Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix: 5 August 2007
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Track: Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary
Circuit length: 4.381 km
Laps: 70
Race distance: 306.67 km
Fastest race lap: 1:19.071 (Michael Schumacher, 2004)
Located a stoneÂ’s throw away from the beautiful city of Budapest, the Hungaroring hosts the only Grand Prix in Eastern Europe. Set in a natural amphitheatre, spectators can enjoy a great view of the circuit. However, the races in fair weather are usually processional due to its tight, twisty nature, and a dusty surface that reduces grip and makes overtaking difficult.
The number of laps covered during the race and the slow speed are second only to Monaco. A makeover in 2003 saw the pit straight lengthened and Turn 1 and Sector 3 modified in an effort to improve the racing action and move the pitlane exit off the racing line.
The cars are set up with a high downforce configuration in order to get around the many long and slow bends quickly. The surface is bumpy, and smooth driving is crucial. Very little grip is offered off the racing line due to the dust that settles there. As a result, qualifying on the side of the grid with even numbers is undesirable as it usually means a poor start for the drivers who qualify there.
The grand prix usually sees sweltering heat and bright sunshine, but last yearÂ’s race was the first ever to be held in wet conditions. Only 9 drivers made it to the end, with Jenson Button taking his first win. Given HondaÂ’s current form however, he will need another miracle to repeat that feat.
This circuit is also significant to BMWÂ’s Robert Kubica, F1's only Polish driver, who made his debut in last yearÂ’s race as Jacques VilleneuveÂ’s replacement. He finished in 7th place but was subsequently disqualified for having an underweight car. Check out LOT Airlines' promotions for what is considered his home race.
The event is also considered a home race to the Finnish contingent on the grid, which this year consists of Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen and Renault's Heikki Kovalainen. With the end of the Austrian Grand Prix in 2003, one can expect to see fans of William's Alexander Wurz here too.
Current world champion Fernando Alonso also took his first win at this circuit in 2003. He is now just 2 points behind the championship leader/McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton, after taking maximum points at Nürburgring while Hamilton finished with none. The other previous winners who are still active are Räikkönen (2005), who retired at the last round and crashed out of the lead of last year’s race, and Button’s teammate Rubens Barrichello (2002).
Hamilton's mishaps at the last race have closed up the drivers championship, and it now looks more like a 3-horse race. Can Räikkönen, now with an outside chance, claw his way back into contention? Or will McLaren dominate a procession as they did in Monaco? Try to stay awake during the race to find out! -
Sakon Yamamoto also makes his debut for Spyker this weekend. The ex-Super Aguri driver had tested for the team in the past when it was still known as Jordan.
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I don't like this circuit...
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Oh! Scott Speed pays the price for babbering on Toro Rosso. Sebastian Vettel will replace him with immediate effect.
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Robert Kubica leads the Ferraris and McLarens in FP1. He and Heidfeld (who made a mistake on his last hot lap) were on the super-soft tyres, while the world championship contenders were on soft tyres.
Hungarian GP, free practice session one times
1. KUBICA BMW 1m22.390s
2. MASSA Ferrari 1m22.519s
3. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m22.540s
4. ALONSO Mclaren 1m22.585s
5. HAMILTON McLaren 1m22.654s
6. HEIDFELD BMW 1m22.891s
7. ROSBERG Williams 1m22.983s
8. BUTTON Honda 1m23.294s
9. BARRICHELLO Honda 1m23.601s
10. R SCHUMACHER Toyota 1m23.802s
11. DAVIDSON Super Aguri 1m24.102s
12. TRULLI Toyota 1m24.318s
13. WURZ Williams 1m24.321s
14. COULTHARD Red Bull 1m24.474s
15. KOVALAINEN Renault 1m24.733s
16. VETTEL Toro Rosso 1m24.905s
17. FISICHELLA Renault 1m24.920s
18. LIUZZI Toro Rosso 1m24.976s
19. SATO Super Aguri 1m25.307s
20. WEBBER Red Bull 1m25.584s
21. SUTIL Spyker 1m26.332s
22. YAMAMOTO Spyker 1m28.118s -
Hungarian GP, free practice session two times
1. ALONSO Mclaren 1m20.919s
2. KOVALAINEN Renault 1m21.283s
3. HAMILTON McLaren 1m21.338s
4. ROSBERG Williams 1m21.485s
5. HEIDFELD BMW 1m21.517s
6. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m21.589s
7. MASSA Ferrari 1m21.620s
8. FISICHELLA Renault 1m21.698s
9. TRULLI Toyota 1m21.857s
10. KUBICA BMW 1m21.906s
11. SCHUMACHER Toyota 1m21.912s
12. WURZ Williams 1m21.987s
13. WEBBER Red Bull 1m22.325s
14. COULTHARD Red Bull 1m22.483s
15. DAVIDSON Super Aguri 1m22.510s
16. BUTTON Honda 1m22.550s
17. SATO Super Aguri 1m22.556s
18. BARRICHELLO Honda 1m22.727s
19. LIUZZI Toro Rosso 1m23.136s
20. VETTEL Toro Rosso 1m23.148s
21. SUTIL Spyker 1m23.673s
22. YAMAMOTO Spyker 1m26.307s -
1 year since button's first Formula 1 win... maybe a repeat of last season's rain for button to win again...
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Notice something strange with the mclarens?
http://www.formula1.com/photos/ta_article/full/ta_article_453.jpg -
Oh i missed the qualifying for this. Anybody know what happened to Massa? Why did he end up in 14 ??
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Hungarian GP, free practice session three times
1. MASSA Ferrari 1m20.183s
2. ALONSO McLaren 1m20.414s
3. HAMILTON McLaren 1m20.461s
4. HEIDFELD BMW 1m20.565s
5. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1m20.741s
6. ROSBERG Williams 1m20.868s
7. TRULLI Toyota 1m20.878s
8. SCHUMACHER Toyota 1m20.933s
9. WEBBER Red Bull 1m21.220s
10. WURZ Williams 1m21.323s
11. DAVIDSON Super Aguri 1m21.501s
12. KUBICA BMW 1m21.652s
13. KOVALAINEN Renault 1m21.666s
14. COULTHARD Red Bull 1m21.752s
15. SATO Super Aguri 1m21.839s
16. LIUZZI Toro Rosso 1m21.909s
17. FISICHELLA Renault 1m22.131s
18. BUTTON Honda 1m22.202s
19. VETTEL Toro Rosso 1m22.394s
20. BARRICHELLO Honda 1m22.596s
21. SUTIL Spyker 1m23.560s
22. YAMAMOTO Spyker 1m24.062s -
Massa had some problems with grip, which caused him to make all those corrections that you saw on TV. On his second-last run in Q2 he did not receive enough fuel and was pushed back into the pits.
Vettel and Sato braved huge moments in their attempts to get out of Q1. Hamilton and the stewards will be trying to find out what happened when he was held up.
Revised grid: Alonso demoted to 6th place. Fisichella demoted to 13th.
HUNGARIAN GP GRID
1. HAMILTON McLaren
2. HEIDFELD BMW
3. RAIKKONEN Ferrari
4. ROSBERG Williams
5. SCHUMACHER Toyota
6. ALONSO McLaren
7. KUBICA BMW
8. TRULLI Toyota
9. WEBBER Red Bull
10. COULTHARD Red Bull
11. KOVALAINEN Renault
12. WURZ Williams
13. FISICHELLA Renault
14. MASSA Ferrari
15. DAVIDSON Super Aguri
16. LIUZZI Toro Rosso
17. BUTTON Honda
18. BARRICHELLO Honda
19. SATO Super Aguri
20. VETTEL Toro Rosso
21. SUTIL Spyker
22. YAMAMOTO Spyker -
What's more, the stewards have also decided that McLaren will not score any constructors' championship points in tomorrow's race, in addition to Alonso's demotion.
Dennis put the blame on Hamilton being out of step with strategy, when he was really faster, and the stewards saw through that. Talk about self-ownage, just before the appeal will be heard.
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Go! BMW!!
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The truth is oÂne of the following:
McLaren were too smart by half
Or Alonso is the smartest driver in the world, and had this all calculated out in the cockpit of his car.
Alonso said of the incident, "I leave the pits when I'm told to."
And that makes the most sense.
If Ron Dennis is angry and upset, he oÂnly has his own team to whine at for wasting the precious seconds that left Hamilton second. If Ron Dennis is angry and upset, it clearly wasnÂ’t his driver who created the situation.
If Ron Dennis is angry and upset that McLarenÂ’s intended orchestration of the front row didnÂ’t happen as planned, he oÂnly has oÂne place to point the fingerÂ…
At his team. Not his driver.
Even so, the oÂne who ought to be furious is Fernando Alonso.
While Alonso will start from Pole oÂn a track where it is extremely difficult to make a pass, the team cost him a full lap of fuel by forcing him to sit idle in his pit stall.
They wasted 55 seconds oÂn the second to last stop, plus 19 seconds oÂn his final stop, plus the nine questionable seconds. That works out to 1:23 or oÂne full lap.
Tomorrow, that lost lap could be very costly for Alonso. That is..
If McLaren allows him to win. Because if he does, heÂ’ll overtake the teamÂ’s favored oÂne in the Formula oÂne points standings.
Will Ron Dennis allow that to happen ? -
uhh.. from the stories i read around, what has it got to do with Ron Dennis at all? seems like Alonso was the one who caused the delay... so why the part where they are not allowed to score constructors' points?
although there are signs that this could be a mess-up by the team when Hamilton was asked about it and he said to 'ask the team'
however, it was clear as day that Alonso was waved out by his team but he sat there while Hamilton waited behind him...
maybe Alonso feels that a cheating world champion has retired and wants to take his place..
Alonso punished for Hamilton move
Alonso had been fourth in the morning session
Fernando Alonso has been stripped of pole and moved five places down the Hungarian Grand Prix grid after impeding Lewis Hamilton in qualifying.
Hamilton was handed pole hours after being delayed by his team-mate in the pit lane, meaning he was too late for his final lap.
McLaren will also not be allowed to score constructors' points.
Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) was bumped up to second with Kimi Raikkonen third and Ferrari's Felipe Massa 14th.
Massa, third in the championship and 11 points adrift of Hamilton, suffered after a costly mix-up on his fuel levels.
Hamilton leads Spaniard Alonso by two points with seven races remaining.
The 22-year-old British rookie was fastest until the Spaniard pipped him by 0.107 seconds with his final lap of the session in the dying seconds.
Hamilton was unable to reply after being forced to wait behind Alonso at their final stop, leaving him too little time for a final flying lap.
Alonso and Hamilton, as well as team principal Ron Dennis, were summoned to an FIA inquiry to explain why the Spaniard had stopped for such a long time.
"The commissioners decided that Alonso unnecessarily interfered with another competitor, Hamilton, and he has been penalised five places on the grid," said an FIA statement.
"The attitude of the team at the end of qualification was considered prejudicial to the interests of competition and motor racing."
McLaren immediately appealed the decision but this will only cover the withdrawal of points not the personal penalty handed out to Alonso.
Hamilton refused to be drawn in to criticising Alonso for delaying his exit out of the pit lane ahead of his final run.
"There's not really much to say - you saw what happened," he said.
"The team did a great job and we had very good pace, but I'm not aware of what happened. You should ask the team."
When asked as to how long he missed out on setting a final quick lap, he tersely replied: "About the same amount of time I was held up in the pit stop."
Explaining his hold, Alonso said: "The team held me back in this. We tried to have some space with the Ferrari (Raikkonen) in front of us."
But team boss Ron Dennis said: "It is a matter to be discussed within the team, and we will do so later."
Briton Jenson Button, who took a first Grand Prix win from 14th place in a wet race in Hungary last year, qualified his Honda a disappointing 17th. -
These days we're seeing Alonso become increasingly petulent and childish as well, so I wouldn't rule out this being of his own making.
I'm putting down 5 quid on him taking a detour in next year's Singapore race to get his Happy Meal. -
From Times Online
Hamilton, the 22-year-old from Stevenage, had exchanged angry words with his team boss Ron Dennis as he returned to the pits, reportedly saying: “Don’t ever f****** do that to me again!” Dennis replied: “Don’t ever f****** speak to me like that again!” Hamilton delivered a final riposte: “Go f****** swivel!” -
Fisichella also drops five grid places
RenaultÂ’s Giancarlo Fisichella has become the second driver to be docked five places on the grid for the Hungarian Grand Prix after he was judged to have unnecessarily impeded Sakon Yamamoto in qualifying.
The Italian will drop from eighth to 13th, which means that both of the world champion teamÂ’s cars will start outside the top 10 at the Hungaroring.
Fisichella was judged to have blocked SpykerÂ’s debutant on the Japanese driverÂ’s second flying lap in the first knock-out qualifying session.
He joins his former Renault team-mate Fernando Alonso in receiving a five-place demotion from the stewards.
Alonso was stripped of pole position on Saturday evening after stewards didnÂ’t accept either his or McLarenÂ’s explanations for his lengthy delay in leaving the pit lane ahead of his final run in qualifying.
REVISED HUNGARIAN GP GRID
1. HAMILTON McLaren
2. HEIDFELD BMW
3. RAIKKONEN Ferrari
4. ROSBERG Williams
5. SCHUMACHER Toyota
6. ALONSO McLaren*
7. KUBICA BMW
8. TRULLI Toyota
9. WEBBER Red Bull
10. COULTHARD Red Bull
11. KOVALAINEN Renault
12. WURZ Williams
13. FISICHELLA Renault*
14. MASSA Ferrari
15. DAVIDSON Super Aguri
16. LIUZZI Toro Rosso
17. BUTTON Honda
18. BARRICHELLO Honda
19. SATO Super Aguri
20. VETTEL Toro Rosso
21. SUTIL Spyker
22. YAMAMOTO Spyker
* relegated 5 grid places following stewards' inquiry -
Originally posted by SBS9828X:Notice something strange with the mclarens?
http://www.formula1.com/photos/ta_article/full/ta_article_453.jpg
only one of those ''wings''? -
no lah. they removed both.. the rear wings have enough downforce so why have more wings to increase drag?Originally posted by sand king: only one of those ''wings''?
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Originally posted by the Bear:no lah. they removed both.. the rear wings have enough downforce so why have more wings to increase drag? oh, haha i didnt watch for it.
today im gona be on the edge of my seat from 8 to 12
8 to 10 F1, 10 to 12 MUFC vs CFC
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Ferrari forgot to fuel Massa yesterday!
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Originally posted by the Bear:Ferrari forgot to fuel Massa yesterday!
but they fueled him heavy today, hope he dun burst his fronts. -
Barrichello's engineer Jock Clear: "We feel the pain too."
Hungarian Grand Prix result after 70 laps
1. HAMILTON McLaren 1h35m52.991s
2. RAIKKONEN Ferrari +0.7s
3. HEIDFELD BMW +43.1s
4. ALONSO Mclaren +44.8s
5. KUBICA BMW +47.6s
6. SCHUMACHER Toyota +50.6s
7. ROSBERG Williams +59.1s
8. KOVALAINEN Renault +1m08.1s
9. WEBBER Red Bull +1m16.3s
10. TRULLI Toyota +1 lap
11. COULTHARD Red Bull +1 lap
12. FISICHELLA Renault +1 lap
13. MASSA Ferrari +1 lap
14. WURZ Williams +1 lap
15. SATO Super Aguri +1 lap
16. VETTEL Toro Rosso +1 lap
17. SUTIL Spyker +2 laps
18. BARRICHELLO Honda +2 laps
R. LIUZZI Toro Rosso +28 laps
R. DAVIDSON Super Aguri +29 laps
R. BUTTON Honda +35 laps
R. YAMAMOTO Spyker +66 laps
Fastest lap: RAIKKONEN 1m20.047s (lap 70) -
the Honda is screwed...
they even stole Super Aguri setup and it didn't work..
the need a whole new car
