F1: Hungarian Grand Prix Race Review

Heikki Kovalainen lifting his maiden F1 trophy.

What does Heikki Kovalainen have to do to win a race? Well, all he needs is 2 cars to get a puncture, 3 cars to almost set on fire and Massa to have an engine failure 3 laps to the end and BOOM! he’s got his win. Although this may seem slightly lucky, the Fin must be given credit for hanging in through the entire race and nursing the car home.

Massa’s luck however could not get any worse after his engine failure. After probably being the best driver of the day by over-taking both Hamilton and Kovalainen in the first corner, Massa and his brillian Ferrari looked back in great fashion after two very poor weeks and looked on pace with McLaren. Although slow at the beginning and at the start of the middle parts of the race, Kimi looked his old self with great pace shown at the end setting the fastest lap.

The obvious surprise of the weekend was Timo Glock who finished 2nd for Toyota. He managed to keep Kimi behind him for many laps and also gained from Massa’s loss as Kimi had to back off unless his car did the same thing.

Hamilton finished 5th which isn’t as bad as what could of been. He now increases his lead at the top of the Drivers Championship to 5 points ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and 8 points ahead of Felipe Massa. The battle is getting ever so intense and could go down to the wire like last season.

Valencia in three weeks time will be extremely interesting and no teams get to do practice sessions and Ferrari look to be improving to McLaren’s standards. Only time will tell, which team is best.

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F1: Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying

Another week in Formula One and another pole for British hero Lewis Hamilton. This is his second consecutive pole position and leaves him in great shape to get three consecutive wins. He will be the first British driver to do so since Damon Hill who thinks Hamilton will win the Championship early. McLaren take the front row of the grid so Hamilton has his sister car in between him and Massa which surely means another win for the 23 year-old.

Kimi in the other Ferrari was again slow and boring which contrasts the style of team-mate Massa who looked amazingly fast considering he is driving the not so brilliant car. Massa on third will have a tough time with both McLaren’s in front of him as well as Kubica behind him who starts in fourth. Kimi begins in P6 behind Timo Glock who had his best qualifying session ever finishing in P5 for Toyota.

Jensen Button had an awesome day finishing in P12 which seems like nothing to shout about but given his recent performances in a, frankly, rubbish car, he did a great job. His natural skill of smooth driving may pay dividends, as the key to this circuit given the weather, will be preserving tyres. He qualified ahead of Scottish driver David Coulthard who starts in P13. His car doesn’t look as good as the sister Red Bull Mark Webber who starts alongside Fernando Alonso in 8th. Alonso won’t have great memories of this place as last year after holding up Hamilton in the pit lane, he went onto lose the GP.

Nico Rosberg had another disappointing week starting in 15th. He didn’t bother to qualify in Q2 due to a hydraulics problem. Williams seem to be building for next year rather than concentrating on this season. He starts ahead of Nick Heidfeld who was “held up” at the end of his qualifying lap. After seeing this twice myself, Heidfeld being held up is absolute rubbish.

My prediction is another win for Hamilton who’s relaxed yet confident attitude and mood make him practically invincible. The fact that there are minimal over-taking opportunities on this circuit also plays into Lewis’ hands. This being the case, tyre choice and fuel load play bigger roles.

For full qualifying times and positions, click here.