Hungarian Grand Prix: Lap-by-Lap
Sunday 31st July 2011
A lap-by-lap report of Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.
FINISH: That's it from Hungary. Please join us at the end of August for the Belgian GP. Cheers!
FINISH: Massa, di Resta, Buemi, Rosberg and Alguersuari complete the points.
FINISH: Vettel and Alonso complete the podium ahead of Hamilton and Webber.
FINISH: Button takes the chequered flag to win the Hungarian GP, the track that also played host to his first ever F1 victory.
Lap 70: Final lap for Button...
Lap 69: Webber is right behind Hamilton but that McLaren is coming across as the broadest car Webber has ever seen.
Lap 68: It looks like the podium has been decided as Vettel can't catch Button and Alonso cannot catch the Red Bull.
Lap 67: Not a bad way for Button to mark his 200th grand prix start.
Lap 66: Button has lapped everyone up to an including seventh placed di Resta.
Lap 65: Hamilton may be in fourth place now but he's 30s behind Alonso, which means the podium is pretty much out of reach.
Lap 65: Having to get around traffic, Hamilton takes advantage of it and overtakes Webber for fourth place.
Lap 64: Button is leading the grand prix by 8.6s over Vettel, who is 15s ahead of Alonso.
Lap 63: Now everyone is attacking Kobayashi and he's dropped from P7 to P11 in one and a half laps.
Lap 62: Buemi takes the Suaber driver, Alguersuari tries to follow him through but instead crashes into him!
Lap 61: Kobayashi is leading a train of about seven cars with Buemi right behind him.
Lap 60: Kovalainen retires, parking his car on the side of the track. Not a great afternoon for Team Lotus.
Lap 59: And Hamilton takes Massa through Turns 6 and 7. Alonso has a spin but continues unharmed.
Lap 58: Webber easily overtakes Massa and it appears to be only a matter of time before Hamilton takes him as well.
Lap 57: Hamilton comes in for his drive-through. He emerges behind Massa and Webber.
Lap 56: So it's Button leading by 5.5s over Vettel. Alonso is a further 12.8s adrift.
Lap 56: Petrov and Kovalainen are in the pits.
Lap 56: Hamilton pits for dry tyres. He still has come to in for his penalty.
Lap 55: Drive-through penalty for Hamilton for forcing another car off the track as he tried to spin his own car around to face the right direction after a spin of his own.
Lap 54: Webber pits again and puts on the dry tyres. He comes out P6. Alonso has overtaken Hamilton with ease.
Lap 54: Hamilton is under investigation for his spin, which almost caught di Resta.
Lap 53: Hamilton pits and puts on the intermediate tyres.
Lap 52: Webber pits for intermediates. Petrov, Barrichello, Sutil, Maldonado, Kovalainen, Liuzzi also pit.
Lap 52: Wow! Button runs wide and Hamilton retakes the lead.
Lap 52: Vettel is off the track at Turn 13 and Rosberg pits for intermediates. And now Button takes the lead off Hamilton through the chicane.
Lap 51: Hamilton takes the lead off Button as the first Brit runs wide.
Lap 51: Vettel runs a bit wide while a Renault goes off the track.
Lap 50: Hamilton is now all over the back of Button as he's on the better tyres for keeping in the heat. Button is the harder of the two options.
Lap 49: The rain seems to be just in that one corner, just enough to catch out Hamilton.
Sky Bet: Big shift in the odds now, Button is the 5/4 favourite whilst Hamilton is 6/4. Vettel is 3/1 as we look to have one of the most exciting finishes of the season.
Lap 48: Both McLarens stay out as does Vettel. Alonso pits and puts on the prime tyres.
Lap 47: Button has overtaken Hamilton, who has gone off the road.
Lap 47: And it's raining!
Lap 46: Button is catching Hamilton and is on the longer-lasting tyres!
Lap 45: Alonso and Vettel are fighting for position with Vettel taking third off the Ferrari driver by using his DRS.
Lap 44: Alonso is catching Button with less than two seconds separating the two.
Lap 43: Di Resta pits from seventh. He's having a quiet but really solid Sunday afternoon.
Lap 43: Button pits and puts on the prime tyres. Button comes out P2 ahead of Alonso.
Lap 42: Ferrari have put the super softs on both their cars while Red Bull have opted for the prime tyres, which are not as fast but last longer.
Lap 42: Vettel pits from second place. He was losing two seconds a lap to Alonso. McLaren come out so expect Button to stop next.
Lap 41: Massa is now into the pits and the right rear was slow. That's the second slow stop for the Ferrari driver.
Lap 41: Hamilton now pits. He was in the lead and comes out behind Vettel.
Lap 40: Webber pits from fourth place and comes out behind Alonso.
Lap 40: Alonso's early pit stop is paying off and he's more than three seconds faster. He sets the fastest lap of 1:24.718. Meanwhile, Vettel starts to complain that his rears are falling away.
Lap 39: Alguersuari makes up another place as he passes Barrichello for P9.
Lap 38: The Spaniard rejoined in P5, but there is no sign of his rivals making their third stops this early in the race.
Lap 37: Alonso pits for third time and puts on the super soft tyres.
Lap 36: Ferrari mechanics are out. Who are they bringing in as this is rather early.
Lap 35: Sauber finally bring Kobayashi in. He was P8 and will drop.
Lap 34: Alonso is still chasing down Webber. These two are having a great fight and not for the first time this season.
Lap 33: It's still a McLaren 1-2 with Vettel not able to catch onto the back of Button's car.
Lap 32: Perez gets a drive-through for overtaking under yellows.
Lap 31: Alonso is again closing up on Webber and Perez is under investigation for overtaking under yellows.
Lap 30: Hamilton leads Button by 7.3s.
Lap 29: Vettel has also taken his pit stop. So it's Hamilton leading again.
Lap 29: Schumacher spins and parks his Mercedes GP. Game over.
Lap 28: Button pits, Sutil pits, Schumacher has also pitted. Rosberg has also been in as has di Resta.
Lap 27: So Button is leading the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Lap 27: Hamilton now pits from the lead.
Lap 26: Webber, Alonso, Massa, Petrov, Buemi and some other lowered ranked drivers all pitted.
Lap 26: Drivers are pitting. But with Heidfeld's car at the exit of the pit lane they are having to dodge through the debris without crossing the white line.
Lap 25: Heidfeld's on fire! No we don't mean he's having a great race, we mean he's literally on fire. He parks his Renault, climbs out, and the marshals are quickly out to douse it. But wow, the car seems to explode!
Lap 25: But despite his tyres woes, Button is catching Hamilton hand over fist.
Lap 25: Button is told by his team to hit the wet patches to try cool his tyres down.
Sky Bet: Hamilton is 1/3 after comfortably overtaking Sebastian Vettel who is 6/1 to win the race. Button is a 6/1 shot as well whilst Alonso looked like the only other likely winner, he is 14/1.
Lap 24: Massa is still not able to pass Schumacher. Tut, tut, tut.
Lap 23: It's Hamilton leading, followed by Button, Vettel, Webber and Alonso. 19s covering the top five.
Lap 22: Webber is now the fastest man as he tries to close up on his team-mate. And also tries to get away from Alonso.
Lap 21: Trulli is out of the grand prix, parking his Team Lotus on the side of the track.
Lap 20: And more rain in 10 minutes time.
Lap 20: Team Lotus are told no further action after the stewards investigated Kovalainen pit release.
Lap 19: Massa is all over the back of Schumacher, harassing his former team-mate in the battle for eighth place.
Lap 18: Glock, Trulli, D'Ambrosio, Ricciardo and Liuzzi are the last five drivers in the race and are all already a lap down!
Lap 17: Maldonado takes his drive-through penalty.
Lap 17: Vettel is refusing to let Button get away from him and the gap between the two is less than a second.
Lap 16: He is just plugging in fastest lap after fastest lap as his MP4-26 definitely loves the cooler conditions.
Lap 16: Hamilton is leading by 6.5s over Button.
Lap 15: Maldonado, who is P13, is under investigation for speeding in the pit lane. Kovalainen is under investigation for an unsafe release in the pits.
Lap 15: Webber runs wide and off the track, he almost collects Ricciardo as he returns to the circuit. Alonso is now right behind Webber.
Lap 14: Webber has overtaken Alonso for fourth.
Lap 14: Button dives up the inside of Vettel to take second through Turn 2.
Lap 14: Schumacher pits and Hamilton is back in the lead.
Lap 13: Schumacher is leading the Hungarian Grand Prix!
Lap 13: Hamilton pits from the lead and Vettel comes in right behind him as does Alonso. Hamilton comes out P2 just behind Schumacher.
Lap 12: Button pits for McLaren. And Ferrari are out again but Alonso does not stop.
Lap 11: Webber pits from sixth place and puts on the slick tyres. Ferrari bring Massa in as well as are Petrov and Barrichello.
Lap 10: Away from Rosberg, Alonso is now the fastest man out on track. He does a 1:39.909.
Lap 9: Both Mercedes GP drivers are struggling with their inters wearing fast.
Lap 9: Alonso uses his DRS down the main straight and easily passes Rosberg but also brakes late. And although the German had a small window in which to fight back, Alonso holds onto fourth place.
Lap 8: Massa spins off the track and just tags the barrier with the rear of his car. But it doesn't look as if there's any damage.
Lap 7: Hamilton is already 4.5s up on Vettel. He is flying!
Lap 7: A dry line is starting to appear.
Lap 6: Alonso takes Massa around the outside into Turn 1 after an earlier off-track run allowed the Brazilian up into fifth place.
Lap 6: Hamilton is already building a healthy lead over Vettel, who now has Button on his rear wing.
Lap 5: Schumacher now loses out to Webber as Hamilton tries to go around the outside of Vettel through the final corner. The Red Bull driver again holds him off but then runs wide, off the track and Hamilton is leading the Hungarian GP.
Lap 4: Alonso runs wide and off the track allowing Rosberg up into fourth place.
Lap 4: Hamilton goes up the inside of Turn 3 but Vettel cuts him off again despite having to go around theoutside.
Lap 3: Schumacher is overtaken by Masssa.
Lap 3: Hamilton attacks Vettel but the German fights back and they are side-by-side and Hamilton is almost bunted off the track.
Lap 2: Sutil has dropped from 8th to 20th and Perez from 10th to 19th.
Lap 2: Hamilton gets completely sideways as he tries to close up on Vettel. It's nasty!
Lap 1: Alonso takes Schumacher at the final corner and is back up to fifth place.
Lap 1: Yellow flags are out. Drivers are slipping and sliding as they struggle for grip.
Lap 1: Vettel gets off well and Hamilton is not able to attack. Button is up to third and fighting his team-mate. Button attacks. The two Ferraris had a solid start but immediately fell down as the two Mercs stormed ahead.
START: And it's go at the Hungaroring!
13H02: The grid reforms and it appears as if everyone is on the intermediate tyres.
13H00: Everyone is off without problems and Sutil is told to "drive an intelligent race" and that as long as he's in it at the end, he'll be in the points.
12H59: Track temperature is just 17'C as the formation lap gets underway.
Sky Bet: Vettel is the 6/4 favourite after winning one of the most exciting qualifying sessions of the season, Hamilton is 13/8 to win in the wet conditions although the majority of punters are siding with Jenson Button at 13/2. Alonso is 13/2 whilst Massa who qualified in fourth is 33/1. The wet conditions have seen an appearence from safety car move to an 8/11 chance, whilst it is even money that there is no safety car.
12H55: Final instructions, drivers climbing into cars, VIPs all leaving the grid, we're almost racing.
12H54: It's getting wetter out there by the looks of things. Should make for an interesting race.
12H49: Those starting on the left, ie Vettel and the odd numbers, are starting on a slightly drier side of the track, which will benefit them massively.
12H45: The pit lane is closed and the national anthem rings out.
12H36: Massa is already having fun on the wet track and runs wide at Turn 4 and on to the run-off.
12H30: Pit lane is open.
12H23: Nico Rosberg, Adrian Sutil, Michael Schumacher and Sergio Perez complete the top ten.
12H17: The second row belongs to Button and Felipe Massa with Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber behind them.
12H12: But, having said that, the cooler conditions could suit McLaren as the MP4-26 seems to like it.
12H11: However, starting P2 could hurt Hamilton as the dirty side of the grid is a lot slower and off the racing line completely, which means he could be on the back foot.
12H07: Vettel is starting today's 70-lap grand prix from pole position with Lewis Hamilton alongside him.
12H00: A few things to note: Jenson Button is starting his 200th GP today, Jarno Trulli is back in place of Karun Chandhok at Team Lotus, Fernando Alonso celebrated his 30th birthday on Friday, Nico Rosberg is starting his 100th GP and it's also the 100th grand prix for the 2.4 litre V8 engines.
Sunday: Fans arriving at the Hungaroring on Sunday morning had best bring their umbrellas as rain is forecast. Both this morning's GP3 and GP2 races took place on a wet track while the latter,which saw heavy rain in the closing laps, was won by the driver starting P21 on the grid, Stefano Coletti.
Qualifying: Sebastian Vettel, who set the pace in final practice, claimed pole position on Saturday afternoon with a 1:19.815. It is the reigning World Champion's eighth pole of the campaign but his first in three races.
Hamilton was bumped off the P1 slot by just 0.163s, however, he'll be delighted with his second successive front row grid slot.
Jenson Button was third fastest ahead of Felipe Massa, who edged his team-mate Fernando Alonso for the first time this season. Alonso will start the Hungarian GP P5 alongside Mark Webber.
Prac Three: Rising temperatures and an all-nighter played into Red Bull's hands in Saturday's final practice in Hungary where Seb Vettel set the pace.
The reigning World Champ clocked a 1:21.168 to finish 0.301s ahead of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. Jenson Button was third quickest.
Prac Two: Lewis Hamilton's Hungarian run continued as the McLaren driver concluded Practice Two with the fastest time, a 1:21.018.
Second place went to Fernando Alonso with the Ferrari driver 0.241s off the pace while Jenson Button was third quickest.
Fernando Alonso, whose session began with a small fire, finished in third place, a further 0.078s back and 0.024s ahead of Mark Webber, who crashed.
Friday: Welcome to the Hungaroring, home to the Hungarian Grand Prix. This is round 11 of the 2011 F1 World Championship.
Credit: ESPN STAR (www.espnstar.com)
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