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Rosberg Tops Pole Position In Hungary

Lewis Hamilton walks back to the pits after encountering his second retirement in qualifying Saturday for the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring. The Briton will start 21st. [Photo by Sutton Images]

BUDAPEST, Hungary- Coming off a victory in his home race recently, along with having to adapt to a twisty and dry track did not deter series leader Nico Rosberg, who clocked a final session 1:22:715 fastest time to take pole for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring. Sebastian Vettel had one of his best qualifying sessions of this year to finish second, while Valterri Bottas continues his success in the grid, placing third.

“I would prefer to be out there battling with Lewis, that would give me the maximum adrenaline rush,” Rosberg said. “Of course I’m very, very happy but it a prevented a gloves-off battle with Lewis and that takes away a little bit the ecstatic happiness.”

The opening session set a spell on Lewis Hamilton once again, as the Briton had trouble right on his flying lap, and failed to complete a time. Hamilton tried to bring back his Mercedes to the pit lane, but the engine caught fire and Hamilton had to escape quickly as the fire engulfed his car. Hamilton will start from the back of the grid in 21st.

Kimi Raikkonen also joined Hamilton as one of the drivers knocked out of the opening session by making an error and saving his softer tires for later. Frenchman Jules Bianchi made things worse by finishing in 16th, one place higher than Raikkonen. Pastor Maldonado, who just signed with Lotus for another season, ended up another casualty in the opening session by having a car problem where he will end up starting Sunday in the back of the grid next to Hamilton.

In the second session, there was no major incidents, but a big disappointment as Toro Rosso’s Dani Kvyat spun on his final lap at turn 12 and stalled his car. The Russian rookie will just start in 11th place, just missing the final qualifying session.

The final session itself began with a brief rain shower, which at this circuit can be rare, but it dried quickly. But for Kevin Magnussen, it did not completely dry out as the Danish rookie struck the wall in turn one , which briefly brought out the red flag. Magnussen could not get back into the session, and had to settle for tenth. Rosberg continued his quest for the pole, and at the conclusion, beat Vettel by four tenths of a second.

For the rest of the grid, Daniel Ricciairdo finished fourth in the second Red Bull, while Fernando Alonso took fifth and Felipe Massa sixth. Jenson Button took an impressive seventh, while Jean-Eric Vergne finished in eighth. Nico Hulkenberg finished ninth.

Rosberg afterwards realized that despite his car not having many problems this season, anything can happen with quite a few races remaining..

“That’s been a pity for the team, reliability, not a good thing definitely and we need to keep working on that. Rosberg stated. “It’s massively disappointing when the car breaks down, I had it two races ago in Silverstone. It’s tough because it’s not something you can control – it’s difficult. Tomorrow is still going to be a long race and a challenging race, especially with the weather coming, so it’s all to play for.”

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