UpdateF1 >> Formula 1 News > Hamilton takes Hungary

Raikkonen close second

Poor Hungary always had a hard act to follow, coming as it did a couple of weeks after the exciting and unpredictable European Grand Prix but, given that it was unaided by adverse weather conditions, this was not a bad race at all.

Lewis Hamilton made the best of his inherited pole position – team mate Fernando Alonso starting from the third row following a penalty for impeding the Englishman during qualifying – and led into the first corner.

Front row man Nick Heidfeld found the BMW a handful off the dirty side of the track and was swamped by Kimi Raikkonen on one side, the Ferrari settling firmly into second place, and by the Williams of Nico Rosberg from behind. Heidfeld ultimately held the place, his countryman slotting into fourth behind him.

Alonso had taken the sensible view that having a go at those in front into turn one would be suicidal, and his hesitancy allowed Robert Kubica to take the second BMW past the Mclaren into sixth place. In fifth was Ralf Schumacher, the Toyota having converted grid slot into race position with ease.

Hamilton clearly had the bit between his teeth and had pulled out a lead of over a second and a half as they crossed the line for the first time, with Raikkonen similarly pulling out a gap on the BMW behind him. Alonso got onto the slippery stuff in an effort to get by Kubica into turn one, and was in turn passed by Mark Webber and had to concentrate on a determined Heikki Kovalainen behind, the Finn having got the Renault into the groove very quickly.

Further back and Felipe Massa was at the beginning of a gloomy afternoon, his Ferrari heavily laden from a 14th place grid slot pitching him among the Super Aguri, Toro Rosso and Honda runners, and firmly ensconced at that. He would never get the break, and a 13th place finish would see his title chances fading further.

Alonso now saw the need to set about his business, particularly as the Spaniard was hampered by a lighter fuel load than the other Mclaren, and waltzed past Webber and Kubica on successive laps at the opening turn. Ralf Schumachers Toyota proved a different story, and Fernando would be looking at the rear end of the red and white car for the next ten laps until he made his first stop.

Hamilton and Raikkonen – the Ferrari now holding the gap to the Mclaren and occasionally biting into the deficit – made their first stops on the same lap, number 19, and the Finn duly made up a couple of seconds by virtue of a shorter fill. Alonso had stopped before these two, and the Mclaren boys had filled him heavy for a long middle stint.

The lead pair were now under two seconds apart, and it became clear that the Ferrari was the quicker car at this point in the proceedings.

BMW had opted for three stops on each of their cars, and this had vaulted Kubica ahead of both Schumacher – still in front of Alonso – and the World Champion, while holding Heidfeld in third.

Raikkonen easily held the gap to Hamilton at the front, but as they say, catching is one thing, passing a complete and utter farce. The two circulated in close company, exchanging fastest laps along the way.

After the second round of stops – and the BMW’s third – Alonso found himself back in fourth, and very close to Heidfeld in front. It was a futile chase, however, as all Nick had to do was stick to the line for the last few laps and the podium was his.

Up front Raikkonen had closed on Hamilton again, but a similar story appeared here – the Finn was marginally quicker but could do nothing as long as the Englishman did not make a mistake. And he didn’t – taking the chequered flag for his third win of the season, under one second in front of the Ferrari. A faultless win under an in-team cloud, and a fine effort from the second place man who did everything he could.

Heidfeld came home third, a full 43 seconds behind the leaders, with Alonso right on his tail as they crossed the line, and Kubica made it another double points finish for the best of the rest BMW team with an excellent fifth.

Ralf Schumacher took sixth place in what was a superb drive for the rejuvenated German, ahead of a slightly disappointed Nico Rosberg, the Williams again promising much but ultimately failing to produce the goods.

Eighth, and the final point, went to Heikki Kovalainen, who drove feverishly in the Renault all afternoon and deserved the reward.

Red Bull took a strange gamble by switching Mark Webber to three stops as opposed to two mid race, a move that did not pay off and allowed Kovalainen to get ahead of him – disappointing, this, for a man who looked to be on course for more points. Team mate David Coulthard was never a factor and came home 11th and lapped.

Jarno Trulli finished tenth after a race that bore no relation to that of his team mate, and Giancarlo Fisichella’s race was next to forgettable, too. Unless, that is, you are Anthony Davidson, the Englishman enduring a wheel bashing incident with the Italian that broke the Super Aguri’s suspension and sent it into a terminal spin.

Massa, as previously mentioned, finished in 13th, but this may have been higher but for an enforced pit stop to take on the super-soft tyres. All in all, an odd weekend of tactical errors from the Brazilians side of the Ferrari camp.

Other finishers were Alex Wurz, the Austrians performance here not on a par with his better runs this season, Takuma Sato with a decent run in the remaining Super Aguri, and Sebastian Vettel who brought the Toro Rosso home on his debut with team.

Perhaps the most interesting finishers, however, are the last two, where Adrian Sutil brought the Spyker home in 17th position, two laps down, but in front of Rubens Barrichello in the Honda RA107. Joy for Spyker, but an absolute disgrace for Honda.

In addition to Davidson, Jenson Button, Tonio Liuzzi and Sakon Yamamoto all failed to take the flag.

With Hamilton increasing his lead in the points race to seven over Alonso, and Raikkonen climbing ahead of his team mate, the young Englishman looks comfortable in the troubled waters of the Mclaren team. The word in the press is that the relationship between the two stars has broken down irreparably, and Alonso failed to confirm that he would see out his multi year Mclaren contract. Flavio Briatore, notably, has made it clear that Renault would welcome the Spaniard with open arms, and this writer believes the Alonso-Mclaren partnership may well be on its last legs.

Mclaren and Hamilton, however, look stronger than ever.

Written: Mon, 06 Aug 2007 08:42:52