Magyar Nagydij (Hungarian Grand Prix)

teabagyokel

#dejavu
Valued Member
Calm down, boys and girls, the undisputed highlight of the F1 calendar is upon us! Its the Hungarian Grand Prix, from that reknowned home of exciting racing, the Hungaroring. With the vast history of the Hung...

OK, I can't do it anymore. This post-Cold War "include the East of Europe" bore-fest won't be great unless it rains. Britain's drivers have won the last two Hungarian Grand Prix via Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, but the most exciting part of this Grand Prix is often qualifying. (And thankyou Fernando, for really putting the pigeon amongst the cats last year).

Any thoughts on the destination of pole position/race win (are they one and the same?) this year? Can Ferrari come back at a Hamilton in his best form in F1? Will it rain like 2006 and produce a spectacle? This has not always been a Ferrari track, so can it be good for McLaren, or even BMW? And will we see someone in the footsteps of Hill, Alonso and Button and win their maiden Grand Prix? (Money is on Kovali or Steady Nick)
 
If the difference between the McLarens and the Ferraris is due to real improvement and not just Lewis Hamilton's ability to out-drive most other people in the wet then I'm going for the safe bet of LH on pole with FM 2nd.

The race I expect will be fairly processional, barring any accidents or mishaps by the front runners and LH will eke out a 10 second lead before having it wiped out by the safety car on lap 25....
 
What this race needs is something (anything) to liven it up.

I would love to see a first corner pile up on the first lap. (absolutely no injuries, not even a bruise please). We haven't had one for a while and I find it quite funny when a whole pile of cars crash into each other sparking headless chickens as Drivers wonder if they can make a restart or if the cars a write off. Mechanics try and patch up the T car that hasn't worked all weekend and generally everything goes mad. You can always bet that the ensuing race will throw up a suprise or two as everyone struggles to make the restart in new / untested cars etc. Failling that the stewards manage to clear the track under the safety car leaving some high profile retirements, embaressed drivers and red face mechanics. Normally the slower cars at the back arrive at the scene with enough time to avoid the pile up and go on to score some useful points. Mark Webber for Minardi in Australia anyone?

As you can tell I am not predicting the most exciting race in the world.

My prediction is for something of a Ferrari revival but I reckon we could see a really strong run from Robert K. Hungary isn't a top speed circuit so the BMW's should be able to compete on terms of pace.

C_A_T
 
I'm not sure if it'll apply this year, but last year this was a real McLaren track and Ferrari looked all over the place - at least up to Saturday night!

I would say that the Ferrari revival is, in my humble opinion, likely to come in either Valencia (depending on what the track is like) or Spa (Raikkonen has won the last 3 Belgian GPs that have been held). I reckon Hamilton will win this one... if he doesn't then for him the WDC is probably unlikely. He's on form, he's at a McLaren track, he must win (or at least beat Kubica, Massa and Raikkonen)
 
First practice - Friday.

Just watched the first practice session on line.

So far the Ferraris are topping the time sheets. Massa put in a really strong lap about 10 minutes before the end of the session. He was the only driver in the 1.20s with a 1.20.9. Next up was Kimi about .3 seconds behind. The Mclarens came next with Heiki and then Lewis. It was Heiki who set much of the early pace. Alonso and Glock rounded out the top six.

Most of the drivers complaned about lack of grip but that's to be expected and the track will bed in over the weekend. The only driver with any problems was Vettel who stopped out on the track quite early on.

It looks like it's going to be another long weekend for Williams, Honda and Force India. All three teams are very close on times and don't look like troubling the top 10 in tomorrows qualifying.

I am not sure if this has appeared for this weekend however Ferrari appear to be using a long wing immediatly behind the shark fin and infront of the actual rear wing. They are the only team that appear to be doing so. I guess it's designed to clean the air flow that passes under the rear wing allowing more air to be drawn out from under the rear deffuser. That's just speculation though.

Obviously we can't draw two many conclusions from one practice session and once the grip levels rise the times will drop. It should be a lot closer between Mclaren and Ferrari this weekend.

Regards C_A_T
 
I would tend to agree with teabagyokel, in that the Ferrari revival won't happen at the Hungaroring. C-a-T is also right, in that it's very difficult to read anything from one practice session, but it appears that Kimi is willing to after two sessions.
Raikkonen fears McLaren still quicker

Is Kimi correct in thinking that Mclaren are still quicker? Or is Massa right to be confident and think that Ferrari "bring home a good result."

Time will tell...
 
Well it's looking good for a McLaren 1-2 tomorrow.

Lewis Hamilton seemed to be cruising in Q3.
He definitely wasn't on the edge as he usually is on his last flying lap.

Barring a catastrophe, he looks to be on for the double-treble.
 
:1st: Hamilton looks good atm for a race win - who Ron is trying to kid by saying that Kovali is not in a supporting role to Lewis I don't know, did he not see Kovali "run wide" at Hockers.*

*I would continue but the FIA might read this!

I can't see Kovali getting past Hamilton on lap 1 anyway at the Dustbowl™. Massa seems confident of Ferrari, but I don't think that Ferrari are as close to McLaren as Ferrari would like to think, hence Räikkönen qualifying 6th again, behind not only Kubica but behind Timo as well!

Kubica just gets further ahead of Nick H. during quali sessions, although one would imagine Nick H. will be one stopping now and may rise like a Piquet from the flames if a Safety Car is seen!

Renault don't seem to be on the same pace as Toyota!

TEABAG YOKEL'S DRIVER OF THE DAY:
:3rd: JENSON BUTTON: 12th in a Honda is pretty good!
:2nd: HEIKKI KOVALIANEN: Getting close to illustrious team-mate
:1st: TIMO GLOCK: 2nd in Q2 and great job to come 5th, beating Räikkönen
 
Well I don't think many people predicted that result.

Unlucky for Massa and Lewis with Heikki and Kimi both profiting from it.
The WDC is still very close with Kimi leap-frogging Massa into 2nd place just 5 points behind Lewis.

McLaren are now in 2nd place for the WCC just 11 points behind Ferrari.

It's shaping up to be a cracking end to the season.
 
Man i feel so gutted for Massa, what a brilliant start, was the best driver and to retire 3 laps from the end is gut wrenching,

I really dont know what happened to Hamilton though, wasn't really pushing Massa at all, I would of thought that Hamilton would of been able to push him harder.
Hekki Kovalienen, well in a way im dissapointed he won today because people will only see it has him picking up from others misfortunes, the Fact is he didn't make a mistake, drove well and brought it home, The guys had so much bad luck its about time he had some good luck come his way.
Timo Glock was amazing, was clearly best of the rest, and not too far of the pace of Massa and the McLarens. He really shown a few of the others up, his teammate Trulli, Alsonso, Raikonen although i think his race was destryoed by being stuck behind Alonso.
I think this result could be pivotal in the World Championship Massa should of picked up 10pts and the Championship Lead but is now 8 points behind and Raikonen only closed the gap because of Hamiltons misfortune.

Driver of the Day :1st:
Man its a tough one but id say just about Massa from Glock, he did really well to get ahead of the Mclreans and that was pivotal to the Race.
Doofus of the Day Doh!
Raikoenen - ok got stuck behind alsono but qualified poorly and got a bad start, and that screwed his race, was gifted 3rd really
 
There is some thought that Ferrari turned the engine up a bit which is why Massa was so much faster than Lewis, especially considering qualifying.
If they did then perhaps that's the reason for the engine blow up?

In which case Ferrari haven't really made any gains on pegging McLaren at all.

As I say, it's only paddock talk but it would explain Massa's engine going pop...

It will be interesting to see if that's true or just rumour.
 
I wonder what it is that Lewis Hamilton does to his tyres...

A McLaren victory and Lewis extending his Championship lead, could have been worse* (66 lap race and it would've been... lots).

*from a McLaren point of view

I have to say that I feel sorry for Massa. If Ferrari did turn up his engine it is another doofus mistake from Ferrari, and with a circuit that the GP2 drivers described as like a cross between Montreal and Monte Carlo (Ferrari hell surely!) coming up next, Ferrari's [decision to sacrifice a guaranteed 3rd/inability to build a decent engine](del. as applicable) has hamstrung the driver, on recent form, most likely to bring the WDC to Maranello. Coupled with the Massa debacles in Monte Carlo and Montreal, and the unspecified turning around of the car in Kuala Lumpur, Ferrari could cost Massa the title! Great drive though Felipe!

Kimi must have Ferrari pulling their hair out... He might have got Glock had he not detoured off the track behind Alonso such was his pace. He lucked into an undeserved 3rd place and does not make the:

TEABAG YOKEL DRIVER OF THE DAY:
:3rd: Kovalainen - no mistakes, race win lucky but hey, who cares
:2nd: TIMO - Punched above his weight all race, brilliant weekend!
:1st: Massa - what are Ferrari playing at - another great race for the Brazilian!
 
Apparently it was nothing to do with Lewis.
Bridgestone confirmed it was a shard of debris that caused the puncture.

He managed to do 27 laps on the super soft too so perhaps he's not as hard on his tyres as everyone's been saying?
 
The old mantra "To finish first, first one has to finish" rings true again. Well done Heiki. He was first to finish, no matter what the wum's say.

Bad luck Massa. He was really as hard done by, as Kimi was really lucky!

Damage limitation for Lewis. Could have been a lot worse. Note to Lewis: must try harder to avoid the debris! :winker:

Three weeks wait 'til Valencia...
 
I'm wondering if Kimi's heart is just no longer in F1. I know he has denied that he is planning on calling it quits at the end of the season but I'm still not so sure. It's the third race in a row where he has just ambled around, making several mistakes and not really pushing at all. It's very similar to watching Damon Hill in his final year. There just seems to be a lack of spark from Kimi at the moment. As others have commented he was gifted 3rd in this race when he didn't really deserve it.

As for the others, I was suprised that BMW didn't get it together over the weekend. I thought they would do well at this track especially as it's not a high speed circuit but one that rewards the more ballanced cars.

Once again. ITV made my blood boil by not showing the post race interviews. I wanted to see Glock and Heiki's reactions to there best race finishes so far. Are we to now asume that whenever ITV sport covers a major sporting event (world cup final, champions league etc) that if the teams involved aren't British we won't get any post race interviews at those events either. >:(

As for the top performances of the weekend:

The great start award: Massa :cheer:
The deserved podium finish award: Glock :yesss:
The well done for keeping it all together, making no mistakes and bringing it home for your maiden win award: Heiki

Looking forward even more to the next race to see how it all unfolds.
 
cider_and_toast said:
Once again. ITV made my blood boil by not showing the post race interviews. I wanted to see Glock and Heiki's reactions to there best race finishes so far. Are we to now asume that whenever ITV sport covers a major sporting event (world cup final, champions league etc) that if the teams involved aren't British we won't get any post race interviews at those events either. >:(

I assure you cider and toast that ITV don't have any non-British post match interviews in the football either! Unless of course its Mourinho affected! We just get the utter rubbish spouted by that great footballer of his day, Andy Townsend (!?) Although they seemed to interview everyone during the Rugby World Cup (including the one Bernard Laporte, rugby manager now sports minister. He was the bald bloke giving out trophies at the French GP...)

The quality of sports broadcasts is sometimes reduced by paying attention to the "stories" (there is other things at the Olympics than Michael Phelps, you know...)? Will the BBC better this. Well BBC sports commentary is a mixed bag (the rugby union & tennis coverage is excellent, whereas the "employ anyone named Alan" strategy has led football down the potty). All I know is that if their football policy continues we're guaranteed to have James Allen on the team, which isn't great.
 
hate to say this but i fell asleep pretty soon after the start... got woken up once by an almighty big bang (down one ferrari engine) and then nicely dozed off again. races like this do f1 no favour whatsoever.
 
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