Hungary Race Review: A Classic Show for Jules

The Formula 1 paddock arrived in Hungary with heavy hearts this weekend following the passing of Jules Bianchi. In homage to the young Frenchman, all teams carried their own tribute to Jules with the FIA having also taking the step to retire car number 17, Jules’ own, as a mark of respect. The drivers put on a fantastic spectacle in his memory also as Vettel took a second Ferrari win of the season with Mercedes missing out on the podium altogether.

What a race, what a tribute.
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Qualifying:

A scary moment for Force India's Sergio Perez

Force India were firmly on the back foot for qualifying. Following a dramatic roll for Perez in FP1, both Force India cars were withdrawn from FP2 in order to analyse the fault to prevent such an incident from reoccurring. But despite the lack of simulations both drivers piloted the new car safely into Q2. However, Button would not share the same outcome as he just missed out on progressing into the next session as he finished 16^th. The Saubers were both eliminated also, Ericsson out qualifying teammate Nasr, and Mehri in P19 beat Stevens in the battle of the Manors.

It soon became apparent that neither McLaren would make the top 10 shoot out as Alonso ground to a halt coming through the penultimate corner. But as a defiant and deeply competitive racer, Fernando jumped out to push the car back to the pits in an effort to resume the session once the Red Flags were lifted. Further ahead and Grosjean’s last lap edged him ahead of Hulkenberg and dropped the inform Force India driver down and out into 11^th. Sainz was out qualified by his junior teammate as he lined up P12. Notably 9^th down to 12^th was covered by just one and a half tenths of a second in a tightly packed midfield. Perez improved fractionally on his last flying lap to qualify 13^th ahead of Maldonado who completed the drop outs for Q2.

Endeared to the fans: Alonso's effort and dedication was well received by fans and pundits alike.

The closing stages to Q3 looked to be problematic for Hamilton as he was stuck in a Ferrari Red Bull sandwich leaving him no clear air in which to set a fastest lap. Although Rosberg had no such problems, it was Lewis’ first sector that was a tenth faster. With Rosberg locking up into the final corner, it was Hamilton who crossed the line with a 1.22.020 to claim his 5^th pole position around the Hungaroring in an utterly dominant and masterful display of talent.

Rosberg was some 6 tenths behind in second place from Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel in third. The Red Bulls who looked strong through Free Practice saw Ricciardo claim 4^th to split the Ferraris. Bottas was P6 ahead of Kvyat. Massa 8^th, a tenth faster than the strong lap from Verstappen in the Toro Rosso. Grosjean lined up 10^th for the race.

The Race:

Following an emotional minute silence in memory of Jules, a sombre grid assembled for the race start looking to put on a great show for their departed colleague and friend. With Hamilton aiming to convert an 18^th consecutive front row start into a race win, the race start was momentarily delayed as another formation lap was required due to an out of position Felipe Massa. For this he would receive a 5 second time penalty to be added on at his first pit stop.

Lights out and the Mercedes, like in Silverstone, were hammered off the line. Hamilton initially bogged down bringing the stampeding Ferrari of Vettel around the outside of the Mercedes with barely a millimetre to spare between the two cars. Hamilton then lost out to his teammate as Rosberg passed on the inside of Turn 1. Vettel then hung his car around the outside to claim 1^st position outright. Raikkonen was also off to a flier as he shut the door on Lewis into Turn 1, then after losing out to Rosberg, kept his foot in to shoot his Ferrari down the inside of Nico into Turn 2 to take second place. A dream start for the pair of prancing horses.

Drama from the off as Vettel takes P1 into T1.
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Then further disaster for Lewis. Entering the chicane he was crossed up behind Nico leading to a heavy grass and gravel excursion. By the time he coaxed the car back to the tarmac he was all the way down in 10^th, this on a track around which it is notoriously hard to overtake. Entering the race Lewis looked unflappable after qualifying, few could have predicted such a nightmare start. And, with the Mercedes W06 unsuited to running in dirty air, Hamilton’s chances of victory were all but over by the end of Lap 1. 

Hamilton's off track travels.

Much happier were the Force India team. By the end of the first lap Perez had jumped 5 places to 8^th and a little later Hulkenberg did one better and was now into 5^th. The Red Bull of Ricciardo who looked impressive coming into Sunday struggled following contact with Bottas and dropped down to 7^th behind teammate Kvyat. Team orders then came into play soon after as Red Bull swapped Riccciardo and Kvyat on lap 8 to allow Daniel to close the gap to the back of Hulkenberg. Lap 10 was as long as he could hold off. A combination of DRS and late braking saw Ricciardo slingshot up the inside of the Force India into the first corner. Then into the same corner Hamilton used every inch of the track and following a clattering of tyres, passed Massa for 9^th position. As Turn 1 was proving to be the main weapon of choice for overtaking, Hamilton capitalised on Lap 13 to pass Perez.

Up ahead Ricciardo was now passed Bottas for P4 and beyond them, Rosberg was now a full 5 seconds behind Kimi in P2. The Lap 15 mark saw many of the field make their first pit stop. The penalty for Massa brought the Williams out in 17^th behind Grosjean.

Lap 19 saw Raikkonen forced to pit for a new nose cone as his camera was jettisoned by the strain of passing over the kerbs of Turn 6.  Disaster then befell Perez after a collision with (predictably) Maldonado saw the Mexican jump and spin off track while shards of carbon fibre were ripped from the floor of his car. Following a plume of tyre smoke in an effort to resume he was down in P15. Maldonado was given a drive through penalty for the incident.

The Mercedes strategists called for Hamilton to pit on lap 20 following a run of fast laps in clean air to close the gap. He re-joined in 5th after squeezing out Bottas into Turn 1. Then as Ricciardo resumed just ahead of Hamilton the dirty air once again came into play with Lewis running wide on Lap 25.  But 4 laps later and Hamilton made the move for P4 and vital clean air with Turn 1 once again the setting following a huge tow down the main straight. With Rosberg using the harder compound tyres and Hamilton banging in the fastest laps, by half distance Lewis was just 8 seconds (and falling) behind the German as Nico’s weekend long search for pace continued.

Lap 41 and Ferrari’s dream race took a big hit as Kimi reported a lack of power over radio. This was confirmed by the red flashing light on his gearbox signalled an MGUK issue as the car began harvesting energy. Even the Honda powered McLaren of Fernando Alonso was able to close and pass Raikkonen on the home straight. Desperately not needed for the Finn fighting for a contract extension.

Agonisingly the cameras switched to Hulkenerg who, without a front wing, had smoke pouring off his tyres in Turn 1 as he dived into the tyre wall having narrowly missed the rear of Bottas and after showering the pursuing Red Bull of Kvyat in debris. This put an end to not only an excellent race for the German but also a strong run of form following his Le Mans victory. This brought out the Virtual Safety Car which saw both Mercedes pit for the prime tyres then the full Safety Car which would bring the field through the pit lane in order to avoid the shards of carbon fibre covering the track. Perez was forced into a mandatory pit stop to change his front wing as a precautionary measure. Crucially, the Safety Car brought Hamilton to the gearbox of Rosberg for the race restart. 

Braced for impact: A scary end to another remarkable performance from Nico Hulkenberg

As the Safety Car returned to the pits with 20 laps to go the drama of the Hungarian Grand Prix continued. As Rosberg passed a struggling Kimi from the restart for P2, a flustered Hamilton was slow out of the last turn allowing Ricciardo to attempt a pass into Turn 1. Lewis’ aggressive block and missed apex sent the Australian wide as contact between the two saw Hamilton’s front wing end plate damaged. This allowed Ricciardo to pass, then Kvyat and Bottas as Hamilton understeered off track as a result. Desperately unlucky was Bottas who, caught by Verstappen, slowed due to a right rear puncture leaving him to limp back to the pits. The battered Red Bull of Ricciardo was still in the hunt around the track that he took victory around in 2014. Daniel was able to pass the wounded Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen to take P3 behind Rosberg. Lap 52 and the damage to Lewis’ front wing forced him to pit. He re-joined in 12^th. This promoted both McLarens to point scoring positions as Kimi pitted to solve his power issues. In the complex world of F1, Ferrari resorted to ‘turning it off then on again’ but this was not suffice to solve the issue; he retired on Lap 57.

The penalties then came. Maldonado, entrusted with ensuring the stewards earn their pay packet, was sanctioned a further two times; Hamilton a drive-through penalty for the earlier contact with Ricciardo. Verstappen was also punished for speeding behind the Safety Car but he stayed in P5. Teammate Sainz was less lucky as he was told to retire the car on Lap 61 as Hamilton passed Nasr to re-enter a points scoring position. With Sainz retiring and the inferior Honda powertrain of Alonso, Hamilton was soon up to 8^th.

Disaster for Ricciardo! In the hunt for 2^nd place he braked deep into Turn 1, Rosberg then cut across his trajectory and the subsequent collision ripped of the Aussie’s front wing and shredded Nico’s left rear tyre. Suddenly Nico with the majority of the lap to run, was unable to capitalise on Hamilton’s calamities in the Driver Standings as he tip-toed round to the pits and resumed in 10th. All of this promoted young Daniil Kvyat into second place and looked set for his first F1 podium despite being handed a 10 second time penalty for gaining an advantage for track extending.

After 69 laps of keeping his nose clean, Vettel crossed the lined to win an incredible Hungarian Grand Prix. Vettel’s 41^st F1 victory drawing him level with the great Ayrton Senna. Second for Kvyat, a Russian record, and an eventual 3^rd for Ricciardo gave Red Bull their best result of the season. Dietrich Mateschitz has been left with much to consider after Max Verstappen recorded his best ever result in F1 having finished 4^th. Alonso was a wonderfully unpredictable 5^th ahead of Hamilton who, despite the drama, extended his lead to Rosberg in the Championship. Grosjean fended off Rosberg for 7^th. Jenson Button was 9^th to add more points to McLaren’s tally. Ericsson and Nasr were 10^th and 11^th for Sauber. Massa and Bottas fell to a disappointing 12^th and 13^th for Williams. Although a track not suited to their car, a result far away from that of Silverstone last time out. Maldonado was 14^th ahead of Merhi and Stevens. Sainz, Raikkonen and both Force Indias failed to finish. 

#CiaoJules
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On his cool down lap Vettel dedicated his first Hungarian win to Jules in a touching sentiment to the Ferrari protégé. “Thank you, Jules. This victory is for you.” He said in French before adding in English, "You will always be in our hearts. We know sooner or later you would have been in this team." The race will go down as a classic Grand Prix, something Jules would have loved. A race to be savoured and reflected upon as the teams break up for summer. See you in Spa.