Todays Formula 1 Grand Prix in Hungary had a lot more action than many of the previous races, especially with Alonso and his battle for a spot on the podium. While Hamilton had no problem keeping Raikkonen behind him for the whole race, Alonso did have problems against guys like Heidfeld, Schumacher and Kubica. Massa was definite a disappointment in todays Grand Prix, finishing outside the point positions; no idea what his problem was, but I am sure it was mechanical.
The start: Fernando and Lewis had qualified first and second; however, Fernando was relegated by five positions because he allegedly had blocked his team mate in the pit lane less than two minutes before the end of qualifying. Lewis therefore started from his fourth Formula 1 career pole position, had the best start and maintained the lead on the opening lap. Fernando, sixth on the grid, lost one place at the start and another one at the last corner of the first lap and dropped to eighth.
The race: On lap three, Fernando overtook Mark Webber (Red Bull Renault), and at the beginning of lap four, he passed Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) and improved to sixth.
Fernando came in for his first pit stop on lap 17 (9.9sec) and resumed in 12th place. Lewis pitted two laps later (9,7sec) and remained first. Fernando was now ninth. On lap 27, after the top nine drivers had pitted, Fernando was seventh.
Lewis made his second routine stop on lap 50 (4.9sec) and remained in the lead. Following earlier stops of Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber), Nico Rosberg (Williams Toyota) and Ralf Schumacher (Toyota), Fernando was fourth when he pitted for the second time immediately after his team mate (7.0sec). Afterwards, the Spaniard was sixth ahead of Schumacher. Fernando improved to fourth after the respective third stops of Rosberg and Kubica and closed the gap behind Heidfeld.
With the softer tyre compound (option) during the beginning of his third and final stint, Lewis lost almost one second per lap to Rà¤ikkà¶nen. The English driver defended an advantage of less than one second during the final 10 laps and won after 70 laps with 0.7sec ahead of the Finn. After Fernando had won the European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring two weeks ago, he and Lewis are tied on wins with three to three.
Comments
Lewis Hamilton
“A very emotional race and an eventful weekend. During the last two weeks, the team has done a great job and we definitely have made a step forward. However, the Ferrari was also fast today and during the final laps, Kimi put a lot of pressure on me. I managed to pull out a slight gap in the first stint but during the last two stints, I had a small problem with the steering on the car. This meant Kimi was able to close on me which made me a little nervous. However the team told me on the radio that everything was OK which meant I was able to push to the very end.”
Fernando Alonso
“I am quite pleased with the race today which was a difficult one. The maximum we could have reached from sixth position on the grid was a podium finish – especially on this circuit which is comparable to Monaco in terms of overtaking opportunities. This didn’t work out in the end, but fourth is better than fifth and at the final stage of the race I did not push too much to save my engine for the Turkish Grand Prix. Without the penalty after yesterday’s qualifying the victory would have been possible today as you can see on my lap times when I had a clear track. I am now seven points behind Lewis. The fight for the championship is still open and I will try my best to close the gap.”
Ron Dennis
“A weekend full of stress and emotion. The issues that faced us, not just this weekend but also in the previous month, has tested the resolve of the whole team. It’s at these times that you have to stay true to your principles and values. We will take the time between now and the Turkish Grand Prix to continue to develop the car and strive to maintain our winning streak. Both drivers did great jobs in different but very difficult circumstances.”
Norbert Haug
“Lewis drove a flawless race from the start to the finish. Lewis achieved his third victory and his 10th podium in only his 11th Formula 1 race. It is also the 50th Grand Prix win of the McLaren Mercedes partnership since our first victory at Melbourne on 10 March 1997. Fernando improved from sixth on the grid to fourth on a track where overtaking is almost impossible. This is our fifth victory within the last seven races and our sixth out of the 11 races so far this year – thanks to everybody in the team for working so hard to get these results. Following our penalty we lead the Constructors’ Championship with 19 instead of 34 points, but I am sure that everybody in the team is even more motivated to maintain the lead in both championships until after the final race of the season on 21 October.”