Hungary analysis - Red Bull in retreat after Button master class
Any cynics claiming McLaren’s German win last weekend was a one-off were forced to eat their words on Sunday. Jenson Button ran riot in Budapest, making the most of his eminently quick MP4-26 and the changeable conditions to score an outstanding victory on his 200th Grand Prix start. Championship leader Sebastian Vettel could only manage second for Red Bull and even that might have been difficult had Lewis Hamilton in the sister McLaren not been caught out by a sharp shower - and a penalty from the stewards - at the Hungaroring. We take a team-by-team look at the Hungarian event…
McLaren
Jenson Button, P1
Lewis Hamilton, P4
For much of the race a McLaren one-two seemed likely, with Hamilton leading Button home. But first the former elected for another set of super-soft Pirellis on his Lap 40 pit stop, whereas Button and the Red Bull drivers went for softs which would get them home without a further pit call. Then, as it began to rain, Hamilton spun on Lap 47. The two of them then battled until Hamilton stopped for intermediates on Lap 52. Button refused a similar invitation, and it proved the right call. Hamilton pitted again within two laps for softs, then got a drive-through for causing di Resta to take avoiding action as he recovered from his spin. That dropped him to fifth but he repassed Webber to take fourth. Button, however, showed the improvement in the McLaren MP4-26 with a dominant and beautifully judged victory in his 200th Grand Prix.
Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel, P2
Mark Webber, P5
Red Bull were beaten again. Vettel led from pole but couldn’t keep Hamilton at bay by Lap five, then got jumped by Button in the first pit stops. He tried to keep the silver cars in sight, but later on minor brake problems prevented an all-out challenge in a race he still believes they could have won. Webber admitted that a similar call for intermediates when the rain came back around Lap 50 was his own mistake, and had to be content with fifth.
Ferrari
Fernando Alonso, P3
Felipe Massa, P6
Ferrari lost a huge amount of ground when both Alonso and Massa were very slow exiting Turn One at the start and got jumped by the Mercedes duo. Later, having passed them, Alonso lost more time trapped behind Webber. A four-stop strategy helped to overcome poor performance in the third sector which negated the value of DRS, and put him on to the final podium step, while a spin on Lap Eight cost Massa dear and left him to trail home sixth.
Force India
Paul di Resta, P7
Adrian Sutil, P14
Force India’s challenge was damaged when Sutil got too close to Di Resta on Lap One and locked up trying to avoid running into his team mate. The German lost a lot of ground and later lost more switching to intermediate tyres like Hamilton and Webber. Di Resta, however, drove superbly and made up ground lost when he had to avoid Hamilton, and took a thoroughly deserved seventh to end a run of pointless races.
Toro Rosso
Sebastien Buemi, P8
Jaime Alguersuari, P10
Buemi gave Toro Rosso a lot to smile about in their 100th race, as he battled up from 23rd on the grid to take a very well-deserved eighth after a big fight with team mate Alguersuari, Kobayashi and Rosberg. The Swiss kept the German at bay to the flag, while the Spaniard took the final point after recovering from a half spin while trying to pass the Japanese in Turn One.
Mercedes
Nico Rosberg, P9
Michael Schumacher, Retired Lap 27, gearbox
Both Mercedes drivers made excellent starts, but lacked the pace to make things work for them. Schumacher led a lap by delaying his first pit stop, but later spun while challenging Massa and retired simultaneously with a gearbox problem. Rosberg was another for whom the switch to intermediates late in the race failed to pay off, and he could not pass Buemi for eighth in his own 100th Grand Prix outing.
Sauber
Kamui Kobayashi, P11
Sergio Perez, P15
Kobayashi was in the fight for the final points after one of his trademark long runs, but ultimately had to stop for fresh rubber when the grip went away and finished 11th. Perez got a drive-through for overtaking under yellow flags at the scene of the Heidfeld fire, and that scuppered his chances.
Renault
Vitaly Petrov, P12
Nick Heidfeld, Retired Lap 24, fire
Renault had another horrible race. Petrov ran in the midfield but was yet another whose stop for intermediates proved a mistake. Heidfeld was delayed in his second pit stop, and as his R31 overheated as a result it caught fire and was severely damaged as he pulled to the side of the road by the pit lane exit. He was unharmed.
Williams
Rubens Barrichello, P13
Pastor Maldonado, P16
Williams looked like a contender for points for a while, but bringing in both divers for intermediates killed their chances late in the race. Barrichello said he struggled throughout after losing part of his front wing early in the race. Maldonado admitted to a mistake in his first pit stop when he failed to push the speed limiter button and duly received a drive-through penalty.
Virgin
Timo Glock, P17
Jerome d'Ambrosio, P19
Glock made a tremendous start to run 17th initially, before inevitably dropping back as faster cars recuperated. He finished in that position as D’Ambrosio dropped to 19th after half spinning in the pit lane, thankfully without hitting anyone or anything.
HRT
Daniel Ricciardo. P18
Tonio Liuzzi, P20
Ricciardo plugged on to finish 18th, his best finish in three races, but Liuzzi was hit from behind on the opening lap, spun and lost a lot of ground, and was never able to make it up as he again experienced problems with his fragile front wing which simply wasn’t strong enough for the downforce it generated.
Lotus
Heikki Kovalainen, Retired Lap 56, water leak
Jarno Trulli, Retired Lap 18, water leak
This was a poor race for Lotus, with Trulli retiring early on with a water leak and then Kovalainen following suit much later on after a spirited run in the lower midfield where for a long time he kept pace with Maldonado, Sutil and Perez.
Credit: Formula One Administration Ltd (www.formula1.com)
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