Day one of the action from the Hungaroring

[TheStig]

It was hardly the most thrilling of days in the opening free practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix, but as ever it gave a good pointer as to what to over the remainder of the weekend.

While Sebastian Vettel got used to the pedestrian route around the circuit courtesy of ongoing reliability woes, Felipe Massa and then Lewis Hamilton stamped their authority on Friday practice...

. MCLAREN-MERCEDES: In the morning, championship leader Lewis Hamilton was the slowest of the marquee McLaren and Ferrari runners, but after another 90 minutes of practice he was back to the top of the timesheets. "Things look very promising for tomorrow," said Heikki Kovalainen, who was a tenth quicker than his team-mate in the morning and third at the end of both sessions.


 . RENAULT: The French team's drivers made their presence known at the circuit near Budapest on Friday -- both inside the top eight in the morning, before Nelson Piquet ended the afternoon just two tenths shy of pacesetter Hamilton. "Our fuel load was slightly lower than normal, but even so we look competitive," said engineering chief Pat Symonds. Fernando Alonso was fourth.
 
. FERRARI: In the morning, it seemed Ferrari - despite not usually shining at the Hungaroring - might dominate on the circuit's tight turns in 2008, but by the end of the afternoon Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa were just fifth and sixth fastest. "Our main rivals seem to be still a little bit quicker than us," said the reigning world champion, referring to McLaren.


.  BMW-SAUBER: Nick Heidfeld, seventh fastest, is continuing to put his disappointing first half of the season behind him, piping team-mate Robert Kubica for pace in the grippier afternoon session.

.  TOYOTA: Timo Glock had a cameo in the top-six on the morning timesheet, but the Cologne-built car is about a second per lap slower than the leading pace on the twisty Hungaroring layout. "The car has been competitive recently," Jarno Trulli commented.

.  WILLIAMS-TOYOTA: After a slow morning, Williams' lead driver Nico Rosberg was tenth overall at the end of the afternoon session. "The competition is looking quite strong, especially the Renaults," he noted.


. RED BULL-RENAULT: Albeit narrowly ahead of team-mate David Coulthard in both 90 minute sessions, Mark Webber admits the team has "some work to do" to pull out of the midfield in Hungary.

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/080801193827.shtm

dare i see the chat with Wizard fell on deaf ears
Stig