Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix

The wonderful city of Budapest is a magnificent place to visit, for great food, architecture and Formula 1.

The Hungaroring 12 miles from the capital city is a popular circuit among the fans and the drivers. It’s a twisty and challenging layout, on Sunday the circuit signed an extension to it’s Formula 1 contract. There will be a Hungarian Grand Prix until at least 2021. The race means so much to the country and the people, but it’s also great for the sport. With such a beautiful destination, great hotels and night life, Budapest is the perfect place for F1.

On Sunday temperatures were set to soar and there was an exciting grid after an eventful qualifying session. Hamilton was on pole ahead of Vettel and Grosjean. Rosberg was 4th in the other Mercedes while Alonso and Raikkonen lined up on row 3. Massa was 7th and Daniel Ricciardo was 8th in another strong performance for the Toro Rosso driver. He was ahead of Mark Webber who suffered an electrical problem towards the end of Q2 and set no time Q3. The experienced Australian lined up 10th just behind Sergio Perez in the McLaren. That was the top 10, this is how the rest of the field lined up for the start.

11 Sutil. 12 Hulkenberg. 13 Button. 14 Vergne. 15 Maldonado. 16 Bottas. 17 Gutierrez. 18 Di Resta. 19 Pic. 20 Van Der Garde. 21 Bianchi. 22 Chilton.

The Race

Race day in Hungary brought extremely hight temperatures which would affect tyre performance, the track was 51 degrees celsius. Things were hotting up as the 5 light went out, Lewis Hamilton got a great start off the line in the Mercedes unlike teammate Rosberg. Sebastian Vettel had a poor start also and was being seriously challenged by Romain Grosjean. It was action packed as Alonso was then looking for a move past the Frenchman, it didn’t work out. Massa and Rosberg were squeezed out by the charging Spaniard, they made contact just moments later damaging the Ferrari’s front wing and sending Rosberg backwards down the field. The first lap of the race was absolutely scintillating, as Lewis Hamilton was making a comfortable lead for himself.

The Lotus team were confident they would be strong at this race, it was certainly the case as Grosjean was really beginning to push Vettel. The triple world champion was having to defend against the Lotus who was within the DRS range. It was a tremendous battle to watch. The pitstops soon came into play, Hamilton was the first of the front runners to come in. It was a clean stop but he came out just behind former teammate Jenson Button. The Mercedes was much faster however, Hamilton used the fresh rubber to his advantage and made the move. It was absolutely critical if he was to win the race. Vettel then made his stop and also came out behind Button. The Red Bull however didn’t have the pace to get past. It was hurting Vettel’s chances. Grosjean could jump the pair of them, he pitted along with his teammate, a very bold move from Lotus double stopping. The Frenchman couldn’t make it, he joined Vettel in a rather long train behind the McLaren.

It was a fascinating battle which just got better and better. The Red Bull was on a charge looking for any possibility to make a move, the Lotus right behind was also looking to pounce. The Ferrari of Fernando Alonso was catching, the Red Bull was under real pressure. The slow McLaren was a dream ticket for Hamilton who was pulling further away, Webber was leading the race at this point having not made a pit stop. The Australian was on a 2 stop strategy and was looking good for some points. Things were not going well for Force India, after a poor qualifying performance on Saturday, Adrian Sutil retired from his 100th Grand Prix.

After 11 laps behind Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel eventually made the move on the slow McLaren. The Red Bull finally got past into turn 4 on the blind apex, it was a good move but unfortunately it was a move not made soon enough. The triple world champion had a lot of ground to make up. Romain Grosjean looked for a way through too, he had the move almost done into the chicane, but the Frenchman didn’t leave the McLaren enough space. They made contact and the Lotus cut the chicane, there was no major damage done to either car, but it was a clear misjudgement from Grosjean. He received a 20 second penalty after the race for the collision. It was no help to Button however who lost a further place to Alonso.

Grosjean also pitted after that incident with Button, he came out behind Felipe Massa. He wasn’t behind the Ferrari for long, the feisty Frenchman who has been performing well of late, made an incredible move on the outside of turn 4. It was a great overtake on the blind apex and he earned huge respect for it from many including myself. However the stewards took another view, the Lotus was deemed to be beyond the track limits when overtaking. All the wheels were over the white line at that moment, the stewards gave him a drive through penalty. It was a harsh decision in my view as he was more than a third of a car length past the Ferrari at that point.

It wasn’t the only incredible move of the race however, Lewis Hamilton made two fantastic overtakes on Mark Webber later in the race. The Australian was making a 2 stop strategy work well. Hamilton’s dominant performance however got the better of the Red Bull.

There were just a few laps left in the race with Lewis Hamilton leading very comfortably, but then disaster hit Mercedes, Nico Rosberg suffered an engine failure, not surprisingly considering the heat. But this brought enormous concern for the team who immediately informed race leader Lewis to cool the car. It was a nervous time for the silver arrows.

While Hamilton was attempting to cool the car, Vettel was beginning to catch Raikkonen for 2nd place. It was a fantastic cat and mouse battle which got even more interesting when Webber started catching the pair, but Kimi drove a brilliant defensive race to keep his second place. Unfortunately the race ran out of laps preventing the battle continuing.

It was an enthralling race and in my view the highlight of the season so far, but it was a career highlight for Lewis Hamilton who controlled the race from the very start. Some doubted his move to Mercedes, some questioned his ability to focus on racing but at the end of the 70 lap race, Lewis Hamilton won the 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix in the most wonderful way. He was decisive, determined and utterly ruthless, I believe it was one of the best victories of his career.

Here is the official Race Classification after 70 Laps.

1 Hamilton
2 Raikkonen
3 Vettel
4 Webber
5 Alonso
6 Grosjean
7 Button
8 Massa
9 Perez
10 Maldonado
11 Hulkenberg
12 Vergne
13 Ricciardo
14 Van Der Garde
15 Pic
16 Bianchi
17 Chilton

DNF: Di Resta. Rosberg. Bottas. Gutierrez. Sutil.

One statistic I found interesting was this. Lewis Hamilton became the first British driver to win a Grand Prix race in a Mercedes-Benz since Sir Stirling Moss in 1955.

It was also great to see Williams score their first point of the season with Pastor Maldonado. The legendary team and former world champions deserve some luck.

It was sheer disappointment for Force India with poor Qualifying results and a double DNF. The team need to improve on this if they are to remain 5th in the constructors and ahead of McLaren.

You can find all of my reports throughput the season right here at Driving For Pleasure, I’ll be writing some special features during the summer break. Keep up to date with all the very latest news by following me on Twitter @TomWilkinsonF1.

There is now a month until the Belgium Grand Prix at Spa, there has been plenty of action so far in 2013, what will the next half of the season bring? Whatever it is it’s sure to be just as exciting and action packed.

More photos from @BennettKevin make sure you check out his website