettel: Yeah, it was a very good day for us. All weekend here we felt very comfortable, from the first practice session onwards with the car. I think we were able to improve it again another bit overnight. I said on the radio to the boys ‘this is your moment.’ Mark and myself

Hockenheim is practically in Sebastian Vettel’s back yard – he grew up barely 40 km away – so few were surprised to see him take pole for his home race. More surprising was the way he then got dumped down to P3 at Turn One by the Ferraris. Vettel, however, is looking on the bright side – he outscored his main title rivals and for a change it is a team other than Red Bull courting controversy at the end of the weekend

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso led Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel in both Q1 and Q2 at Hockenheim, and again after the first runs in Q3, but on his very last run the German stopped the clocks in 1m 13.791s.

And when the dust had settled after the Spaniard had completed his second run he came up just two-thousandths of a second short, on 1m 13.793s. There could scarcely have been a more dramatic scene-setter for Sunday’s German Grand Prix…

Force India’s Vitantonio Liuzzi on his high-speed crash during Q1; Mercedes GP’s Michael Schumacher on just missing out on taking part in Q3 in front of his home crowd; and Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel on clinching pole position. All 24 drivers, and senior team personnel, review Saturday’s action at Hockenheim

Red Bull’s Mark Webber has drawn a line under the front-wing controversy which flared up during last weekend’s British Grand Prix.

Webber was left frustrated when his team opted to remove the upgraded front wing from his RB6 and hand it over to his team mate Sebastian Vettel ahead of qualifying at Silverstone. Vettel’s own version of the new wing had been damaged during final practice. But after a race debrief at the team’s Milton Keynes factory, the Australian is confident they have now cleared the air.

The two Red Bulls seemed to be in a league of their own on Saturday afternoon at Silverstone, with only Fernando Alonso coming close enough to look at their exhausts. Mark Webber was forced to grin and bear it as team mate Sebastian Vettel clocked pole position, but given where his other title rivals are on the grid, P2 is not a bad place to be – especially when you believe you car advantage should carry over to the race