Paul Henman formula1 Grand Prix of Hungary – Race

Grand Prix of Hungary – Race

This is the final race before the teams take their enforced summer break; VER is only 8 points ahead of HAM, and Red Bull are just 4 points ahead of Mercedes.

Quali: HAM was slow leaving the pits in Q3, causing some people to complain about him delaying VER and PER; nothing illegal though.
Grid: HAM, BOT, VER, PER, GAS, NOR, LEC, OCO, ALO, VET, RIC, STR, RAI, GIO, SAI, TSU, RUS, LAT, MAZ, SCH*

There’s rain forecast for the start of the race, and VER has said he just needs to brake late into Turn 1, so it’s going to be an eventful first few laps.

“Red Bull have changed the Honda power unit in Max Verstappen’s RB16B ahead of today’s Hungarian Grand Prix, but the Dutchman will not be hit with a penalty for the swap and will still start from his P3 grid slot.” [FIA]

Pit lane is open; cars can head to the grid (or do installation laps and return to the pits)
Drivers doing practice starts at the end of the pit lane
If it’s a dry start, HAM & BOT starting on mediums will be at a disadvantage compared to the rest of the top 10 on softs because it’s nearly 10° cooler than Quali and the practice sessions
Radio from RUS complaining “That was very dangerous from Sainz (doing a practice start) on the pit exit”
Air temperature 27°C; track 38°C; it’s started to drizzle; radar shows the rain will get heavier
The flyover has been cancelled because of the cloud cover
Ferrari making a last-minute adjustment to LEC’s brakes
Radio for GIO telling him the rain will last for about another 30mins
Radio from HAM discussing whether to start on inters or slicks – he thinks it’s drying as fast as it’s falling; “I hope the rain does come – I think we should have started on slicks”
FIA timing chart says everyone is starting on inters

HAM leads everyone away on the formation lap
There are dry patches where the teams had canopies over their cars, but it’s still raining (and getting heavier!) so those patches will be wet by the time they start
Air temperature 26°C; track 32°C – track’s dropped 6° in the past 30mins
Radio from HAM, “It is inters”
Grid forms up, except GIO heads for the pit lane

01/70: BOT is swamped off the grid; passed by VER, NOR
BOT locks up; hits NOR; they collide with VER, PER
Safety Car deployed

02[SC]: VER, NOR pit
Bodywork flying off the right side of VER’s Red Bull as he leaves the pit lane

03[SC]: HAM, OCO, VET, SAI, TSU, LAT, ALO, RUS, RAI, SCH, GAS, RIC, VER, MAZ, NOR, GIO; out: PER, STR, LEC, BOT
Red flag – race suspended
Radio for VER telling him the right barge-board is gone

Replay of the start; after BOT hits NOR and both Red Bulls, STR hit LEC and then they hit RIC
When NOR pitted, McLaren released him almost into GIO?
[FIA video]

McLaren inform race director Michael Masi that NOR’s car had to be retired, so now that’s 5 cars out
Meanwhile Red Bull mechanics have been busy rebuilding VER’s car, but there’s still a lot of damage to the right side
It looks like the rain is easing up and the sun’s out

Order for the restart: HAM, OCO, VET, SAI, TSU, LAT, ALO, RUS, RAI, SCH, GAS, RIC, VER, MAZ, GIO; out: NOR, PER, STR, LEC, BOT
Andreas Seidl says RIC also has a lot of damage

SC leads the field out of the pit lane; they’ll form up on the grid for the restart
The track is looking quite dry
Radio from RUS, “At this rate everyone is going to box!”
Only HAM heads to the grid – everyone else is indeed in the pits

04/70: RUS is the first out of the pit lane, so he’s P2
Radio from HAM, “Yeah, it’s dry”; “Box, box”
RUS is slowing – has he got a problem in his Williams … No, he was told by FIA to give back places he took in the pit lane
MAZ retires – replay shows RAI was released into the path of MAZ in the pit stop before the restart, breaking MAZ’s front-right suspension

05/70: HAM pits; rejoins P14, right at the back!
Radio from HAM, “Am I last?”
So now HAM will have to pass VER … which might be interesting

06: OCO, VET, LAT, TSU, SAI, ALO, RUS, RAI, RIC, SCH, VER, GAS, GIO, HAM; out: MAZ, NOR, PER, STR, LEC, BOT
OCO fastest lap 1:24.575

07: HAM f/lap 1:23.637
HAM closing on GIO

08: Radio from HAM saying he can’t get close to GIO
Pit lane incident involving MAZ and RAI under investigation

10/70: OCO, VET, LAT, TSU, SAI, ALO, RUS, RAI, RIC, SCH, VER, GAS, GIO, HAM
Radio from RUS, “If you need to compromise my race now, I’ll box early – prioritise Nicky (LAT)”
HAM finally passes GIO for P13
10sec stop-go penalty for GIO for speeding in the pit lane

11: HAM now closing on GAS
HAM’s been told his brake caliper temps are getting too hot

12: GIO pits; serves his stop-go penalty
Radio from HAM, “There’s just no grip out here”

13: GAS defending P12 from HAM

14: VER tries to pass around the outside of SCH; VER runs wide
VER tries again; small contact; takes P10 this time
Radio for VER, “Not bad for half a car”

15/70: OCO, VET, LAT, TSU, SAI, ALO, RUS, RAI, RIC, VER, GAS, SCH, HAM, GIO
RAI given 10sec penalty for unsafe release
RAI pits; team wait 10sec before working on the car; then RAI has trouble pulling away; rejoins P14
HAM takes P11 from SCH

17: HAM f/lap 1:23.219

18: Radio from HAM, “I can’t get close to people”
There’s a queue behind RUS (P7) with RIC, VER, GAS and HAM, then a gap to SCH

19: VET closing on OCO – within DRS range
Radio for OCO, “Plan A plus 5” so a longer 1st stint before 1-stop?
HAM within DRS of GAS

20/70: OCO, VET, LAT, TSU, SAI, ALO, RUS, RIC, VER, GAS, HAM, SCH, RAI, GIO
RAI 1:23.165
HAM pits; hard tyres go on; rejoins P12

21: RIC and VER pit; HAM passes them as they leave the pit lane and the Merc moves up to P10

22: RUS pits; rejoins P10
HAM /flap 1:21.531

23: TSU pits; rejoins P7
HAM f/lap 1:21.076

24: LAT pits from P3; rejoins P7
VET closing on OCO again
HAM closing on SCH, takes P8

25/70: OCO, VET, SAI, ALO, GAS, TSU, LAT, HAM, SCH, RUS, RIC, VER, RAI, GIO; out: MAZ, NOR, PER, STR, LEC, BOT
Top 5 have yet to pit
HAM f/lap 1:20.609

26: VER locks up into Turn 1; scuffs up his new tyres

27: HAM lines up LAT and takes P7

29: Radio from ALO, “The sky is getting black”; “Nothing on the radar”

30/70: OCO, VET, SAI, ALO, GAS, TSU, HAM, LAT, SCH, RUS, RIC, VER, RAI, GIO
HAM has DRS behind TSU

31: GAS pits from P5; rejoins P8

32: HAM around the outside of TSU to take P5
RUS closing on SCH

33: SAI pits from P3; rejoins P4, ahead of HAM
RUS challenges SCH, cleanly wheel to wheel; takes P9

34: RIC and VER pass SCH too

35/70: OCO, VET, ALO, SAI, HAM, TSU, LAT, GAS, RUS, RIC, VER, SCH, RAI, GIO; out: MAZ, NOR, PER, STR, LEC, BOT

36: SCH pits

37: VET pits from P2; rejoins P3

38: OCO pits from P1; rejoins P2, behind teammate ALO who has yet to stop
VET closing on OCO but not quite close enough to attack
Radio from HAM, “These tyres are struggling man”

40/70: ALO pits from P1; good stop; rejoins P5
OCO, VET, SAI, HAM, ALO, TSU, LAT, GAS, RUS, RIC, VER, RAI, SCH, GIO
GAS dives inside LAT to steal P7

41: VER pits from P11; mediums go on; rejoins P12

42: ALO f/lap 1:20.359
VET locks up and goes deep into Turn 1

43: HAM continues to close on SAI but reports his rears are shot

44: HAM has DRS; reports that his tyres have “got a second wind” just after SAI says “I have a feeling Hamilton is going to box again”

45/70: OCO, VET, SAI, HAM, ALO, TSU, GAS, LAT, RUS, RIC, RAI, VER, SCH, GIO

47: HAM is ~7sec behind OCO
OCO is closing on GIO to lap him soon

48: HAM pits from P4; new mediums go on; rejoins P5
Radio for HAM, “It’s hammer time all the way”

49: OCO laps GIO but VET nearly finds a gap
Radio for GAS telling him to swap positions with teammate TSU

50/70: OCO, VET, SAI, ALO, HAM, GAS, TSU, LAT, RUS, RIC, RAI, VER, SCH, GIO; out: MAZ, NOR, PER, STR, LEC, BOT
HAM f/lap 1:18.715

51: OCO now closing to lap SCH
VER takes P11 from RAI

52: OCO and VET pushing hard, both setting personal f/lap

54: RAI pits from P11; rejoins P12
Radio from TSU whining about his teammate not going fast enough!

55/70: OCO, VET, SAI, ALO, HAM, GAS, TSU, LAT, RUS, RIC, VER, RAI, SCH, GIO
ALO locks up; HAM alongside; wheel to wheel but ALO defends P4

56: HAM harrying ALO but the Alpine stays ahead

57: Great racing with ALO making HAM work hard
Mercedes have tweeted “This is so good” – great to see they enjoy the competition

58: HAM still has DRS but can’t find a way around ALO

59: Meanwhile, FIA commentary feed reports: Bottas has received a drop of 5 grid positions for the next race (Belgium) and two penalty points for “causing an avoidable collision in Turn 1”

60/70: OCO, VET, SAI, ALO, HAM, GAS, TSU, LAT, RUS, RIC, VER, RAI, SCH, GIO

61: VER takes P10 from RIC

62: SAI is only ~1.5sec ahead of ALO, but HAS to pass the Alpine before he can attack the Ferrari

63: HAM tries another move yet again ALO defends P4
Frustrated radio from HAM, “He moved over on me again – come on!”

64: VET is still ~1sec behind OCO

65/70: OCO, VET, SAI, ALO, HAM, GAS, TSU, LAT, RUS, VER, RIC, RAI, SCH, GIO
ALO locks up and HAM steals P4
ALO fights back but HAm hangs on to P4

66 = 5 laps left: HAM closing up on SAI

67: SAI is closing to lap RIC, so both SAI and HAM has DRS
HAM inside at T1 to take P3

68: HAM is over 7sec behind VET so too far to challenge for P2 in the remaining 3 laps
GAS pits from P6; soft tyres go on; rejoins still P6

69: HAM still has fastest lap but GAS is going to challenge that

70/70: OCO, VET, HAM, SAI, ALO, GAS, TSU, LAT, RUS, VER, RAI, RIC, SCH, GIO

OCO takes the chequered flag
VET P2
HAM P3
SAI, ALO
GAS f/lap 1:18.394
TSU, LAT, RUS, VER round out the points

The Alpine pair are side-by-side for the victory lap
Oh! OCO has started a second lap – whoops!
VET had stopped on track too, so he & OCO are both having to run back to the pits so they can do the podium ceremony 🙂

Nice mask Seb! I bet the Hungarian authorities will not like that! [BBC]
HAM is looking exhausted – he’s breathing heavily and hangs on to OCO as they gather on the top step for photos

Provisional result: OCO, VET, HAM, SAI, ALO, GAS*, TSU, LAT, RUS, VER; RAI, RIC, SCH, GIO
*GAS fastest lap
DNF: MAZ, NOR, PER, STR, LEC, BOT

Summer holidays now; next race will be Grand Prix of Belgium, August 27-29
BOT & STR will each have a 5-place grid drop penalty for causing the lap 1 collision; they were each also given 2 penalty points on their license [FIA]

[2021 calendar] [2021 line-up] [Points standings]

8 thoughts on “Grand Prix of Hungary – Race”

  1. Looks like a few drivers (BOT, SAI, STR, VET) have been called to see the stewards for wearing their T-shirts during the national anthem; OCO’s also been summoned for his 2nd victory lap.

    1. “Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel has lost his second-place finish and been disqualified from the results of the Hungarian Grand Prix after race officials were unable to take the required fuel sample from his car following the race.”
      https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.breaking-vettel-loses-second-place-finish-in-hungary-after-disqualification.1hHxDLG0ARyAw6q2TCDkiS.html

      So the revised result is: OCO, HAM, SAI, ALO, GAS*, TSU, LAT, RUS, VER, RAI
      (*GAS fastest lap)

Comments are closed.

Related Post