Hamilton just fifth; Di Resta to replace unwell Massa for Williams
Monday 31 July 2017 11:29, UK
Sebastian Vettel set a new track record for the Hungaroring as Ferrari revealed a devastating turn of speed in final practice for the Hungarian GP.
Vettel's supersoft-shod lap of 1:17.017, topping a Ferrari 1-2 ahead of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, was the fastest ever recorded around the Budapest circuit, breaking the 13-year-old benchmark set by Rubens Barrichello in 2004.
Valtteri Bottas was third quickest in the Mercedes with Lewis Hamilton, also outpaced by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, almost 1.5 seconds adrift of Vettel's searing lap.
The Englishman, who trails Vettel by one point at the halfway of the stage of the season, slithered off track at the first corner of his flying lap.
Hamilton can equal Michael Schumacher's all-time record for most pole positions in F1 in Hungary but Sky F1 analyst Damon Hill warned: "Lewis will be worried after that".
Mercedes, yet to top a session this weekend, spent much of Practice Three running on the soft tyres, suggesting the world champions will attempt to reach the final round of qualifying on the slower compound with the intention of running a longer first stint in Sunday's race.
But Mercedes' struggle to respond to Ferrari's searing pace was far from the most dramatic turn of events.
Having been given the all-clear to start the session after complaining of feeling unwell on Friday, Felipe Massa completed just 12 laps and is set to miss the rest of the weekend.
Sky F1 pundit Paul di Resta, the team's reserve driver, will replace the Brazilian for Qualifying.
Sky's Di Resta to race in Hungary
The Scot is yet to drive the Williams car this year but will be thrown into the deep end for one of the most race-affecting qualifying sessions of the season.
For the third session in a row, both McLarens reached the top ten, with Stoffel Vandoorne as high as sixth, but there was disappointment and concern for Red Bull.
After topping Friday's timesheets, Daniel Ricciardo sat out most of Saturday morning's running after his car became stuck in fifth gear.
The Australian took a five-place grid drop at last week's British GP due to an unscheduled gearbox and another penalty may well be meted out against the Red Bull ahead of qualifying.
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