2015 Formula One Hungarian GP: Vettel takes the win

By William Herrera July 28,2015

hungarian-grand-prix-f1Budapest’s Hungaroring has been notorious for the lack of overtaking opportunities. Usually, the race is just a procession, and after qualifying on Saturday, the Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg were again on the front row. Sebastian Vettel drove his Ferrari to P3 and Daniel Ricciardo slotted to P4, with Kimi Raikkonen in the other Ferrari taking P5 to hold off countryman Valtteri Bottas who came across the line in P6.

 

ferrari-formula-one-driversThe pre-race ceremony commenced with everyone in the F1 fraternity gathering together to offer a tribute to Jules Bianchi. The Frenchman succumbed to injuries suffered during the rain soaked 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. Bianchi had been in a coma since the accident, and up to his death, had not made any noticable improvements. It was a heart-tugging scene as all drivers huddled together, helmets forming a circle around Jules’ helmet. Everyone was emotionally distraught at losing one of their own, more so the Bianchi family who were also present during the ceremonies.

 

But the race has to go on. And as the cars went around for the warm up lap, Felipe Massa placed his Williams FW37 in the wrong position on the grid, perhaps due to the emotional strain of Bianchi’s death. Massa was reportedly the driver closest to Bianchi. The incident aborted the race start, and the field were made to do another warm up lap to address Massa’s mistake.

 

When the lights went out to start the race, both Mercedes were slow off the blocks. Vettel and Kimi on the other hand made exceptional starts. By the first corner, Sebastian led the field ahead of Raikkonen, who was followed by Rosberg and Hamilton. This was not the start that the defending champ had in mind. After being relegated to running behind his teammate and main championship rival, Lewis was no doubt fuming under his helmet. In his haste to overcome his drop in position, he underestimated his braking zone and nearly collected Rosberg in the process. Hamilton was forced to do an evasive maneuver onto the gravel trap. This mistake further slid him down the standings and left him with no choice but to wish to the high heavens that he could limit the points difference between him and Nico.

 

Meanwhile, out in front, it was business as usual for Vettel, circa 2013. He was racing away with the lead and even registering fast sector times in the process. Raikkonen, who was also running a decent pace, was not a match for of Sebastian. The German was in full control of this grand prix and he was not putting a foot wrong. The Ferrari hugged the corners and made it look so easy.

 

ferrari-formula-oneLap 14 saw some of the cars dive into the pits for their tire change. Owing to the abrasive nature of the track, most teams planned out a three stop strategy. As Bottas and Daniil Kyvat pit, Lewis Hamilton flew past the garages to claim P6, and when Nico Hulkenberg pits a lap later, Hamilton inherits P5. Lewis was flying. He had only one thing on his mind, to get back in the thick of the fight for some some points. Meanwhile, Raikkonen was doing his best to close the gap between himself and Vettel. The Finn also benefited from the Ferrari improvements, and registered his best times in the process. Rosberg, who was suffering from tire degradation, was slowly dropping in relation to the Ferraris, who seemed to have no tire issues whatsoever.

 

Lap 19 saw parts fly off Raikkonen’s car. A winglet of some sort came undone. This had the Ferrari pit crew scamper to prepare a nose for the number 7 car if a change is warranted by the pit wall. Cameras even saw the #7 decal being put in place on the new nose. This meant that the aero bits for both cars are identical.

 

Lewis Hamilton pitted on lap 20, ahead of his teammate. This move, seen by most, was to try and give Lewis a figthing chance at mixing it up with the leaders later in the race. Rosberg for his part, pitted a lap later to try and undercut Kimi for P2. Lap 22 saw Vettel come in. This promoted Kimi momentarily to P1, but the Iceman then had to dive for his trie change a lap later. A slower turn around by the Ferrari pit crew meant that Kimi would come out behind Sebastian.

 

Mid-race had Hamilton closing the gap to Rosberg, who was now only seven seconds ahead. The German was hard-pressed to find substantial power or skill to leave his teammate behind.

 

The Mercedes duo had different strategies for the race, with Nico using primes on his second stint while Lewis was on options. When the pit wall came over the radio informing Nico that on Lewis’ last stint, he would be on primes, Nico replied that he too wanted the similar tire set, even if he was currently driving on primes. The reply of the team, as expected, was that they didn’t think it would be a good idea. Thus Nico had to dig deep if he wanted to finish ahead of Hamilton.

 

Lap 43 saw Nico Hulkenberg’s Force India going head first into the tire barriers at turn one. Replays showed that the front nose of the Force India failed and debris was scattered all along the pit straight. Hulkenberg walked away from the crash.

 

As crews cleaned out the debris, the safety car was dispatched, prompting a majority of the teams to dive into the pits for a free tire change. The safety car negated the lead that Vettel had bulit up, and at the re-start, Sebastian bunched the field up ensuring he had a good get away. Kimi who was running second, had to deal with Rosberg, who was trying his best to claim track postion over the Finn all the while defending against the charge of Hamilton and Ricciardo. Rosberg was able to make a move stick and claimed P2 ahead of Kimi.

 

Further down the order, Daniel and Lewis touch as Ricciardo made a move on the Mercedes. The hit was sufficient to drop Lewis back. To make matters worse, the race stewards handed the Brit with a drive through penalty for causing the collision. His chances of maintaining the championship lead now seems to have been lost.

 

Kimi who had to deal with a loss of power had his MGU-K (hybrid system) to blame. Raikkonen had no option but to pit and retire the stricken Ferrari on lap 52. This was the unfortunate end to one of the best races for the Finn this season.

 

With Lewis dropping back and Kimi out of the race, Rosberg had the perfect opportunity to challenge Vettel for the lead. But even with DRS available at his disposal, Nico had no reply to the fast running Ferrari. Vettel was just too quick and the Ferrari, it seems, was riding on rails.

 

This was the opportunity that Ricciardo was hoping for. He kept Rosberg in his sights and with the RB11 on its new set of options, went about catching the Mercedes. Ricciardo made his move on lap 64. The Aussie dove deep into turn 1 but had to run wide, and as he cut back inside, he hits the left rear tire of the Mercedes. Puncture for Nico!

 

This meant that Nico had to drive all the way around the circuit on 3 tires, while making sure that the car doesn’t disintegrate in the process. There will be no Christmas cards for Ricciardo this year from Toto Wolff.

 

Nico, hobbling around the track, made it back to the pits. After a quick check and tire change, he went back out behind the McLaren of Jenson Button. Rosberg made easy pickings of the Mclaren and moved up to P8, but with only two laps to go, Rosberg had to find solace in the fact that while he didn’t overcome the lead of Hamilton in the championship, he was able to score valuable points to keep his hopes for a first championship alive.

 

vettel-ferrari-f1Sebastian Vettel crosses the line in jubilant fashion. The win moved Sebastian into third on the all time win list, alongside the great Ayrton Senna. Vettel, showing true class, dedicated the win to Jules Bianchi. This was the first win of the Scuderia in Budapest since Michael Schumacher back in 2004!

 

Daniil Kyvat took his maiden podium for Red Bull by coming in second place, and Mercedes nemesis Daniel Ricciardo with his marvelous recovery from all the incidents he had been involved with, finshed in third.

 

Fernando Alonso, who had a quiet race, surprisingly, brought an underpowered McLaren across the line to finish in fifth spot with Jenson Button holding on to ninth. This was the best points haul for McLaren-Honda so far this year.

 

Championship leader Lewis Hamilton finished in sixth, while Nico crossed the line in eight place. This ensured that Lewis added on to his lead in the standings heading into the summer break. The F1 fraternity now closes its garages for a much needed respite, and will return for the Belgian Grand Prix in August.

 

Will Ferrari be able to maintain their new found power advantage? Will McLaren have something in store for the Belgian GP? Will Mercedes finally solve their problems with bad starts? Will the fickle weather of the Ardennes Forest play a big role in providing a winner? All this will be answered on August 23. Who knows: we may have a new championship challenger emerge for the last half of the season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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