Qualifying at the Hungaroring proved even more eventful than expected, with first Massa's accident and then a failure of the timing system reminding us that the real world does not always go meekly according to plan. Felipe suffered concussion and is in hospital for observation after being hit by a spring lost from the rear suspension of Barrichello's Brawn ahead of him. The unerring aim of inanimate objects in such freak accidents brought to mind the death of Henry Surtees only a few days ago and I can only wish Felipe a full and quick recovery from his injuries.
Fernando Alonso on his way to pole position
In contrast, the collapse of the timing system in the last laps of Q3 brought about a farcical situation, with drivers frantically comparing their times to see how they had done. Most seemed sure that Alonso had managed pole and, when the times were produced by harried officials, it turned out that he had indeed achieved top spot for the first time in ages. Publication of the fuel weights showed this to be partly due to Fernando being fueled only for a very short first stint but it was quite a feat even so.
The Red Bulls lined up next, Vettel ahead of Webber this time and then Hamilton slotted into fourth, only marginally lighter than others around him. If he gets a good start, he could get the jump on those few ahead of him and then we might have a race indeed. McLaren have done a good job lately of fixing the car's problems and KERS means it will not be easy to pass on this circuit.
Nico Rosberg claimed fifth, possibly goaded to greater efforts by the speed of his team mate in the first two sessions (Nakajima was third fastest in Q3). Like most in the top ten, the Williams are fueled for just over twenty laps, Kazuki slightly the heavier, and it is Jenson Button who has gone for a rather longer stint than the rest, a strategy that could pay off or cost him dearly if stuck behind slower cars. Eighth was unexpectedly lowly for a Brawn this year and the team are clearly hoping to improve on that in the race by running longer than the quickest cars.
Heikki Kovalainen did not have the very latest upgrades on his McLaren and so did well to grab sixth and Raikkonen produced some of his old fire in hauling the Ferrari up to seventh. With Massa unable to race, Kimi will be the sole representative of the team tomorrow; Buemi moves up from eleventh into the top ten as a result of Felipe's absence.
Barrichello's 12th position is explained by the breakage in his rear suspension that prevented him from graduating to Q3 but there is no excuse for the Toyota drivers - they seem to be slipping further back with every race. Piquet disappointed too, after showing well at first, and 14th may not be good enough to save his drive for the rest of the season.
And so to the Beemers. Nick Heidfeld was second quickest in Saturday morning practice yet that disappeared when qualifying started and neither he nor Kubica could break out of Q1. This was much less than BMW, Dr Theissen and everyone else expected and the drivers' usual complaint of laps ruined by traffic merely confirms my opinion that the team holds the cars in the pits for too long in each session. There is promise in the improvements being made to the car now but it will not be this race where we see their full effect.
Force India has improved but then so has everyone else. Matters were not helped by Sutil's car being unready until the dying minutes of Q1 and, judging by Fisichella's times, it would have been a very good effort for Adrian to break into Q2 anyway. And Jaime Alguersuari did the necessary, kept out of trouble and put his Toro Rosso in the last spot available, just as expected. Time will tell whether he can learn fast enough to make an impression.
Perhaps because it has the reputation for being such a boring track, the Hungaroring often produces surprises and incidents, Button's first win was one and the eruption of the Alonso/Hamilton feud another. Qualifying has given us much to talk about already - is it possible that the race will produce even more?