'The better man won' - Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton held a commanding lead early in the race © Getty Images

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Lewis Hamilton refused to blame his team and said that "the better man won" as he endured a difficult Hungarian Grand Prix to finished fourth.

Hamilton led early in the race and looked favourite for victory as he built up a nine second lead by the half way point. With his team-mate Jenson Button in second place McLaren looked to have the race under control, but then the decision to put on supersoft tyres during the third pit stop while Button, Vettel and Webber put on softs with 30 laps to go proved costly.

Hamilton was slower and had to make an extra pit stop, while a rain shower also caused him to spin and lose his lead, before getting a drive through for forcing Paul di Resta off the track as he recovered. Hamilton said he had struggled with his front left tyre, but was full of praise for the race winner.

"First of all congratulations to Jenson," Hamilton said to the BBC. "He was pushing me hard the whole race and the better man won today, he did a fantastic job and congratulations to the team.

"It was an intense race, we obviously got a good start, did great for the first half of the race - I was struggling a lot with the graining on my left front tyre, I don't know if it was my fault for pushing too much - then I had a big mistake. Again my left front tyre was pretty worn so I went a bit wide, came out of the chicane and spun which is very very rare, I think it's one of the first times I've spun. And then after that I have to apologise to Paul di Resta, I didn't see him, so I had absolutely no clue - I don't know where or what happened - but I got a penalty for something which is to be expected I guess sometimes, so I apologise to him."

Hamilton then pitted for intermediate tyres, a decision which dropped him out of the running for a podium, and he refused to blame his team for the error as he it was suffering with communication problems.

"We were having radio issues and I could hear my engineers but they couldn't hear me. So I was constantly asking them for information but they couldn't hear me so it was a very difficult call for them. I think perhaps at one point they got some information from me and I heard them say it was going to rain and it was already spitting so we opted to go for the wet tyres. I think they called me in and I did the lap, anyway the tyres went off, it wasn't necessarily the best call but that's motor racing."

After a frustrating afternoon, Hamilton said that the pace of the car and Button's win showed the level of McLaren's improvement.

"I think we can definitely say that the team has done a fantastic job. For us (he and Button) to both be the most competitive this weekend I think is a fantastic way to go in to the break. Of course we would have loved a one-two, I feel like I let the team down a little bit, but we'll bounce back at the next race."

ESPNF1

Button felt win was possible after first stint

Jenson Button celebrates in parc ferme © Getty Images

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Jenson Button has revealed that he felt his victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix was possible right from the moment he took on his first set of slicks on lap 12.

Button worked his way up to second after his first pit stop and then attacked Lewis Hamilton for the lead in his final stint. After a tense battle, Hamilton then had to make two extra pit stops and serve a drive-through penalty, giving Button a clear run to the finish. But the race winner said he felt the win was possible much earlier in the race.

"It's very easy to say now, but personally I felt [a win was possible] at the end of the first stint," he said. "I felt that I was able to look after the tyres for the remainder of the first stint. I think that halfway through people began struggling and I was able to push on and the car felt really good. I think I was about three seconds behind Lewis when he pitted on the first stop, he'd pulled in about a second a lap up to that point.

"So at that point I knew that I was in good shape, the car was working well for me and I thought it was a matter of time in the dry conditions for us to get the jump on Lewis, because at the end of the stints he was struggling. Obviously it turned out a little bit differently with the rain coming down, it was difficult on the prime tyre - those aren't the conditions for those tyres - but a lot of fun all the same. It's always fun racing with Lewis, I think we're pretty fair, I don't think we touched this time and it was great to come away with a victory this time."

He said a win was the best possible way to enter the four week summer break and to mark his 200th grand prix start.

ESPNF1

"It's good having a couple of weeks break because it might take me that long to get over tonight," Button added. "This is the first place where I won a grand prix back in 2006, in these sorts of conditions, and this is my 200th race and we've won here again. For some reason I like these conditions, don't ask me why, but it was a great call by the team to put me on the prime tyre when they did. And I think a great call by all of us when we decided not to go to the inters.

"All round, an amazing weekend and I want to say a big thank you to the whole team; the mechanics, the engineers, everyone within the team who have worked so hard to produce the car that we have now. I think we're going into the break on a nice high, but I think every day that we're on holiday we're going to be thinking about Spa already. I'm excited about coming back and hopefully doing the same again."

Sky/BBC deal 'saved free-to-air' F1 coverage in UK

Williams chairman Adam Parr believes Bernie Ecclestone did the right thing in putting together that BBC/Sky shared broadcast deal for next year - because there was a risk of Formula 1 coverage being off free-to-air television entirely.

While British fans remain angry about the prospect of not being able to watch every race live on the BBC from 2012, Parr says that those unhappy about the move should actually be happy that Ecclestone has managed to keep at least some races on the channel.

Although sympathetic that fans will feel they are worse off in 2012, Parr says that they must take into consideration that they could have been even worse off if the Sky/BBC share deal had not come together.

"I can understand why a British fan who has had free non-advert coverage, amazing content, and brilliant presenters will be saying that anything else is going to be less good," explained Parr.

"I am sorry that the BBC could not carry on doing what they are doing, but they made that decision. I don't think that the fees being charged to the BBC are unreasonable compared to Wimbledon or any other major sports event.

"I am sympathetic, but to be fair the teams have not had any involvement in this. We don't negotiate these deals, but when Bernie briefed us as a group about this, the universal view was, okay we get it. We understand why you've done it. We see the benefits; we know where you are coming from - fair enough."

When asked by AUTOSPORT if there was a prospect that F1 could even have been off free-to-air television totally with the BBC unable to continue its current contract, Parr said: "I think that is true. I think Bernie put this deal together to ensure that the fans would have as much of what they have been enjoying as possible."

He added: "If you are Bernie, and you are looking at the situation where your current partner is stopping – what do you do? I think he has sat back and put together something which is the best that could be done under the circumstances."

Amid scepticism about claims that the Sky/BBC deal could actually boost viewing figures in the UK, as Ecclestone has argued, a number of sponsors have expressed private concern about the impact the deal could have on the sport's popularity in 2012.

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh insisted, however, that he was not too worried about the situation.

"I don't think there are any [concerns] here. I think that is just speculation," he said when asked if he had any fears of dwindling sponsorship revenue because of smaller viewing figures.

"At the moment we have to do a careful analysis of it, but the view yesterday was that the viewership would increase as a consequence of the amount of time and coverage that F1 will present – because you have got BBC and Sky competing.

"You have got deferred coverage as well, and for a lot of grands prix it will frankly probably be better to have it in the UK a few hours later in any case.

"I think we have to be aware of that. It is important in the UK market that we have as much coverage as possible."

Autosport

Jenson Button WON in his 200th GP

Jenson Button claimed victory in his 200th grand prix as he perfectly judged an absorbing race in changeable weather in Hungary.

McLaren could have had a one-two, with Lewis Hamilton leading much of the race, but a tyre strategy misjudgement and a penalty ruined Hamilton's afternoon.

World championship leader Sebastian Vettel had to settle for second, ahead of Fernando Alonso's Ferrari and the recovering Hamilton.

McLaren had taken the advantage early in a race that began on a damp track with everyone on intermediates, Hamilton attacking Vettel relentlessly through the opening laps as both slid around in a dice more reminiscent of a karting scrap than Formula 1.

The lead finally changed on lap five, when Vettel ran wide at Turn 2 and Hamilton breezed past and pulled away, soon extending a four-second lead over the championship leader, who was at least able to drop Button at this stage.

Laps 10 to 13 saw all the leaders decide the track was ready for slicks, and coming in one lap sooner than Vettel paid off for Button, who made the most of this warmer tyres and greater confidence to take second place into Turn 2.

Mark Webber pulled off the same move on Alonso for fourth at the same time. The Ferrari had lost ground through the first corner on the opening lap, then charged back up the order despite two minor trips off the road.

The relatively serene middle phase of the race saw Hamilton holding a comfortable gap over Button, who had a similar 5s advantage back to Vettel, while Webber fended off Alonso 10s behind them.

Alonso decided to make a relatively early third pitstop and take another set of super softs, while all the other leaders except Hamilton switched to the harder softs at this point.

That burst of pace allowed Alonso to jump both Red Bulls during his rapid laps before they pitted, though the tyres then began to wear and he lost third to Vettel again.

Hamilton followed the same strategy as Alonso, which left him looking very vulnerable to Button, but in the event the return of the rain rendered these tactics rather irrelevant.

The sudden shower hit on lap 47, causing Hamilton to spin at the chicane. He tried to rejoin as quickly as possible, but could not prevent Button taking the lead - and also forced Paul di Resta's lapped Force India off the road as he rotated, a move that would ultimately earn Hamilton a penalty.

With the rain increasing, Button slipped up at Turn 2 four laps later, allowing Hamilton back into the lead. Button retaliated on the following lap and briefly regained first place on the pits straight, only to go wide again at Turn 2 as the top spot was exchanged yet again.

But just as Hamilton moved back into first, he made what turned out to be the costly decision to pit again for intermediates. It was obvious almost immediately that this was the wrong call, as the rain rapidly vanished, and the Briton was soon back in for slicks. His drive-through penalty for nearly wiping out di Resta soon followed, dropping him to sixth and leaving Button clear to win.

The 2009 champion briefly came under pressure from Vettel, but had the pace to pull away again and clinch his second victory of the year.

With Webber also switching to intermediates unnecessary, Alonso regained third, which he held despite a quick late spin.

Hamilton battled back to fourth ahead of Webber, with Felipe Massa recovering from an early spin to sixth.

Kamui Kobayashi tried to go the distance on just two tyre stops and held seventh heading into the closing stages, albeit with a massive queue of cars chasing his Sauber. The plan did not work, and he had to pit for fresh rubber after tumbling down the order, as Paul di Resta (Force India) came through to seventh and Sebastien Buemi turned 23rd on the grid into an eighth place for Toro Rosso.

Mercedes only took ninth place, Nico Rosberg having also pitted for intermediates late on. Michael Schumacher had a gearbox problem shortly after spinning while dicing with Massa in the opening stages. Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) clashed with Kobayashi during their late battle but still took 10th.

Adrian Sutil (Force India) and Sergio Perez (Sauber) saw their great qualifying results wasted in a first lap incident that delayed both.

One of the most spectacular incidents of this highly eventful race befell Nick Heidfeld, whose Renault caught fire in the pit exit after a long stop, with a minor explosion on its left-hand side as the marshals dealt with the blaze.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The Hungarian Grand Prix
The Hungaroring, Hungary;
70 laps; 306.663km;
Weather: Mixed conditions.

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team                       Time
 1.  Button        McLaren-Mercedes           1h43:42.337
 2.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault           +     3.588
 3.  Alonso        Ferrari                    +    19.819
 4.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes           +    48.338
 5.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault           +    49.742
 6.  Massa         Ferrari                    +  1:17.176
 7.  Di Resta      Force India-Mercedes       +     1 lap
 8.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +     1 lap
 9.  Rosberg       Mercedes                   +     1 lap
10.  Alguersuari   Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +     1 lap
11.  Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari             +     1 lap
12.  Petrov        Renault                    +     1 lap
13.  Barrichello   Williams-Cosworth          +    2 laps
14.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes       +    2 laps
15.  Perez         Sauber-Ferrari             +    2 laps
16.  Maldonado     Williams-Cosworth          +    2 laps
17.  Glock         Virgin-Cosworth            +    4 laps
18.  Ricciardo     HRT-Cosworth               +    4 laps
19.  D'Ambrosio    Virgin-Cosworth            +    5 laps
20.  Liuzzi        HRT-Cosworth               +    5 laps

Fastest lap: Massa, 1:23.415

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                         On lap
Kovalainen    Lotus-Renault                56
Schumacher    Mercedes                     27
Heidfeld      Renault                      24
Trulli        Lotus-Renault                18


World Championship standings, round 11:                

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  Vettel       234        1.  Red Bull-Renault          383
 2.  Webber       149        2.  McLaren-Mercedes          280
 3.  Hamilton     146        3.  Ferrari                   215
 4.  Alonso       145        4.  Mercedes                   80
 5.  Button       134        5.  Renault                    66
 6.  Massa         70        6.  Sauber-Ferrari             35
 7.  Rosberg       48        7.  Force India-Mercedes       26
 8.  Heidfeld      34        8.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari         22
 9.  Schumacher    32        9.  Williams-Cosworth           4
10.  Petrov        32       
11.  Kobayashi     27       
12.  Sutil         18       
13.  Buemi         12       
14.  Alguersuari   10       
15.  Di Resta       8       
16.  Perez          8       
17.  Barrichello    4       
       
All timing unofficial

Autosport

Nifty Motorcycle Related Decorating Items

Nifty Motorcycle Related Decorating Items Spotted at the local Hobby Lobby I thought was interesting enough to share, Click to enlarge:

This was a neat framed shadow box of a Miniature Motorcycle Shop

Assorted Metal Bikes 

Evan a Side Car 

Wall Art 

Wall Mural 

Ride On,

Torch

Final Brickyard 400 Driver Ratings Following All Practice Sessions

Micah Roberts' Top 10 Driver Ratings
All-State 400 at the Brickyard
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Sunday, July 31, 2011 - 10:19 am (PDT)

Rating   Driver   Odds         Practice 1  Practice 2  Practice 3  Qualified

1. Jimmie Johnson 6/1          32nd          3rd          10th          3rd
Three-time winner, his only top-10 Indy finishes in last eight starts; new chassis this week.

2. Greg Biffle 15/1                20th           1st            1st          18th
Finished fourth and third in last two Indy starts; 13.9 average finish in eight starts.

3. Matt Kenseth 10/1            1st           29th           8th           9th
Two-time runner-up; using winning Texas chassis that finished second at Michigan as well.

4. Carl Edwards 6/1               4th            6th            5th          10th
Runner-up in 2008, his only top-five in six starts; using fifth-place Kansas chassis.

5. Jeff Gordon 10/1               9th           26th          26th           8th
Four-time winner with an average finish of 9.5 in 17 starts; last win came in 2004.

6. Kevin Harvick 10/1         30th            5th           11th         19th
2003 winner with an average finish of 9.9, runner-up last year. Using Darlington car this week.

7. Denny Hamlin 12/1          2nd           18th          28th          14th
Best finsh of third in 2008; third best 10-consecutive lap average in final practice.

8. Juan Pablo Montoya 10/1 7th          31st            6th            7th
2007 runner-up finisher with an average running position of 11.53; 2000 Indy 500 winner.

9. Kasey Kahne 30/1           2nd           13th           2nd            2nd
Runner-up in 2005 with an average finish position of 15.6 in seven starts; great practices.

10. Clint Bowyer 30/1         15th           17th          13th           26th
Best finish of fourth in 2010 tied career his best set in 2006; debuts new chassis this week.

Note: Results from the June 12, 2011 race at Pocono Raceway can serve as a great barometer for handicapping Indy. The long straightaways and flat turns of Pocono make it the most similar track to Indianapolis. Drivers that did well then should do well Sunday.

Odds courtesy of the Las Vegas Hilton Super Book.

Micah Roberts, a former race and sports director, has been setting NASCAR lines in Las Vegas since 1995. For more Roberts insights and post-practice analysis on the race, go to VegasInsider.com or follow MicahRoberts7 on Twitter.


Brickyard Starting Lineup

Webber blames no DRS on the straight, cold tyres for poor qualifying

Mark Webber blamed having no DRS and cold tyres for his disappointing qualifying performance ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Australian will start from sixth position, his worst qualifying since the Chinese Grand Prix, after finishing over six tenths off the pace in the final shootout.

Webber explained after qualifying that he had done the main straight of his final Q3 run without DRS enabled because of an error when activating it.


He had also been held up for Jenson Button during his out-lap, which means his tyres were not at the perfect temperature.

The Red Bull driver said his times after Turn 5 had been the same as team-mate's Sebastian Vettel, on pole today.

"It wasn't the smoothest session," said Webber. "Basically if you look at the last lap, which is the most important one I was very optimistic about doing a pretty good job.

"The problem really started on the out-lap because the McLarens were too slow. We need more pace than that and I couldn't go any quicker because Jenson wouldn't let me pass, which is fair enough. It's all fair game and I would do the same thing.

"Because it was my first lap onto the start/finish with KERS and DRS, it looks like I tried to activate the DRS a bit early and it didn't respond, so I did the whole straight without the DRS and I didn't notice because I used the KERS.

"That, in combination with Jenson, meant my first sector was a complete disaster. And from Turn 5 until the end of the lap it was identical to Sebastian."

Autosport

Biffle Fastest, Again, In Final Brickyard Practice

Greg Biffle, with a lap speed of 182.567 mph, was fastest in the final Brickyard 400 practice session. It was the second practice session in a row that Biffle had the fastest lap.

Kasey Kahne was second fastest with a lap speed of 182.441 mph, and was followed by Kurt Busch (181.829), David Ragan (181.800) and Carl Edwards (181.514).

Rounding out the top-ten fastest in “Happy Hour” were Juan Pablo Montoya (181.368), A.J. Allmendinger (181.346), Matt Kenseth (181.258), Brian Vickers (181.251) and Jimmie Johnson (181.229).

Final Practice Speeds

Vettel beats McLarens to Hungarian Grand Prix pole

Sebastian Vettel maintained Red Bull's 100 per cent pole position record this year as he stormed to the head of the Hungarian Grand Prix grid with a flying late effort in qualifying.

The world champion had been trailing behind Lewis Hamilton as he began his second and final effort at the end of Q3, but saved his best until last as he lapped the Hungaroring in 1m19.815s, just 0.163 seconds ahead of the McLaren driver.

Jenson Button made it two McLarens inside the front three while a superb late effort by Felipe Massa gave him fourth spot, demoting his Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso to fifth and the Red Bull of last year's race winner Mark Webber to sixth.

Adrian Sutil was a superb eighth for Force India, splitting Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher as the trio - unlike the top six - only undertook a single flying lap in Q3. Sergio Perez, who will start 10th for Sauber, did not bother going out at all.

There was a gap of almost two seconds from first to 10th with a couple of minutes of Q2 remaining, the result of which was that the top seven at that moment - led by Button - did not undertake second runs.

All of those drivers had done enough to make it into Q3, but behind them the order was constantly changing. Late flyers for Sutil and Schumacher brought the Force India and Mercedes drivers into the top 10 after the chequered flag had come out.

The big loser was Sutil's team-mate Paul di Resta, who was bumped back to 11th. The Renaults of Vitaly Petrov and Nick Heidfeld were 12th and 14th, split by Kamui Kobayashi's Sauber, while Rubens Barrichello and Jaime Alguersuari were next up for Williams and Toro Rosso.

Barrichello's team-mate Pastor Maldonado did not venture out in Q2, after the Venezuelan pulled himself into the session at the very end of Q1 with a flying lap. The Williams driver knocked Sebastien Buemi's Toro Rosso out of the reckoning.

The star of Q1 was Heikki Kovalainen, who put his Lotus 19th and just over 0.1s behind Buemi.

Behind him were his team-mate Jarno Trulli, Virgin's Timo Glock and Hispania drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi and Daniel Ricciardo, all of whom will move ahead of Buemi once his five-place grid penalty for colliding with Heidfeld in German last weekend is applied.

Pos  Driver                Team                 Time          Gap   
 1.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     1m19.815s
 2.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes     1m19.978s  + 0.163
 3.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1m20.024s  + 0.209
 4.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari              1m20.350s  + 0.535
 5.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1m20.365s  + 0.550
 6.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault     1m20.474s  + 0.659
 7.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             1m21.098s  + 1.283
 8.  Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes 1m21.445s  + 1.630
 9.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes             1m21.907s  + 2.092
10.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari       No time
Q2 cut-off time: 1m23.067s                                   Gap **
11.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes 1m22.256s   + 1.994
12.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault              1m22.284s   + 2.022
13.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari       1m22.435s   + 2.173
14.  Nick Heidfeld         Renault              1m22.470s   + 2.208
15.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth    1m22.684s   + 2.422
16.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m22.979s   + 2.717
17.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth    No time
Q1 cut-off time: 1m23.285s                                    Gap *
18.  Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m24.070s  + 2.492
19.  Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault        1m24.362s  + 2.784
20.  Jarno Trulli          Lotus-Renault        1m24.534s  + 2.956
21.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth      1m26.294s  + 4.716
22.  Tonio Liuzzi          HRT-Cosworth         1m26.323s  + 4.745
23.  Daniel Ricciardo      HRT-Cosworth         1m26.479s  + 4.901
24.  Jerome D'Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth      1m26.510s  + 4.932

107% time: 1m27.288s

* Gap to quickest in Q1

** Gap to quickest in Q2

Autosport

Bernie Ecclestone says Sky pay-to-view TV deal will grow F1's audience

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has promised that the sport's audience will grow with the onset of Sky's pay-to-view television deal from 2012.

A surprise deal was announced on Friday morning that the BBC and Sky Sports will share coverage of the sport in the UK from 2012 - with the satellite and cable broadcaster showing all live sessions while the BBC transmits only half on terrestrial digital television - prompting a wave of angry responses from license holders on internet forums and Twitter.

But Ecclestone, speaking after leaving a meeting to address the subject with F1's team principals, insisted that the deal is positive for the sport.

"It's good for Formula 1," he said. "For sure there are going to be a lot more people viewing, and a lot more opportunities for people to view, so from that point I'm very happy.

"I've been finalising this all night long and one or two things might change a little."

"Sky will broadcast everything, all the races, live. The Beeb will do 50 per cent live, and when it isn't live, they will be putting together a very good highlights package.

"They [BBC] may yet do the whole race deferred, we have to see."

Asked what he would say to fans who could not afford a Sky subscription, Ecclestone replied: "That's where the problem is, I know, but from what I understand Sky has enormous coverage, 10 million homes.

"For those who can't watch Sky, they can still watch on a Sunday night, which will probably be better than watching the whole race live half the time," he added.

Ecclestone added that the deal was not complicated by issues surrounding the current Concorde Agreement because the covenant comes to an end prior to the beginning of the Sky contract.

"The Concorde finishes in 2012," he said. "After then there may not be one, we don't need one. We'll see.

"But I think this is all positive, and having spoken to the teams, they think it's positive too."

Along with indicating that the deal was likely to mean more income for the teams, Ecclestone spoke about the general onset of pay-per-view television and how the media landscape affected F1 in the future.

"We do have to do the best we can, and I'm interested in getting the maximum coverage because we have to invest in the future for the good of the teams and for Formula 1," he said.

"I think in the end people will be more happy with this than they are at the moment."

Autosport

Sebastian Vettel back on top in final practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix

Some late-night working from his mechanics appeared to pay dividends for Sebastian Vettel on Saturday morning, as he went fastest around the Hungaroring for Red Bull, three-tenths quicker than Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

Jenson Button was third for McLaren, followed by Mark Webber in the second Red Bull, Ferrari's Felipe Massa, Mercedes' Nico Rosberg and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton. 

Sebastian Vettel suggested that Red Bull's hard late-night work might have paid off as he beat Fernando Alonso's Ferrari to the top spot in final practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

After Vettel was unhappy with the car on Friday, Red Bull used its first curfew exception of the year to work into the night trying to improve the set-up.

Vettel then led most of the middle part of the session this morning, having set a 1m22.021s early in the running on harder tyres. Even though he ran wide on his first flying lap on his next outing and took the best out of his tyres, he was still far enough clear of the field that he set a lap that would have been good enough for second next time around.

Alonso was then the first driver to set a good time on the super soft tyres, jumping to the front with a 1m21.469s with 10 minutes to go.

But Vettel's qualifying-style lap was even faster, the world champion clocking a 1m21.168s to end the session on top by 0.301s.

Although Jenson Button took third for McLaren, his team-mate Lewis Hamilton did not get a chance to show what he could do at the end.

The Friday pacesetter ran wide at Turn 1 at the start of what would have been his first flying lap on super softs, reported over the radio that the brakes "did not work" and pitted after one more lap. That left Hamilton seventh in the end.

Mark Webber was just behind Button in fourth for Red Bull, ahead of Felipe Massa - the Ferrari driving having been some small mistakes on his super soft run. He had earlier narrowly avoided the barriers at the chicane during a trip over the grass.

Nico Rosberg's Mercedes completed the top six, with Hamilton, the second Mercedes of Michael Schumacher, Vitaly Petrov's Renault and Paul di Resta's Force India next up. Nick Heidfeld was just outside the top 10 in the other Renault after losing time parked in the garage with a fuel system problem.

At the tail of the field, the Virgins and Hispanias were all outside the 107 per cent rule had it been applied to this session - although the leading drivers are unlikely to use super softs in Q1.

Pos No Driver Team Time/Retired Gap Laps
1 1 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1:21.168
2 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:21.469 0.301
3 4 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.639 0.471
4 2 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 1:21.645 0.477
5 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:22.002 0.834
6 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:22.534 1.366
7 3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:22.667 1.499
8 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:23.037 1.869
9 10 Vitaly Petrov Renault 1:23.175 2.007
10 15 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:23.276 2.108
11 9 Nick Heidfeld Renault 1:23.281 2.113
12 17 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1:23.375 2.207
13 16 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:23.626 2.458
14 11 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:23.663 2.495
15 12 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1:23.894 2.726
16 14 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:23.966 2.798
17 19 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 1:23.998 2.830
18 18 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 1:25.061 3.893
19 21 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1:25.141 3.973
20 20 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1:25.501 4.333
21 25 Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1:26.955 5.787
22 22 Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1:26.991 5.823
23 24 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:27.174 6.006
24 23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1:27.713 6.545

Autosport

BBC says Sky Formula 1 deal is the best possible solution

The BBC insists that its share deal with Sky to broadcast Formula 1 in 2012 was the best possible solution that was available to viewers.

Although the move, which will result in the BBC broadcasting half the races with the other 10 on Sky's subscription channel, has prompted fury from fans, the channel reckons there was no other option available.

With the BBC under pressure to cut costs, Ben Gallop, the BBC's Head of F1, says that keeping half the races on free-to-air should be welcomed by fans - as it was impossible for the coverage to continue with the way it is currently being done.

"While our coverage from 2012 may not be as extensive as it has been up to now, the bare facts are that the BBC needs to save money," he wrote on a blog on the BBC.

"Given the financial circumstances in which we find ourselves, we believe this new deal offers the best outcome for licence-fee payers.

"In a sense this partnership with Sky is another example of how the landscape of sports broadcasting has been transformed in recent years. There was a time when the BBC and other public service broadcasters could expect to televise all the big sports themselves. Now though we have a 'mixed economy', with some events on satellite while others are on terrestrial."

He added: "This new F1 arrangement will allow us to tell the story of the whole F1 season for BBC viewers, while providing extended access to the biggest moments in the calendar: including the glamour of Monaco, the excitement of the last race of the season, plus the British grand prix at Silverstone, which remains one of the highlights of the UK's sporting summer."

Autosport

Formula 1 teams accept there is no going back on Sky deal

Formula 1 teams will have to accept Bernie Ecclestone's decision to put some races on pay television only next year, AUTOSPORT has learned, with there being no protection in the Concorde Agreement against taking it off free-to-air viewing.

Although it had been widely believed there were clauses in the Concorde Agreement which prevented Ecclestone taking the sport off free-to-air television, it has been revealed that the wording of the deal does not stop him activating the kind of share deal that has been put in place with the BBC and Sky.


High level sources have revealed that the wording of an Appendix in the Concorde Agreement relating to the broadcasting of the sport states: "The Commercial Rights Holder may not permit Formula 1 events to be shown only by pay television in a country with a significant audience if it would materially adversely affect audience reach in that country."

As well as Ecclestone's deal ensuring that not all the races are shown 'only' on pay television, there would be no way of challenging the move to Sky as potentially 'adversely' affecting the audience ahead of the move happening.

Although the Sky/BBC deal has resulted in an angry reaction from fans, who are furious that they will have to pay to continue watching every race from next year, teams' concerns have been placated by the financial benefits of the new deal.

Ecclestone met with teams on Friday afternoon to inform them of the details of the deal - which could net each outfit a extra benefit of around £1 million per season over its duration - with the Sky/BBC deal bringing in around £55 million per year, compared to the estimated £40 million per season that BBC currently pays for exclusive rights.

HRT team boss Colin Kolles said any F1 squads criticising Ecclestone for the move were wrong, because of the huge financial benefits the new deal brings to teams.

"If you would ask my colleagues after the meeting with Bernie Ecclestone, everybody is very happy," Kolles told AUTOSPORT. "Bernie has shown again to his people, who are criticising him, what fantastic deals he has done.

"He has also done fantastic for the fans because it is not only 10 races on BBC live, you also have the other 10 races on at prime time, at 6pm, on BBC - which is even better because I don't believe that someone likes to wake up at 4am to watch an F1 race.

"This will bring much increased viewership and it brings a quite amazing deal to the stakeholders of F1. I think Bernie has shown again what a fantastic job he is doing and this has to be really appreciated."

But although the teams will enjoy financial benefits from the new BBC/Sky deal, other stakeholders in the sport are not totally convinced about the situation.

Pirelli's director of motorsport Paul Hembery said he was eager to know whether F1's viewership would be hurt by the move to pay television.

"It is more to do with viewing figures from our point of view, as we look at it from the sponsors' view," he told AUTOSPORT. "The more people that watch it, the better it is for us.

"I am quite sure that medium term, such a move will have a great impact on the viewing figures because you have improved the product given to the fan, and that will still bring great viewing figures.

"Teams will be worried about income streams and other sponsors, like us, will want to know what impact it has on viewing figures. That is how you calculate your return on being in the sport. It is the equivalent of the advertising rate card. You need seconds on the screen multiplied by the number of people watching it. It is a very simple calculation."

Hembery said he was not surprised that fans are angry about the move – and said he expected many casual fans to simply turn away from the sport.

"You can understand the fans' point of view," he said. "They have had something for free and now they have to pay for it. It is human nature to say 'I had it for free'. As a licence payer I just hope there aren't more reality shows.

"Tuning into a free-to-view channel, or getting yourself a dish and signing up to a financial contract is very different. You reduce the chances of the casual viewer tuning in, but it might be one of those cases where you have to go back a step to go forward. We will be disappointed if the great work that has been done this year to the sport is lost, particularly in a key market such as the UK."

Autosport

Biffle Fastest in Second Brickyard Practice Session



Greg Biffle topped the second practice session Friday

Greg Biffle, with a lap speed of 178.310 mph, was the fastest during Friday's second Brickyard 400 practice session at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Most of the teams used the session in race trim and these speeds may be the best indicator of what may happen on race day. Biffle also had very good average times as well.

Biffle is the second Roush-Fenway driver to lead a Brickyard practice session. Matt Kenseth led the first session in what was primarily done in qualifying trim. Kenseth finshed 29th best in the later session.

Jack Roush has gone 17 Brickyard 400's without a win by any of his drivers on the track, but looks to have a grip on what it's going to take this week. The Las Vegas co-favorite to win the race was Carl Edwards (6/1) who finished sixth fastest with the best overall average speeds among drivers who ran at least 15 laps. David Ragan was 21st  fastest.

Martin Truex Jr. was second fastest with a lap speed of 178.172 mph, and was followed by Jimmie Johnson (177.669), Casey Mears (177.288) and Kevin Harvick (177.249).

Rounding out the top-ten fastest in practice were Edwards (177.228), Joey Logano (177.019), David Reutimann (176.984), Jeff Burton (176.904) and Brian Vickers (176.817).

Four-time Brickyard winner Jeff Gordon had the best 10 consecutive lap average in the practice, followed by Paul menard and Clint Bowyer.

The teams will return to the track on Saturday morning for their “Happy Hour” practice session that is scheduled to run from 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM (EDT) with qualifying scheduled at 2:10 PM (EDT) that afternoon.

Practice 2 Speeds

Kenseth Fastest in First Brickyard 400 Practice

Kenseth could be in store for the pole

Matt Kenseth, with a lap speed of 181.203 mph, was the quickest during the first Brickyard 400 practice session. Most of the drivers were in qualifying-trim for the session and will use the second session today with their race set-ups.

Kenseth performing well shouldn't be too much of a surprise, not only because of two runner-up finishes on the fabled track, but also because of the chassis he brought this week. He's using his winning Texas car that also finished runner-up at Michigan and sixth at Kentucky.

Needless to say, Kenseth looks to be dialed in for the race and a top contender to win and give Jack Roush his first Brickyard win.

Second fastest in practice with a lap speed of 181.178 mph, was Kasey Kahne, followed by Denny Hamlin (181.050), Carl Edwards (180.658) and David Ragan (180.404).

Kurt Busch, with a lap speed of 180.270 mph, was sixth fastest on the speed chart, while Juan Pablo Montoya (180.144), Jamie McMurray (179.634), Jeff Gordon (179.519) and Jeff Burton (179.412) rounded out the top-10.

The teams will have one more practice session today from 3:15 PM – 4:30 PM (EDT) before returning Saturday morning for their “Happy Hour” session (10:00 AM – 11:30 AM -EDT) before qualifying at 2:10 PM (EDT) later that afternoon.

Practice Speeds

Turkish Grand Prix poised to lose 2012 F1 calendar spot

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Turkish Grand Prix in 90 seconds

The Turkish Grand Prix is expected to be dropped from next year's Formula 1 calendar after teams were told it was no longer on the itinerary.

A schedule handed out by F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone includes 20 races, rather than the 21 on the original list.

McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale said: "It is always sad when you lose a grand prix from the calendar. We are sorry to see Turkey go."

Turkey has hosted a race since 2005 but attendances have been poor.

It had been on a 21-race schedule released by governing body the FIA in June, which includes the inaugural United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.

But the teams' contracts with F1 dictate there can be no more than 20 grands prix in a season.

TURKISH GP WINNERS

Continue reading the main story

• 2005 Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren)
• 2006 Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
• 2007 Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
• 2008 Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
• 2009 Jenson Button (Brawn)
• 2010 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
• 2011 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)

Virgin Racing chairman Graeme Lowdon said: "The calendar already has 20 races, as a smaller team 21 is too many."

The Bahrain Grand Prix, which was scheduled to be the opening race of the 2011 season before being cancelled because of the civil unrest in the country, has been pencilled in for late in the 2012 campaign.

Autosport has reported that it has now been moved to a new date as the third last race on 4 November.

The magazine added that the US race, originally scheduled for June, would now be the penultimate race on 18 November, a week before the season climax in Brazil.

That was in response to concern about the high temperatures in Texas in June.

BBC

Webber takes responsibility for crash

Mark Webber suffered only cosmetic damage in the crash during FP1 © Press Association

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Mark Webber took full responsibility for his crash in first practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix, saying it was simply his mistake.

Webber was fourth quickest when he ran slightly wide at turn nine and spun, pitching the car in to the barrier on the inside head on and ripping off the nose cone, along with causing a left front puncture. Webber said it was a kerb that had caught drivers out before, but that he was only focused on finding the limits of the track.

"I made a mistake this morning when I got on the damp kerb," Webber said. "I've seen a few of those over the last few years, but drivers still don't learn - we still go out there and push! I clipped the 'turf and hit the barrier, but fortunately only the front wing was damaged."

Although he lost out on running in the rest of the session, Webber said the incident did not cost him too much track time after completing 35 laps in the afternoon, but that it was clearly a three-horse race for victory between Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari.

"We recovered pretty well this afternoon and got a lot of mileage in. The car ran well and we have lots of info to go through tonight. The tricky thing is the tyres. Ferrari and McLaren are certainly performing well, as they have done at the last few races - it's no big surprise that they are doing decent lap times and it's a race between all of us."

ESPNF1

McLaren 'very strong' - Alonso

Fernando Alonso was again chasing a McLaren in Hungary © Sutton Images

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llonso coocked up so many miles Alonso said it was crucial to analyse the tyre degradation ahead of the race on Sunday.

"We finished the planned work programme and that's always a positive start to a race weekend. Now we will analyse all the data gathered and make the best choices for qualifying and the race. I am pleased I was able to do so much running, especially from the point of view of studying the tyre degradation, which at this track is always a significant factor. The track is still very dirty, as is the norm for a Friday at the Hungaroring: however, we know it will improve each day and by Sunday afternoon, it will be much more rubbered in than today."

Alonso finished second to Hamilton in Germany, and with the McLaren topping the timesheets at the end of both sessions he said it was clear that it would be in the fight for victory once again, while Ferrari needs to find more time.

"We saw that McLaren looks very strong, as indeed it was last weekend. Now we must try and improve the car, especially in the third sector of the track, where we seem to be suffering more than most."

ESPNF1