Sebastian Vettel was the man to beat in Hungarian practice, finishing ahead of Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber...
Red Bull:
Sebastian Vettel: "I think this morning didn't really give a clear picture of each team's pace, but this afternoon it was tighter. 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 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."
Mark Webber: "That was pretty good - we got through everything we wanted. 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."
Ferrari:
Fernando Alonso: "I hope we can stay close to our main rivals, who seemed very strong today and be able to fight them in Q3 tomorrow afternoon. For now, we are still a bit behind by a few tenths, even if we won't know the truth until qualifying. We certainly need to work on the set-up of the car to improve its performance, especially in the second and third sectors. Compared to Hockenheim, where the car was well balanced, here we are suffering with a bit too much understeer, but all the same it feels pretty good. We did various aerodynamic tests and, in the end, it seems the car is more competitive without the blown rear wing. Overall, we are happy with how things went today, even if we are well aware that one cannot rely much on Friday's times. As for McLaren, whom one should not forget lead both championships, we seem to have the upper hand, but so often we have seen them struggle on a Friday before then being very competitive. Tomorrow afternoon, it will be very important to secure a place in the top three because it would be hard to fight for the win starting further back."
Felipe Massa: "As has generally been the case this year, we need to work on our performance on the first timed lap: our main rivals manage to set a time quickly while we struggle a bit more. This is vital, especially for qualifying which, at a track like this, is even more critical than usual. In particular, we have to get the front tyres working as well as possible. In terms of race pace, I would say we are pretty good, as was also demonstrated in Hockenhiem. Returning to driving at this track was not difficult for me: when you are in the car and you shut the visor, you only think about going quickly. It was definitely good yesterday to go to the medical centre and meet the people who took care of me immediately after the accident, and it was equally emotional to have dinner with the surgeon who operated on me at Budapest's AEK hospital: I wish to take this opportunity to once again thank everyone for what they did for me one year ago; they are really extraordinary people."
Renault:
Vitaly Petrov: "It was a good day of practice and I found a good balance with the car. I know this track well and, with the updates we have here, the car feels much better. In the morning we did some basic set-up work and in the afternoon I tried some new parts, including our new rear wing which has much more downforce. I ran with both tyre compounds and the track conditions were not too bad, which helped us. Tomorrow morning we still need to keep working away little by little to be ready for qualifying."
Robert Kubica: "It was a fairly normal Friday for us. We tried to get as much information as we could and we were quite lucky with the weather because I think there was quite a lot of rain close to the track, but we got away with two dry sessions, which was what we needed. The track was pretty good straight away, so we were able to have consistent driving conditions throughout the day. We tried to get a feeling for the two tyre compounds and the different parts on the car."
McLaren:
Lewis Hamilton: "It's been an interesting day. We've just been focusing on our package and trying to optimise what we have. And the car was the best I've ever driven around here - it felt really great through the corners. But, even so, we're losing quite a bit of time in the middle sector, and a couple of tenths in the first and third sectors, too. And then, as you start to push harder, in order to close the gap to the guys in front, the car begins to feel like it's a little bit on the ragged edge. I think we're pretty much getting the best out of the package we have - we're dialing-in the set-up pretty effectively - but there's still maybe a few tenths to come. So we know we've got a lot of work to do: this weekend is really about scoring as many points as we can, and hoping the guys ahead run into trouble. It's going to be tough, but we've got to take the rough with the smooth and stay focused. And we'll do that, no doubt about it. As always, of course, I'll be pushing as hard as I can."
Jenson Button: "I'm reasonably happy with the car today. It didn't feel too great on the Option tyre, but the balance was good on the Prime. However, we're a little bit behind the Red Bulls and the Ferraris. It's probably therefore going to be a tricky weekend for us. There are still areas where we can improve, which is positive, but we're unlikely to close the gap completely here in Hungary. Hopefully, though, we'll see an improvement tomorrow, and that will move us closer. Still, we need to be doing the best job we can with the equipment we have, and that's exactly what we'll be doing. I know all the guys back at the McLaren Technology Centre are working flat-out to keep improving this car, and I've got absolute belief in them."
