You be the steward: 2016 Hungarian GP edition.

The Hungarian GP was, like all the races this season except for Spain, a tale of two races.   There was the Mercedes class and the rest.

In Mercedes class, it was all over by turn one:  Rosberg, too busy looking behind,  got out-braked by Hamilton and Ricciardo.   He made a good move on the australian in turn two but by the end of lap one his teammate was already a second ahead.    The gap between the two varied but Rosberg never even tried to attack Lewis.  In the final stages it looked a lot like team orders to keep station were in effect.   The two silver cars finished a second apart but were a massive twenty seconds ahead of third place Ricciardo.    In post race interviews Hamilton revealed they were doing the minimum necessary to save the engine.    Pretty demoralizing for the rest of the field, bit dull for anyone but diehard Lewis fans.

Take the Mercs away though and you still had a rather old school Hungaroring, no passing race.    The only bright spot was that "washed up, good for nothing" Kimi Raikkonen charging from fourteenth on the grid to sixth.    Along the way,  the only real controversial on track incident, the collision with Max Verstappen's Red Bull.

2015 Hungarian GP Executive Summary

Watching the race again after a couple of days, a few things become apparent:


1. Mercedes does not know how to win from behind.

Occupational hazard for those with such a dominant car,   faced with something not going to plan, Mercedes has, if not panicked, at least not shown the type of strategic flexibility that, say a Ross Brawn brought to Ferrari in their dominating period.


2.  You can't win by defending.

You had the feeling that Nico Rosberg was battling some sort of issue with his W06 all week end but he spent the whole race worrying about his teammate Hamilton rather than winning the race.  Again, perhaps to point one he and the team just could not believe they were not winning.   He and the team played it safe not going onto the softer option tires for the final stint.   It would have been a risky call but he was certainly not making any impression on Vettel or Raikkonen  on equal tires.  Rosberg was the real loser in Hungary.

3. The right tire makes a big difference.

One of the keys to Vettel's victory was that he was able to run the softer option tires longer than the Mercedes.   This year's Ferrari wants soft tires while the Mercedes likes harder tires.   Perhaps there is something to the proposal of having each team choose their compound next year.

4. Clean air makes a big difference.

Vettel pulled out a crazy lead in the first two laps, it almost looked like his days at Red Bull.    The Hungaroring puts a premium on handling over power yes, but let's not forget that extra power allows teams to crank on more downforce.    Did Mercedes set up their cars to lead from the front, privileging top speed over handling?  Again, force of habit?
Also, all these years of committees and studies and F1 still has not figured out how to minimize the wake effect to the point that cars need to be 2 seconds clear?  Seriously?

5. The importance of being Hammy

Hamilton's race had tinges of early Grosjean with a touch of Maldonado.   His move on Bottas after his first pit stop was at the limit of nasty.    Not a fan of driving your opponent off the track like that, I'm sure that move compounded the lated hip check of Ricciardo which resulted in the penalty.
Since the race, I've read a number articles excusing Hamilton as having had a bad day.   Yes it was a bad day and to his credit he did admit so (partly anyway).
In the last couple of weeks Lewis said how he does not need to test, how he only likes showing up for the race, how he was not worried about the start  yada yada.    Every driver has got to psych himself up their own way:  Hamilton likes to go to fashion shows and concerts on his time off,  fine.  

Vettel is different,  he is not often photographed in his underwear but on the same afternoon  he carried Jules Bianchi's casket into the church, Sebastian flew to Maranello to test new procedures and solutions on the simulator.   In Hungary, he stayed late into the evening with his mechanics working on his car.

Different strokes for different folks.

6. For a track everyone has shit on for years, the Hungaroring rocks.

Two years in a row, a track with a reputation for epic snoozers has produced classics.   Perhaps it's the relentlessness of the layout, perhaps it's the because it's a track where you can really see the drivers work and understand what they are doing.
A good example is watching how drivers attack turn 2,  you can really see how a modern F1 driver brakes right into the apex.  The first lap is a good example, look at where Rosberg locks up and think about how you brake.  

Great Stuff.

2015 Hungarian GP: Red Win, Blue Mercs.

Remember everyone, F1 is really boring and nothing ever happens, especially in Hungary.

Right.

For the second year in a row the Hungaroring serves up an exciting race.

(Photos: Ferrari)

Brilliant start from both Ferraris,   the Scuderia is crazy to think they can have a better pair next year than one racing today.

But, Kimi's bad luck has been remarkable this season.   It likely he and Nico are out drinking together tonight.

This was Sebastian Vettel's week end:

A lousy Friday he stays until late working with his mechanics,
Turns it around in qualifying,
Against all odds, wins the race,
Ties Ayrton Senna  at 41 GP wins but does so with 13 less starts.
After the checkered flag, radios team in 3 languages dedicating the win to Jules Bianchi.

That's why he gets paid the big bucks.

Ferrari's hopes were almost shattered when Hunkenberg's front wing exploded on the front straight bringing out the Safety Car.  Second structural failure for that team over one week end.

Photo Flickr

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the luckiest driver of the day:  Lewis Hamilton.

The Instagram fashionista was maybe overconfident after his dominating qualifying session.  Sunday, he literally drove like an ass, starting from whining about Rosberg taking away his line all the way to his using Ricciardo as a bumper.   He can thank his lucky stars and others bad luck for a rather undeserved P6 finish.

Perhaps Lewis should stop having his picture taken in his underwear,  skip tests for Pharrell concerts  and do a bit more work over the break,  if he wants to make sure to seal the deal.

After the race Adrian Newey and Christian Horner were taking his all the credit for Red Bull's double podium giving Renault zero credit.   It's getting harder and harder to see those two sharing a car next year.

Ricciardo must have gotten coached by Kamui Kobayashi with that dive bomb into turn 1 on Rosberg.   He was behind at the exit so it was probably up to him to lift.   Again, Nico must be getting drunk with Kimi.

Mclaren with two cars in the points?  A miracle on the Danube!

Perez flips in Hungary,.

FP1

Checo Perez had a big scare this morning at the Hungaroring when the rear suspension of his Force India collapsed sending him spinning into the barriers.

After the first hit, one of the now loose front tires got under the car and flipped it. Perez was unharmed but Force India withdrew from the second practice session as it analyzed the causes of the failure.

FP2

Both session saw Lewis Hamilton on top and a resurgent Renault with Kvyat and Ricciardo's Red Bull's behind the Brit. Renault turned up the power and it worked... until Ricciardo's engine let go anyway.

Raikkonen was faster than Vettel who had a fairly lurid FP2.

Honda took full advantage of the extra engine they were allowed to use and Alonso was close behind Vettel' Ferrari in FP2.

2014 Hungarian GP Executive Summary

(Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) 

Not your typical F1 race because of rain and safety cars but it was very entertaining.

Want to have a go at rating the drivers this time?

2014 Hungarian GP: Does it really need fixing?

Mark Thompson/Getty Images/Infiniti Red Bull Racing

The Hungaroring used to be known for really dull races but that certainly was not the case Sunday.  What we ended up with was one of the most exciting races in years,  certainly the best this season so far.

So, is F1 all right or does Bernie really have to wrestle Flavio Briatore from the supple arms of his Elisabetta to come in and "fix" the sport....pardon me, "THE SHOW"?

Let's have a look at what made the Hungarian GP special.

Cars were especially difficult to drive,  sliding around a lot more than usual.

We need more of that, nothing is better than watching cars slide around, nothing is better than being able to see what drivers are doing, those who turn in early, those who turn in late and fighting for grip.     Part of that is the track of course, it's effectively a go kart track that, especially so in mixed conditions, really puts a premium on driver feel.

The Delta between prime and option seemed to have worked out especially well.

Pirelli should figure out why and repeat.

Banning FRIC made a difference.

Mercs advantage is still there but rather than being 1+ secs a lap it's now much less.  Combine with a short, twisty track and everyone was bunched up.

Rain at the start and cold temperatures

basically most of the work done the previous two days, dry and hot, went out the window.

To be fair, Mercedes were far from 100
Accidents and safety cars.

Safety cars worked out for those further back: Hamilton and Ricciardo and that mixed it up even more, much to our delight.

Amazing driving from the top drivers.

Vergne in the first part of the race,  Hamilton's pass on Vergne and his defense against Rosberg at the end.  Ricciardo's super late pass on Alonso,  yes he had much better tires but that move, very reminiscent of the one he pulled in Canada for the win, was spectacular.
And what to say about Alonso, 30 plus laps on a set of tires nobody thought would last more than 27... brilliant.

To be fair, Mercedes were off this week end

Between Hamilton's fire, too much tape on the brake ducts and that botched team order moment, the Silver arrows were a bit less sharp than usual.  Had they been on their regular footing we might be having a different discussion.

Se yes, there were a lot of special circumstances conspiring to make the Hungarian GP a classic but, all and all,  does F1 really need Flav to come in and add rewards weight, machine gun turrets and Super Mario points and whatever else they can think of?

I'd say no.  Nominally this is still a sport, concentrate on keeping the cars close and let them at it.  The racing will sort itself.

Hamilton's bad luck could be great for us...

...the spectators.

It's almost like Bernie has perfected his remote engine detonation device and has plotted to repeat Hamilton's exciting climb from the back in Germany.

Hungary historically produces major snoozers come race day but having Hamilton obliged to make one of his charges from the back might make it exciting.    It would have been perfect had both Mercedes had to start from the rear and cut though the field.

Seb got his mojo back (Dan Istitene/Getty/RBR)

Red Bulls are fast and Vettel seems to have his mojo back.  In practice Red Bull better tire wear on long runs than Mercedes, so that might be a factor.  But in outright pace, Rosberg was able to give Vettel a half second without much apparent effort.

Pat Fry

Once again Bottas drove like he belongs with world champions, Massa was a second behind in the same car, he blamed traffic this time.

As for Ferrari,  what can you say?   Not sending Kimi out "to save tires" was a mistake the like of which I cannot remember.     Alonso, once again ahead of the curve when he called Ferrari's brain trust on pit wall idiots last year in Monza.

Heads got to roll Marco or you'll end up losing Alonso too!.

os  Driver             Team/Car              Time       Gap
 1.  Nico Rosberg       Mercedes              1m22.715s
 2.  Sebastian Vettel   Red Bull-Renault      1m23.201s  +0.486s
 3.  Valtteri Bottas    Williams-Mercedes     1m23.354s  +0.639s
 4.  Daniel Ricciardo   Red Bull-Renault      1m23.391s  +0.676s
 5.  Fernando Alonso    Ferrari               1m23.909s  +1.194s
 6.  Felipe Massa       Williams-Mercedes     1m24.223s  +1.508s
 7.  Jenson Button      McLaren-Mercedes      1m24.294s  +1.579s
 8.  Jean-Eric Vergne   Toro Rosso-Renault    1m24.720s  +2.005s
 9.  Nico Hulkenberg    Force India-Mercedes  1m24.775s  +2.060s
10.  Kevin Magnussen    McLaren-Mercedes
Q3 cut-off time:                       1m24.647s
11.  Daniil Kvyat       Toro Rosso-Renault    1m24.706s  +1.396s**
12.  Adrian Sutil       Sauber-Ferrari        1m25.136s  +1.826s
13.  Sergio Perez       Force India-Mercedes  1m25.211s  +1.901s
14.  Esteban Gutierrez  Sauber-Ferrari        1m25.260s  +1.950s
15.  Romain Grosjean    Lotus-Renault         1m25.337s  +2.027s
16.  Jules Bianchi      Marussia-Ferrari      1m27.419s  +4.109s
Q2 cut-off time:                       1m26.728s
17.  Kimi Raikkonen     Ferrari               1m26.792s  +1.851s***
18.  Kamui Kobayashi    Caterham-Renault      1m27.139s  +2.198s
19.  Max Chilton        Marussia-Ferrari      1m27.819s  +2.878s
20.  Marcus Ericsson    Caterham-Renault      1m28.643s  +3.702s
21.  Lewis Hamilton     Mercedes
22.  Pastor Maldonado   Lotus-Renault

2013 Hungarian GP Executive Summary.

Mihael Cmrk/Flickr

Red Bull has a bit of an image problem going, Vettel has now been openly boo'd at three of the past four races (ok at Silverstone, fans cheered when he dropped out).  Not great for a company essentially selling image.

It did not help everyone heard Vettel whine about Raikkonen not moving aside for him in the final laps. Raikkonen was fighting with whatever rubber he had left, Lotus finally deciding to gamble on tires and  a two stop strategy.  Great couple of laps that probably did not make Vettel feel too good about any prospect of the Finn sitting in an RB10 next year.  Interesting to see the  battle between Red Bull and Lotus, two very differently designed cars, the first with one, raked with a high rear designed to get around diffuser size regulations and the Lotus with a squat low rear, innovative linked suspension.

Grojean is still paying for his 2012 rep and received not one but two penalties Sunday.  The one inflicted for passing Massa on the outside with four wheels off was one of the most ludicrous punishments in the history of F1.   Stewards hands were tied by the regulations some say.  I call BS as regulations are apparently flexible enough to allow Lotus to race three Grand Prix with a front suspension that is illegal!
If his name had been Hamilton or Vettel or Alonso, Grojean would not have been nailed for making a spectacular move on a track where passing is virtually impossible.    Alonso bitched and moaned about that first lap, turn 2 move, Hamilton did the same thing to Webber in turn three and nobody complains, The second penalty was for making contact with Button, a contact which resulted in no damage to either car.  Rosberg was not punished for hitting Massa and destroying his wing....bah.

Great week end for Hamilton, a well deserved win and finally a race where he does not get his butt handed to him by his teammate.  Rosberg ran over Massa's wing on lap one (without penalty because he's not Grosjean) and then had his engine blow, laps from the end while back in the field.

Lewis now ties Schumacher with four wins at the Hungarian Go Kart track whose contract with F1 has been renewed until 2021.

If it was a great day for Mercedes and Lotus, it was a sad day for Ferrari.  Massa's race was ruined on lap one when he lost a chunk of his wing, Alonso had a good start but clearly had no pace for Mercedes, Lotus or Red Bull.

Ferrari looked silly tweeting "another great race for Alonso"afterward.  Guess things are so bleak that not losing any spots form the start now constitutes "great" for the Scuderia.  As it happened, Alonso was lucky to escape a penalty (his initials not being RG): Ferrari forgot to set his DRS system from qualifying to race mode so Alonso ended up (involuntarily) using it on three laps when he was more than one second from the car ahead. Ferrari was fined a nominal amount.

Icing on this bitter cake, the silly rumors Alonso was talking to Red Bull about Webber's seat. Alonso's trainer/manager Lois Garcia was seen talking with Christian Horner and the press goes mad. Garcia also manages Carlos Sainz Jr. and Sainz Sr. was also there... fact that would spoil a good story! But a kick in the ass to Maranello for sure, the return of James Allison in the technical group can't come a moment too soon, Domenicali needs all the help he can get.

Now a long break to Spa and a rules enforced break where no development work is supposed to take place, pretty sure the F1 boys have figured out a way around that rule too.

Hungary onboard

Photo: Dave Morecambe

I'm sure it wasn't so boring for Lewis Hamilton but man, once again the Hungarian GP was a horrid snooze.
Blame the go-kart track layout (at least when a Formula 1 car is circulating), blame the relatively short main straight, but even KERS and DRS could not produce a single relevant pass.   The only excitement came from Romain Grosjean fighting Raikkonen exiting  the pits, other than that all passes were accomplished by the pit crews.    I'm not sure why F1 bothers with this track anymore, is it really because of the hookers?

Hamilton effectively won the race on Saturday with that incredible qualifying lap,  On Sunday Mclaren may have sacrificed Button's race to give Lewis the win.  Button came in very early, the only explanation had to check wear on the tires.
Alonso was pretty happy to receive the extra points  when Button was forced to stop towards the end of the race for a third time.  After fifth on a very "non Ferrari" track,  goes into the summer break a healthy 40 points ahead of Webber, 42 ahead of Vettel,  47 from Hamilton.     Plenty of racing left and anything can happen, but it's his to lose.

As far as Red Bull, after all the controversies, well, not exactly slow but they certainly did not run away with it as much as in the past. They claimed innocence, they complimented themselves on their own genius... generally they protested a bit too much.

Stars of the race: Hamilton, Raikkonen, Grosjean.
Fail: Mercedes, Schumacher, Rosberg,  Mercedes has announced today it changed its technical staff. There are also rumors of "big decisions" for the F1 team as soon as Dieter Zetsche (the infamously mustached Dr. Z), chief supporter of the MB F1 program retires.

The race was so dull it does not warrant a highlight reel,  more interesting the onboard channel with natural sounds.   Once again, Please Speed,  please FOM,  I would happily pay a healthy amount for the kind of coverage you offer in other countries,  make it happen!

Hungarian Highlights

With Formula 1 is still on vacation for another week or so, it's as good a time and any for a little refresher of the last race in Hungary. I think Bernie Ecclestone made a deal with someone to have rain liven up even the historically most boring track on the circus.

Next race, Belgian GP in Spa August 28. Happy rest of the summer!

(slow? pause and let it load).

Hungarian GP: Lead us not onto temptation...

(Charles Coates/LAT Photographic)

That was the commandment for Jenson Button: don't fall for the temptation to come in for tires, too late at the beginning of the race and the wrong ones towards the end. Or for that matter, don't fall for the temptation to listen to your team, clearly clearly focused on Hamilton's strategy, and make your own tire call.

Great win for "gentleman" Jens. As usual, he kept his cool, even during his duel with "Chinstrap" Hamilton, he caught him but did not lose his head when Hamilton passed him back. Classic Button.



Hamilton, what can you say, he started second and finished fourth after being in a dominant position most of the race. Afterward he blamed the radio, the team for making that silly tire call and the stewards for giving him that fully deserved drive through. Still he was fun to watch in the opening laps.



Vettel, can go the rest of the season finishing in the top five and win the championship. Sure, Mclaren is now just as fast with Ferrari not far off, but if BUtton was able to have a similar arc with Brawn in 09, do you really think Vettel will not pull it off? However, this type of championship win will just make everyone hate him and Red Bull, time to show some fight, as I mentioned, Like Jenson did back then.



If Hamilton lost two spots, Alonso gained two and managed a podium despite lots of mistakes. From his starting spot, he had no choice but take risks. He lost big time when stuck behind the Mercedes of Rosberg, once clear he was able to match Hamilton's speed but by then it was too late. His big error was actually the spin, unforced, towards the end. The tire warming issue at Ferrari is still there, Massa took four laps on new tires to be able to set fast lap, Webber, in front was able to push right away. Ironically, it's not like Ferrari was gentler in the Pirellis, worst of both worlds.

Webber once again had a bad start adn was given a #2 driver strategy. Massa put in the kind of anonymous race that might make Luca di Montezemolo call his contract lawyer tomorrow.

In the back, Paul Di Resta came in seventh, well done. Renault made an exploding BBQ and the Hungarian marshals made an insane recovery, pulling the car back against the flow of traffic out of the pits, nearly collecting Vettel.



We'll have the highlight clip later this week, but for now, and as usual, love to hear your say!

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The Hungarian Grand Prix
The Hungaroring, Hungary;
70 laps; 306.663km;
Weather: Mixed conditions.

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team                       Time
 1.  Button        McLaren-Mercedes           1h43:42.337
 2.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault           +     3.588
 3.  Alonso        Ferrari                    +    19.819
 4.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes           +    48.338
 5.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault           +    49.742
 6.  Massa         Ferrari                    +  1:17.176
 7.  Di Resta      Force India-Mercedes       +     1 lap
 8.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +     1 lap
 9.  Rosberg       Mercedes                   +     1 lap
10.  Alguersuari   Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +     1 lap
11.  Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari             +     1 lap
12.  Petrov        Renault                    +     1 lap
13.  Barrichello   Williams-Cosworth          +    2 laps
14.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes       +    2 laps
15.  Perez         Sauber-Ferrari             +    2 laps
16.  Maldonado     Williams-Cosworth          +    2 laps
17.  Glock         Virgin-Cosworth            +    4 laps
18.  Ricciardo     HRT-Cosworth               +    4 laps
19.  D'Ambrosio    Virgin-Cosworth            +    5 laps
20.  Liuzzi        HRT-Cosworth               +    5 laps

Fastest lap: Massa, 1:23.415

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                         On lap
Kovalainen    Lotus-Renault                56
Schumacher    Mercedes                     27
Heidfeld      Renault                      24
Trulli        Lotus-Renault                18

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What exploded on Heidfeld's Renault?

(photo: Sutton)

Nick Heidfeld pulled over right after his pitstop during the 2011 Hungarian GP, with his Renault engulfed by fire. The first official word was that the forward exiting exhaust had somehow broken and overheated the bodywork. But if you look at the clip after the jump you can see a fairly massive explosion which appears to injure one of the marshals trying to put out the fire.

What blew up? it's not due as the file cell is not in that location and there was no fire with the explosion. Could it have been a KERS battery? thoughts

Q3 Magic Button

So how does Red Bull and to some extent Mclaren, suddenly manage to find an extra full second in Q3? Extraordinary drivers? Some don't buy it and even though Alonso's "magic button" was just an off the cuff remark, the suspicion must be there, lurking in the paddock..

In a game of hundredths, ever a second is enormous, certainly more than can be attributed to any possible driver advantage: Vettel's Q2 time was a 1:21.0, Q3 1:19.8. Hamilton also, a full second. Enquiring minds want to know.

For tomorrow's race, looks like Hamilton is in the catbird seat at least in regards to available new tires. Hungary being what it is the conventional wisdom is, boring race. But then again these guys were passing in Monaco so, there is hope!

Pos  Driver                Team                 Time          Gap   
 1.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     1m19.815s
 2.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes     1m19.978s  + 0.163
 3.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1m20.024s  + 0.209
 4.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari              1m20.350s  + 0.535
 5.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1m20.365s  + 0.550
 6.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault     1m20.474s  + 0.659
 7.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             1m21.098s  + 1.283
 8.  Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes 1m21.445s  + 1.630
 9.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes             1m21.907s  + 2.092
10.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari       No time
Q2 cut-off time: 1m23.067s                                   Gap **
11.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes 1m22.256s   + 1.994
12.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault              1m22.284s   + 2.022
13.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari       1m22.435s   + 2.173
14.  Nick Heidfeld         Renault              1m22.470s   + 2.208
15.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth    1m22.684s   + 2.422
16.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m22.979s   + 2.717
17.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth    No time
Q1 cut-off time: 1m23.285s                                    Gap *
18.  Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m24.070s  + 2.492
19.  Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault        1m24.362s  + 2.784
20.  Jarno Trulli          Lotus-Renault        1m24.534s  + 2.956
21.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth      1m26.294s  + 4.716
22.  Tonio Liuzzi          HRT-Cosworth         1m26.323s  + 4.745
23.  Daniel Ricciardo      HRT-Cosworth         1m26.479s  + 4.901
24.  Jerome D'Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth      1m26.510s  + 4.932

107% time: 1m27.288s

* Gap to quickest in Q1

** Gap to quickest in Q2

.

That Schumacher move...

"You can be a nice guy off the track but if you're a nice guy in Formula 1, you will never win anything"
Ayrton Senna.

After Schumacher pulled that tough, desperate move on poor old Barrichello, I wondered: was this a return to what, week in and week out we hear Formula 1 is not anymore? There was some real hate going on there, some actual bad blood.

Of course, one view is that Schumacher has lost the plot, that a real champion would have know he had no chance in that situation, with the Brazilian on fresh soft tires behind him and moved over gracefully. It's a valid point, but not if you are going to complain that Formula 1 has become too sterile or if you know how a real racer's mind works.

Schumacher was certainly thinking about the final points position but, I'm guessing, he also remembered how Barrichello has spent the past couple of years trying to convince anyone who would listen how he was really faster than the German, if only he had been allowed to win. Barrichello even went as far as calling Schumacher, gay. I'm sure that was all misting inside the Mercedes driver's red helmet and he wasn't going to give up easily.

Barrichello for his part was probably thinking about how in his native Brazil, he's seen as a nice guy but a bit of a whiner, how there have been articles down there saying Brazilian autosport used to be Senna, Fittipaldi, Piquet, but now it's Barrichello, Massa and...Piquet jr
Yet Rubens had balls, he didn't lift and went through, he might want to thank Schumacher for giving him the chance to show he's got what it takes..

But he can't win, the final insult was that both Schumacher and Ross Brawn after the race said "This is Formula 1, what's the problem? There was enough room, otherwise he would not have gotten through..." Score on for the grouchy old man making Rubens once again look like a complainer.

Of course the FIA didn't see it that way, probably the safe way to go.
Videos after the jump

Hungarian GP Executive Summary

A great comeback by Mclaren and Hamilton who were able to capitalize on Alonso's bad luck and Vettel's bad start. The Hungaroring is a good challenge for cars and drivers but not so great for spectators, not that it mattered very much, the race was not close enough to be hard fought. The racing was really in the geeky aspects of tire wear and fuel strategies.

The most notable aspect of the race was the utter lack of pace from the Brawn GP. One has to wonder about how the diffuser rulings and the lack of budget at Brawn have impacted the season.

There was some controversy, Renault has been suspended from the championship for one race for sending Alonso out with a wheel not properly secured. While I can understand the sensitivity of the FIA to parts coming off of cars, I just cannot imagine this standing. On the other hand the FIA officials were very cool with the minor contact at the start. For all the breathless rantings of Peter Windsor during the US FOX broadcast, practically demanding a drivethough penalty for Raikkonen, replays show that Hamilton once more out braked himself and risked taking out Webber who, being the clever guy that he is, was expecting it and stayed wide. This left a hole both he and Raikkonen went for, there was some minor bumping, all the cars made it through. no harm no foul. The way it should be.

Of course, most fans probably were more preoccupied with Massa's condition than with with the race. Latest news are good for Massa the man, perhaps less for Massa the racer. Though his condition is improving, it looks more and more likely he will miss the rest of the season and there are questions now about damage to his optic nerve, something that could have devastating consequences for his career.

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Who Will Replace Massa?

It seems clear now that Felipe Massa, in the best of circumstances, is likely miss a minimum of three races, if not the rest of the season. Who does Ferrari have to fill in for Felipe?

Ferrari's back up drivers are Luca Badoer and Marc Gene, two great test drivers who have not, in their previous Formula 1 careers, shown to be especially successful racers. Badoer has 56 F1 starts, no points, his last race was in 1999. Marc Gene had 36 F1 races and scored 5 points, his last race was in 2004. Of the two, Gene is the obvious choice.

There is another name that is bound to come up, it's inevitable. He retired at the end of 2006 and has enjoyed some success in Formula 1...


It's going to come up, Schumacher coming back to help his team in a pinch. It may also be the thing to revitalize this rather negative F1 season, a story line that must make Bernie Ecclestone, circuit owners and network executives vibrate at night.

Massa's condition will also determine the diver's market, throwing everything up in the air. I'm sure driver's managers are recomputing all their strategies at this point and waiting anxiously on Massa's prognosis.

It's a cold world in F1.

Where did the spring come from?

This video from Gazzetta Dello Sport shows the basic workings of the Brawn GP's rear suspension. It it though that the string from the center shock is what broke off in Barrichello's car. Some reports give the weight of the spring at around 800grams, Massa's speed at around 260km/h. You do the math.

Without translating the whole video, you can see that is the only coil spring and is used in conjunction with torsion bars embedded in the gearbox.








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Massa scariest moment

(corriere.it)
Props to Schuberth

Reports are that Massa responded to all question lucidly but was so agitated he had to be sedated and later went into shock perhaps that is why he was intubated... lucky in a way that it was a glancing blow as apparently the spring then went on to hit and make a hole in the sidepod.

Regulations say that a replacement driver has to complete at least one session so Ferrari will only field one car tomorrow.




And here is the rest of it.

Massa accident video

Very creepy and the latest news give Felipe Massa as "stable" but that does not mean OK, for one thing Stefano Domenicali confirmed that a he was intubated and that he will not be racing on Sunday.

The video shows Massa was hit by debris which looks very much like a spring. Rubens Barrichello's Brawn had lost a spring on the track ahead of the Ferrari though how it could have still been bouncing around is quite puzzling.

I would be remiss not to point out that medical help took over a minute to arrive and that nobody even remotely equipped with fire gear is close to the car for some 40 seconds. In fact I don't see any fire extinguishers in anyone's hands.

Server getting hit hard...maybe wait for it to load before hitting play, thanks for your patience. There are multi language YouTube versions after the jump if needed...(as long as they last..)

(SkySport via Mt89)



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Let's give it up for Felipe Massa

After his performance at the German GP, we asked if Massa perhaps did not have it in him to go wheel to wheel with the best or if he was mature and clever enough to not fight a battle he knew he could not win.

Today in Hungary he answered that question as he stunned Lewis Hamilton with a pass reminiscent of another famous move by a Brazilian on someone with a yellow and green helmet...



Hamilton was already being crowned Champion, certainly by ITV's commentators, but nothing really went according to script. After that fist lap move Mclaren had nothing for Massa's speed. Hamilton could not hang on, certainly Kovalainen was not especially competitive.

What happened to Massa must have been brought on by a delayed reaction Force India curse, except they got the wrong car. After a perfect race, to have the engine go with 3 laps left is just heart braking.
Hamilton was once again lucky in his misfortune, the tire did not deflate when it was loaded, he was able to keep it on the track and limp back to the pits.

Raikkonen ended up with fast lap of the race and you have to wonder why he hasn't been able to get it together in qualifying. He gave it a good try at the start but Kubica squeezed him against the wall and he got lost in the shuffle. He was massively faster than Alonso once he finally got around him but by then it was too late.

Great race for Glock and Toyota who are now ahead of BMW (who might have switched to developing the 2009 car)

I think Brazilian commentary is appropriate in this case.