Massa tops the charts

Felipe Massa was the man to beat in the final practice session ahead of qualifying for the Hungarian GP.

Felipe Massa was the man to beat in the final practice session ahead of qualifying for the Hungarian GP. The Ferrari driver, who struggled for pace on Friday, posted a one minute 20.183s best to beat reigning world champion Fernando Alonso by 0.231s. Lewis Hamilton was third quickest, a further 0.047s back. Anthony Davidson and Adrian Sutil were the first out of the pits as all the drivers barring the Ferrari pairing came out to complete their installation laps. Sakon Yamamoto, Adrian Sutil, Rubens Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli each had their turn at the top of the timesheets before Kimi Raikkonen grabbed it 20 minutes into the session with a 1:21.257. Raikkonen continued lapping taking vital tenths of his time. However, a flying Hamilton got the jump on the entire field with a 1:20.764, which put him in first place ahead of Raikkonen and Alonso. Halfway through the session the top eight was Hamilton, Raikkonen, Alonso, Trulli, Felipe Massa, Schumacher, Nico Rosberg and Alex Wurz. A minor off at Turn Ten for Raikkonen sent him back to his Ferrari garage for a bit of a clean-up and some advice on how to close the gap to Hamilton, which then stood at 0.098s. After a short break for the front-runners, during which the two Super Aguris each had a turn in top eight and the Renaults tried to find some pace, Raikkonen headed back out onto the track. The Finn was soon up on Hamilton through the three sectors and crossed the line with a 1:20.741, which put him in P1 and 0.023s ahead of the McLaren. Nick Heidfeld and Rosberg then both had a small moment at the final corner grateful perhaps that the run-off area is asphalt and not gravel. Alonso returned to the track and did a fastest first sector time before his team-mate beat it. The two McLarens were both on flying laps and Alonso taking P1 while Hamilton went second, 0.162s slower than his team-mate. However, both drivers were dropped down the order by Massa, who then posted a 1:20.183. With ten minutes remaining the Toyotas of Schumacher and Trulli were fighting for supremacy behind the Ferrari/McLaren battle, while Heidfeld and Heikki Kovalainen were seventh and eighth. Davidson, though, made his return to the top eight, taking seventh place off Heidfeld, before locking up at Turn One and going miles off the track onto the run-off area. Schumacher was the first of the front-runners to put on the softer option tyres, followed by Rosberg who improved his time to take fifth place ahead his fellow German. Mark Webber also made his way into top eighth using the super soft Bridgestone rubber. The battle, though, was still between the Ferraris and McLarens, with the latter the first to try the soft tyres. Alonso was immediately on a charge, setting the fastest first sector time, which was beaten moments later by Hamilton as Heidfeld popped up into third place. Alonso stayed second, while Hamilton took third place back from Heidfeld as the chequered flag fell. Hungarian Grand Prix, final practice:
01 F. Massa Ferrari 1:20.183 15 laps
02 F. Alonso McLaren 1:20.414 11 laps
03 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:20.461 11 laps
04 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:20.565 18 laps
05 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:20.741 15 laps
06 N. Rosberg Williams 1:20.868 16 laps
07 J. Trulli Toyota 1:20.878 22 laps
08 R. Schumacher Toyota 1:20.933 21 laps
09 M. Webber Red Bull 1:21.220 13 laps
10 A. Wurz Williams 1:21.323 15 laps
11 A. Davidson Super Aguri 1:21.501 20 laps
12 R. Kubica BMW 1:21.666 18 laps
13 H. Kovalainen Renault 1:21.666 22 laps
14 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:21.752 15 laps
15 T. Sato Super Aguri 1:21.839 18 laps
16 V. Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:21.909 21 laps
17 G. Fisichella Renault 1:22.131 22 laps
18 J. Button Honda 1:22.202 23 laps
19 S. Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:22.394 20 laps
20 R. Barrichello Honda 1:22.596 18 laps
21 A. Sutil Spyker F1 1:23.560 22 laps
22 S. Yamamoto Spyker F1 1:24.062 24 laps