Formula One 2014 Hungarian GP: high-stakes racing at the ‘ring

The Hungaroring has been on the F1 calendar since 1996. The 4.38-km circuit is christened “the dustbowl” by fans, due to its amphitheater configuration and because it gets used only once a year. It has the reputation of being the slowest permanent racetrack on the F1 calendar.

Qualifying saw Nico Rosberg stand on P1, with Sebastian Vettel running up to 2nd and Valtteri Bottas slotting up in 3^rd. Daniel Ricciardo was 4th while Fernando Alonso rounded up the top 5. Lewis Hamilton in the sister Merceds AMG Petronas F1 had a fire gut his WO5 in Q1 and wasn’t able to set a time. He thus had to contend with starting from the pitlane.

Sunday saw the clouds open up and dump rain on the circuit. With the exception of Daniil Kyvat, whose car stalled on the grid during the start of the formation lap, cars were slipping and sliding all around. Most the circuit was damp, and starting on intermediates was the logical choice for the teams.

With Lewis Hamilton starting from the pits due to the repair that had to be done to his WO5, Nico led the field into turn 1, with Vettel right behind in his RB10. Bottas, on the other hand, made a wise move and stayed away from the the back of Rosberg to avoid the water coming off the Mercedes. This gave him better visibility, and he was able to take P2 from Vettel after the first corner. Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso in his Ferrari slotted in 4th.

At the onset, Hamilton, who started on cold tires and cold brakes found exiting the pits to be tricky, as his car slid out and tapped the tire wall causing minimal damage to the front wing. But the Brit gamely took charge and when he found grip, he drove like a man destined for a podium place. By lap 4 Lewis was up to P14 and ahead of him was Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari. On lap 8, Hamilton made a move on Kimi that gave him position over the Finn. The following lap, Caterham’s Marcus Ericsson stepped out of the track onto the grass at Turn 3, and slammed on the barrier, bringing out the safety car.  After this came about, most of the midfield runners dove into the pits while the leaders kept their position on track. Daniel Ricciardo found himself out in front, leading the Hungarian GP from Jenson Button.

As race control was about to bring the safety car in, Romain Grosjean spun and hit the barrier. As expected, Charlie Whiting extended the safety car period until lap 13. Ricciardo bunched up the field at the re-start with Button following close by, and Massa further back in 3rd. Lap 19 saw Hamilton in P9, and a few laps afterwards, he was up to P7 behind Vettel, Rosberg, Vergne, Alonso, Massa, and race leader Ricciardo. One could sense that Lewis is again up to the task of making a big comeback. He was that determined.

Lap 23 saw Sergio Perez having a big shunt into the barriers along the pit straight. His car spun out of control after it went over the still damp grass and lacked grip out of the corner. This again brought out the safety car as the marshalls extracated the stricken Force India. Daniel Ricciardo took advantage of the safety car period to come in for another set of tires. He came out in 6th place behind Hamilton, Vettel, Rosberg, Vergne and new race leader Fernando Alonso. As the cars went back to race speeds, Vettel had a scare, as he too took too much of the last corner, and ran wide onto the damp grass; fantastic reflexes saved him from duplicating the Perez shunt.

Team strategies were now coming into play. Hamilton, who was on his last set of tires, was going to the flag on the prime tires, while Rosberg had to do another stop to change his faster degrading options.

On lap 37, Hamilton was ordered by his team to let Nico pass, owing to the fact that the German was on a different strategy. But Lewis had other plans, as he was clearly the faster car. He went over the radio saying that he won’t slow down for his treammate, but if Rosberg should find himself alongside him, he will not impede the German. This move or non-move by Hamilton earned the frustration of Nico, who kept asking the team, why Lewis was not giving way. Martin Brundle, former F1 driver and now F1 commentator was astounded that the team was asking Lewis to lep Nico pass. The telemetry clearly showed that Lewis was by far the faster of the two Mercedes cars. This prompted another change in strategy for Rosberg. The team brought him in for tires and instructed him to race to the flag.

In the closing laps of the race, every tifosi was on the edge of their seats as Fernando Alonso was leading the grand prix. This could well end their drought and be their first win since Spain 2013. But Daniel Ricciardo with fresher tires on his RB10 had other plans. He kept piling the pressure on Alonso who was struggling on his worn out tires. Fernando tried in vain to keep Daniel at bay but eventually had to concede the position.

Lewis also had a chance to get P2 from Alonso, but ever the skilled veteran that he is, Fernando kept his Ferrari as wide as possible, making passing much more difficult. The dicing between the two former teammates was the chance that Rosberg was keeping an eye out for. He eventually found his way back and behind Lewis with 2 laps to go. Having fresher tires, Nico was assaulting Hamilton all the way to the flag. But he had to settle for 4th as he ran out of laps to pass the Brit.

Daniel Ricciardo took the flag to the delight of the team. Fernando Alonso came in right behind him, and the battling Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Rosberg came 3rd and 4^th, respectively.

This was the 2nd win for the Aussie, and kept him firmly in 3rd place in the drivers championship standings with 131 points. With his 4th place finish, Rosberg maintained 1st place. Hamilton was still 2nd but Nico’s lead was down to 11 points. This seemed an impossibility at the start of the race, since Lewis started from pitlane, and everyone was looking at him getting minimal points. Lewis Hamilton never gave up and was clearly the driver of the day—hungrier, and more confident than anyone else on the grid at the moment.

Formula 1 now goes on its summer break and will back in about a month’s time for the Belgian Grand Prix on August 24. This could be the perfect time to mend relationships in the Mercedes camp. Then again, the team might just let the two protagonists battle it out until Abu Dhabi.