Formula 1 Hungarian GP 2013: Where to Watch Final Practice and Qualifying Live and Weather Updates
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel favourite to grab pole position at the Hungaroring after impressing in Friday practice
Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull look on course to register a fourth pole position of the season, at the Hungaroring in Hungary. The defending world champions recorded the fastest times in each of the two practice sessions on Friday, with team mate Mark Webber second on each occasion.
The 4.381km Hungaroring is traditionally a dusty circuit at the start of the race weekend, meaning there is limited grip in the early sessions. However, as we have seen so far, increased track time and rubber on the asphalt drops times dramatically from session to session.
READ: Formula 1 Hungarian GP 2013: Where to Watch Race Live and Weather Updates
Expect times on Saturday to drop even further, as we build to the all-important qualifying period later in the day. The Hungaroring is a difficult circuit to overtake on, primarily because of the slow and twisty outfield section. The second sector is largely made of slow to medium-speed corners that flow very quickly into one another, demanding precision driving and a very stable car for optimum performance.
As usual, Saturday will see the final practice session - a 60-minute period starting at 11am local time - followed by qualifying for Sunday's race.
Where to Watch Final Practice for 2013 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix
Live coverage of the final practice session starts at 9.45am BST on Sky Sports F1. Radio commentary is on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and starts at 10.15am BST. Real time internet updates are available on the Live Timing section of the sport's website.
Live coverage of the qualifying session starts at 12pm BST on Sky Sports F1. Radio commentary is on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and starts at 12.55pm BST. Real time internet updates are available on the Live Timing section of the sport's website.
READ: Formula 1 Hungarian GP 2013: Lewis Hamilton Steals Pole from Sebastian Vettel
Friday Practice Review
Vettel clocked 1:22.723 and 1:21.264 on Friday, as almost every driver on the grid improved by around 1.5s from the morning to the afternoon.
READ: Formula 1 Hungarian GP 2013: Vettel and Webber Control Pace at Hungaroring
Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso remains in the hunt for pole as well, although the scarlet cars (based on performance this season) are not the strongest runners in qualifying. We would normally expect Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton (sixth in the afternoon with 1:21.802) and Nico Rosberg (seventh in the afternoon with 1:21.991) to challenge Vettel for pole but given the performance dip the German works team has suffered - as a result of missing the Silverstone young drivers' test - the Red Bull team leader might have a clear run to the top of the grid.
Alonso clocked 1:23.099 on Friday morning and improved to 1:21.426 in the afternoon, with team mate Felipe Massa right behind on 1:21.544. Lotus' Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean had a mixed day, with the Finn dropping to eighthin the afternoon after a third-place finish in the morning. Grosjean, though, improved from fifth to third with 1:21.417.
READ: Formula 1 Hungarian GP 2013: Vettel and Webber Keep Red Bull on Top
Behind the front-runners, McLaren and Force-India continued their duel, with honours more or less even. Jenson Button was faster than Adrian Sutil in both sessions but Paul di Resta produced a 1:22.526 in the afternoon to push Sergio Perez to 12th.
Weather Updates
The Hungaroring is one of the few circuits on the FIA calendar that virtually guarantees a hot and sunshine-filled race. And this weekend has been no exception so far. Track temperatures soared to above 40C on Friday and that will likely be the case again on Saturday.
The final practice session begins at 11am local time, with temperatures expected to hover between 33C and 36C. Cloud cover is nil, meaning the track will receive the full force of the sun's warmth and with only the slightest hint of a breeze, conditions are likely to be a little stifling.
Qualifying, which starts at 2pm local time, will be quite similar in conditions, except that we might see lightly stronger wind speeds.
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