Posted on 27th July 2015
At the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday, Sebastian Vettel won his second race of the 2015 season in a thrilling and action packed race ahead of the Red Bull drivers of Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo.
Before the race even begun, we had to have another formation lap due a suspected start procedure mishap. It then turned out that Felipe Massa was out of position on the grid which caused it and it was being investigated by the stewards. The extra formation lap then counted as one of the racing laps which means the race would now be 69 laps instead of 70.
Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton got away okay but it was Sebastian Vettel who got a great start as well Kimi Raikkonen. As we headed into the first corner, Vettel passed Hamilton and took the lead of the race with some great wheel to wheel action
Into Turn 2, Kimi Raikkonen passed Nico Rosberg in a great move to get into second place. Daniel Ricciardo had a bad start but Lewis Hamilton’s start got even worse, he then went off the track into the chicane at Turn 6 after trying to defend against Nico Rosberg but is able to continue in the car but now in tenth place.
Lap 2 saw Vettel leading Raikkonen by 1.3 seconds. Into the first corner, Nico Hulkenberg passed Daniil Kvyat for track position. Lap 4 saw the first of what would be many stewards decisions, that Massa would receive a five second penalty for being out of position on the grid during the formation lap which he would have to serve when he pits.
The early stages of the race saw Massa and Hamilton battling for ninth place and Kvyat and Ricciardo battling for sixth place; with the Red Bull team instructing them not to hold each other up but confirming that they can race each other. Two laps later, Ricciardo is allowed through by his team mate for track position and is now battling Nico Hulkenberg for fifth place.
On Lap 10, Ricciardo with a brilliant move into Turn 1 passes Hulkenberg for fifth place in the race. Meanwhile at the same corner, Hamilton is wheel to wheel with Massa, with their rear wheels touching and is able to pass him for ninth place and is now trying to catch Sergio Perez for eighth place. By Lap 13, Hamilton is able to pass Perez for position with a great move heading into Turn 1.
At the end of Lap 14, Massa pits, takes his time penalty and gets some new tyres. Between Lap 15 to Lap 20, most drivers pit for new tyres. By Lap 17, Vettel is still leading Raikkonen by 2.7 seconds. Two laps later sees Raikkonen losing a small part of his front wing after exiting Turn 6 and taking the kerb as normal meaning another pit for a new front wing.
Meanwhile on the circuit on the same lap, Sergio Perez and Pastor Maldonado came together into Turn 2 which saw Perez spinning around but able to get back onto the track. Perez tried to pass Maldonado on the outside, but Maldonado defended his line and pushed him away, with the two drivers touching causing Perez to spin.
With both of the Mercedes drivers pitting on Lap 20 and Lap 21, would they achieve the undercut and be ahead of Ferrari once their drivers had made their pitstops? Vettel also made his pit stop at the end of Lap 21 handing the lead of the race to his team mate Raikkonen on Lap 22..
Lap 22 saw the stewards announce an investigation into the Perez and Maldonado collision three laps earlier. There was now a battle between Ricciardo and Hamilton for fourth place on the track. The stewards announced that there will also be an investigation into the incident between Massa and Grosjean for unsafe releases in the pit lane.
The next lap saw Vettel regaining the lead of the race ahead of Raikkonen by 6 seconds as the battle between Ricciardo and Hamilton increased on the circuit. The stewards announced that Grosjean would receive a five second time penalty for an unsafe release and that Maldonado would receive a drive through penalty for causing a collision with Perez.
On the main straight on Lap 29, Hamilton gained the momentum necessary to finally pass Ricciardo cleanly for fourth place and was now trying to get as many positions as possible in what would be a damage limitation weekend for the British driver. In the second half of the race, we saw battles between Kvyat and Verstappen and Rosberg and Hamilton, Bottas, Hulkenberg and Kvyat all battling each other for position on the track.
Lap 41 saw Vettel comfortably leading Raikkonen by 11.4 seconds but Raikkonen tells his team on the radio that he is losing power in his car and the team confirm that it could be due to a problem with his MG-UK in the Ferrari. Lap 43 saw Hulkenberg losing the front wing off his Force India in dramatic fashion hitting the barrier head on which then brought out the virtual safety car Hulkenberg thankfully getting out of his car unhurt. .At the end of the lap, the Mercedes drivers pitted again for a tyre change.
Lap 44 saw the safety car being deployed as the marshals recovered the debris from the Hulkenberg accident the previous lap. The next lap saw race control announcing that the cars would have to drive through the pitlane in order to allow the marshalls to clear the debris on the track.
Lap 49 and we were back racing again. Into the first corner, Rosberg passed the struggling Raikkonen for track position and Ricciardo passed Hamilton, but Hamilton and Ricciardo came together which saw Ricciardo going wide but able to rejoin the track.
Hamilton having lost momentum, was then passed by Kvyat, but able to repass him but Hamilton Kvyat and Massa then three abreast going into Turn 5 with Hamilton losing to Bottas as well and now in seventh place. Meanwhile; Bottas got a puncture on his right rear and was limping back to the pits.
Two laps later, we saw Ricciardo on soft rubber passing Raikkonen at Turn 1 for third place. Kvyat was now gaining on a limping Raikkonen for fourth place. At the end of Lap 52, Hamilton pitted for a new nose cone, just as the stewards announced an investigation into Carlos Sainz Jr for speeding while the Safety Car was deployed.
In the latter stages of the race, Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz Jr battled each other for track position; with Sainz Jr gaining the upper hand on his fellow countryman. Also the stewards announced that Ricciardo and Hamilton were under investigation for causing an collision.
Kimi Raikkonen pitted on Lap 53 just when the stewards announced that he was also under investigation for speeding in the pitlane and with his pitcrew getting his Ferrari engine going again, he headed back onto the race track. The busy stewards also announced that Maldonado was to be investigated by the stewards for speeding in the pitlane.
Lap 54 saw Rosberg catching Vettel and had that he had reduced his lead to 0.5 seconds. The stewards announced that Hamilton would receive a drive through penalty for causing an collision with Ricciardo. Sergio Perez officially retired from the race and Hamilton served his drive through penalty at the end of the lap.
The battle for the lead of the race hotted up as Rosberg and Ricciardo closed on Vettel. The stewards then announced that Max Verstappen had a drive through penalty for speeding behind the safety car. Lap 57 saw Kimi Raikkonen officially retiring his Ferrari from the race as the team couldn’t solve the problem.
In the last ten laps of the race, Jenson Button was able to pass Carlos Sainz Jr for eighth place. It would seem that at this stage of the race, Sainz Jr suffered a power issue on his Toro Rosso and Maldonado was now quickly gaining on him. We saw a hatrick of investigations with Maldonado who was now being investigated for overtaking while the Safety car was deployed earlier in the race.
Lap 61 saw Carlos Sainz Jr officially retiring his Toro Rosso from the race with suspected power and engine issues. Hamilton was then able to pass Nasr on the track for tenth place at Turn 1. Two laps later saw Hamilton into Turn 1 passing Button for eighth place.
The next lap saw Daniel Ricciardo pass Nico Rosberg into Turn 1 for second place, Rosberg then came back to defend and both of the cars touched each other with bits of bodywork flying off the Ricciardo’s car. As a result of the incident between Ricciardo and Rosberg, Rosberg suffered a puncture on his left rear and was now limping back to the pits.
The stewards then announced that Kvyat and Hamilton were under investigation for track limits and gaining an advantage. At the end of the lap, Ricciardo and Rosberg pitted for the final time. The stewards then announced on Lap 65 that Daniil Kvyat would have a ten second time penalty added to his race time for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
Lap 67 saw Hamilton quickly gaining on Grosjean for position, meanwhile the stewards were now investigating the incident between Rosberg and Ricciardo. Grosjean then lost out to Hamilton for sixth place. The stewards then announced that there will be no further action regarding Ricciardo and Rosberg.
But it was Sebastian Vettel who took his second victory of the season with Ferrari in an action-packed race and now equalling the number of wins as the great Aryton Senna ahead of Daniil Kvyat in second place who achieved his first podium finish of his career 5.748 seconds behind him but ahead of hia team mate Daniel Ricciardo in third place who was 25 seconds behind the Ferrari of Vettel.
Max Verstappen had a brilliant race to finish in fourth place. This result is Toro Rosso's best since Sebastian Vettel finished fourth at the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, his final race before stepping up to Red Bull. It makes Verstappen the youngest driver to finish in the top four of a grand prix.
Verstappen finished ahead of Fernando Alonso who had a great race to finish in fifth place ahead of Lewis Hamilton after an eventful race who finished in sixth place, Romain Grosjean finished in seventh place, Nico Rosberg in eighth place, Jenson Button in ninth place for McLaren-Honda's first double points finish of the season and Marcus Ericsson picked up the final point with a tenth place finish.
Felipe Nasr just missed out on the points in eleventh place but finished ahead of Felipe Massa in twelfth place who has had a difficult weekend after the tragic death of his close friend Jules Bianchi last week and Pastor Maldonado despite all of his penalties finished the race in thirteenth place.
Valtteri Bottas had a miserable weekend and finished the race in fourteenth place ahead of the two Manor F1 drivers of Roberto Merhi and Will Stevens in fifteenth and sixteenth places. Kimi Raikkonen, Carlos Sainz Jr, Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg did not finish the race and therefore are not classified.
The classification of the Hungarian GP is as follows:-
1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1.46.09.985
2. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull Renault, 5.748s
3. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull-Renault, 25.084s
4. Max Verstappen, Toro Rosso, 44.251s
5. Fernando Alonso, McLaren-Honda, 49.079s
6. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 52.075s
7. Romain Grosjean, Lotus-Mercedes, 58.578s
8. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 58.876s
9. Jenson Button, McLaren-Honda, 1.07.028s
10. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber-Ferrari, 1.09.130s
11. Felipe Nasr, Sauber-Ferrari, 1.13.458s
12. Felipe Massa, Williams-Mercedes, 1.14.278s
13. Pastor Maldonado, Lotus-Mercedes, 1.15.142s
14. Valtteri Bottas, Williams-Mercedes, 1.20.228
15. Roberto Merhi, Manor, 2 laps
16. Will Stevens, Manor, 2 laps
17. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, Not Classified
18. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, Not Classified
19. Sergio Perez, Force India-Mercedes, Not Classified
20. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India-Mercedes, Not Classified
[Daniil Kvyat did have a ten second time penalty added to his race time and this didn't change his position.]
Lewis Hamilton leads the Drivers' Championship with 202 points, Rosberg is second with 181 points, Vettel is third with 160 points, Bottas is fourth with 77 points, Raikkonen is fifth with 76 points, Massa is sixth with 74 points, Ricciardo is seventh with 51 points, Kvyat is eighth with 45 points, Hulkenberg is ninth with 24 points and Grosjean is tenth with 23 points.
Mercedes lead the Constructors Championship with 383 points, Ferrari is second with 236 points, Williams are third with 151 points, Red Bull are fourth with 96 points, Force India are fifth with 39 points, Lotus are sixth with 35 points, Toro Rosso are seventh with 31 points, Sauber are eighth with 22 points and McLaren-Honda are ninth with 17 points.
www.grahamandleigh.co.uk
Sarah Jones- @jonesy_laaa
