Renault’s Alonso takes pole position at chaotic Hungarian GP; Massa hospitalized after crash

Alonso takes Hungarian GP pole; Red Bull 2-3

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Fernando Alonso took the pole position after a chaotic finish to qualifying Saturday at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where Ferrari’s Felipe Massa was airlifted to a hospital following a high-speed accident.

The Renault driver’s fastest lap of 1 minute, 21.596 seconds around the Hungaroring circuit was enough for the two-time world champion’s first pole since the 2007 Italian GP.

Alonso was only confirmed as the pole sitter following a lengthy delay as all nine drivers in the final session awaited the results after the scoring system went down.

“When I got out of the car I asked other drivers how they did to get an idea,” said Alonso, who picked up his first career win in Hungary six years ago. “Some were telling me two or three-tenths of a second slower than me so I got excited.”

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel was eventually confirmed to start second ahead of teammate Mark Webber, while McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg of Williams rounded out the top five.

Ferrari said Massa was in “stable condition” after the crash, which occurred after he was hit in the helmet by a piece from the car of Brawn GP’s Rubens Barrichello. The 28-year-old Massa was conscious and moving his arms before being evacuated, but wore a neckbrace for support.

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali told Italian TV that Massa would not take part in Sunday’s 70-lap race.

Overall F1 leader Jenson Button will start from eighth and teammate Barrichello from 13th for the British team’s worst qualifying result of the season. Red Bull now appears to have overtaken its main rival performance-wise going into the second half of the season.

Button has 68 points after the first nine races to lead Vettel by 21 points and Webber by 22.5 with eight races remaining. Barrichello is fourth with 44 points.

Red Bull is looking to complete a third straight 1-2 finish. Some of its rivals, however, are hoping to get an edge from the new KERS overtaking system on the long straightaway leading into the first corner.

Hamilton and teammate Heikki Kovalainen in sixth, as well as seventh-place Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari all have the hybrid system available.

“There’s a long straight here so it should be an advantage,” Raikkonen said.

Associated Press Writer Pablo Gorondi and Tales Azzoni contributed to this report.