Button's Hungary hopes go up in flames
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-08-05 21:01
BUDAPEST, Aug 5 - Briton Jenson Button suffered a 10 place penalty on
the Hungarian Grand Prix starting grid after pulling over with smoke and flames
coming from his Honda's engine in Saturday's final free practice.
Red flags were brought out to allow marshals to clear oil from the track,
leading to a 15-minute suspension of the session.
Honda confirmed they had replaced the engine, triggering the automatic
penalty.
When practice resumed, seven-times champion Michael Schumacher lapped in one
minute 20.795 seconds -- the quickest of the weekend -- ahead of Brazilian team
mate Felipe Massa in a Ferrari show of strength.
However Schumacher, 11 points behind Renault's world champion Fernando
Alonso, was then summoned to the race stewards amid reports that he had
overtaken others while the red flags were being waved.
If confirmed, it could trigger a heavy penalty for the German who has won the
last three races and is looking to slash Alonso's lead further at the
Hungaroring.
Alonso was handed a two-second penalty to be added to his best laps in
qualifying after a flash of road rage in Friday's practice. He was fifth
quickest but 1.324 seconds slower than Schumacher.
That penalty means the 25-year-old is unlikely to qualify in the top 10 on
the grid at a track where overtaking is notoriously difficult.
Poland's Robert Kubica, replacing Canadian Jacques Villeneuve at BMW Sauber
after the 1997 champion told the team he had not recovered from a crash in
Germany last weekend, was third fastest on an overcast morning.
McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen, last year's winner in what Finns have come to
consider a home race, was 10th quickest with team mate Pedro de la Rosa eighth.
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