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Schu leads another one-two

The second half of the 2006 season is taking on a terrifying resemblance to the championships of two and three years ago when Ferrari conquered everything in their path.

Michael Schumacher’s teammate may now be different but the results are the same.

It was a one-two finish in Germany six days ago, and it was a one-two finish in the final practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix today.

Schumacher was again the man in front after a late charge that saw him steal the top position from his Scuderia understudy, Felipe Massa, as the chequer fell.

It was bad news for Renault’s Fernando Alonso who, having been hit with a qualifying penalty by race stewards last night, once again struggled to match his championship rival’s pace.

However it did appear that the young Spaniard’s mind was elsewhere as he surprisingly put in the most laps of any driver with a total of 25.

The serious workload suggested that the Anglo-French squad were looking at fuel-heavy strategies to try and recover positions lost through the penalty on Sunday.

While Alonso had his head down it was the ever-impressive Robert Kubica of BMW who kept the Ferrari’s honest.

Just four days ago the young Pole was promoted to the race line-up after Jacques Villeneuve was sidelined due to headaches caused from a large shunt in Hockeheim.

Kubica had been a Friday tester all year and had always looked good. On Saturday he converted that practice form to pace in a serious session and over shadowed his teammate, Nick Heidfeld, with the third fastest time.

Rubens Barrichello was fourth fastest for Honda, just over a second down on his former teammate a the top.

There was mock shock in the Hungaroring paddock when the second Honda came to an end in a ball of flames.

The unlucky driver was Jenson Button who returned to the pit lane with shouldered slumped after yet another engine failure.

The failure left oil and debris on the circuit and was the cause of a red flag period that saw the session stopped for almost 15 minutes.
Alonso was busy before and after the break and finished with the fifth fastest time, two tenths quicker than this teammate Giancarlo Fisichella in sixth.

Christian Klien continued to strengthen his call for another Red Bull chance with the seventh fastest time, Pedro de la Rosa was the first of the McLarens in eighth.

Of significant note was the name of the driver in ninth – Vitantonio Liuzzi of Scuderia Toro Rosso.

There was no doubt that the Italian was chasing a strong qualifying time while his rivals concentrated on race setup, the result was nonetheless impressive for the V10 powered minnow.

It managed to keep Kimi Raikkonen’s McLaren at bay in 10th, as well as the two Williams and Toyotas.

Liuzzi’s teammate Scott Speed also looked strong in 14th, despite his ongoing back problems after yet another hard hit in Germany last week.

Overall the session proved entertaining with plenty of action as drivers and teams prepared for the afternoon qualifying run.

Written: Sat, 05 Aug 2006 10:26:47