Race Review: Hungarian GP

Bowling at turn 1, Hamilton being the only one on the grid at the restart, shock Ocon win and a post-race disqualification. Welcome to the 2021 Hungarian GP.

Friday’s FP1 saw Verstappen, Bottas and Hamilton at the top, with FP2 finishing with Bottas in P1, followed by Hamilton and Verstappen. Saturday’s FP3 was red flagged due to a huge Schumacher crash however Hamilton finished at the top of the classification followed by Verstappen and Bottas. The crash meant a 5 place grid penalty for Schumacher however he was unable to start as the damage could not be repaired in time. Q2 was red flagged after Sainz hit the wall with Q3 ending bizarrely as Hamilton slowed to protect his pole position but neither of the Red Bulls overtook him so Perez didn’t actually make it to the line in time for one final flying lap. Qualification finished:

P1 Hamilton, P2 Bottas, P3 Verstappen, P4 Perez, P5 Gasly, P6 Norris, P7 Leclerc, P8 Ocon, P9 Alonso, P10 Vettel, P11 Ricciardo, P12 Stroll, P13 Raikkonen, P14 Giovinazzi, P15 Sainz, P16 Tsunoda, P17 Russell, P18 Latifi, P19 Mazepin and P20 Schumacher.

Race day came around and the rain started as the cars were being set up on the grid. All of the cars started on the intermediate tyre but the end of the formation lap, Giovinazzi came in for a set of slicks. Lights went out and carnage ensued. Bottas had a slow get away which saw Norris overtake into P3, Ricciardo made his way up the grid with both Red Bulls overtaking Bottas. Bottas then hit the back of Norris who then took out Verstappen at T1 and Bottas also took out Perez at the same point, with Gasly having to go around the crash. Norris somehow recovered with significant damage but Stroll then hit into the side of Leclerc who then spun Ricciardo around. Hamilton was running away at this point, but the yellow flags turned into red flags after 2 laps due to the debris. Before the red flags were even waved, Bottas, Perez, Stroll and Leclerc had all retired, with Norris joining them as he retired from the pitlane during the red flags due to too much damage. Both Bottas and Stroll have been handed 5 place grid penalties at the next race for causing the incidents.

The drivers then started a formation lap to get back to the grid for the restart however in one of the most bizarre starts ever, only Hamilton sat on the grid as the lights went out. The other 13 drivers all pitted for slick tyres as the track had dried up during the red flag, so they all started from the pitlane. Hamilton went passed and then Russell overtook at the end of the pitlane to come out P2 but was then ordered to give the position back, dropping to P7. Mazepin was forced to retire after Raikkonen was unsafely released into his path, breaking his front wing; Raikkonen was given a 10 second penalty as was his teammate who was done for speeding in the pitlane. Hamilton then pitted at the end of the lap and reappeared dead last. At this point, Ocon was P1, Vettel P2 and Latifi P3 – a sight no one thought they were going to see.

Verstappen, who was losing 0.5 seconds a lap as his team were not able to fix all the damage to his car under the red flag, managed to overtake Gasly for P11, with Hamilton staring his charge back up the field by overtaking Giovinazzi. On lap 19 Hamilton then pitted for hard tyres which was a smart move as he was able to undercut Verstappen a lap later when the Dutchman went in for a pit. Hamilton then overtook Schumacher, Latifi (who had dropped down after pitting) and Tsunoda by the end of lap 32. This was followed by a few more pitstops and minor order changes as a result, most notably team orders for the AlphaTauri pair on Lap 40 which put Gasly ahead of Tsunoda.

He then managed to catch Alonso in P4 however the Spaniard did not let him past easily. The battle went on for a few laps with Alonso defending beautifully, something his teammate Ocon would be incredibly grateful for, before Hamilton took the position on lap 65 after Alonso locked up. He pitted again for newer tyres and managed to take Carlos Sainz. Up at the front, Vettel was on Ocon’s tail for a fair few laps however was unable to overtake, seeing the Frenchman cross the line, claiming his first ever F1 win. Vettel then finished P2 with Hamilton P3, Sainz P4, Alonso P5. Gasly P6 (who had pitted with a lap to go and got the fasted lap point). Both the Williams also finished in the points!

However, the drama did not end there. Vettel, Stroll, Sainz and Bottas were all called to the Stewards for not removing their t-shirts after the We Race As One message before the national anthem; all four were given reprimands. Ocon was reprimanded for not parking his car in Parc Ferme at the end of the race. Later in the evening, it was announced that Vettel had been called to the Stewards for not having enough fuel in his car at the end of the race, he was then disqualified from the race. With Vettel’s disqualification, the final classifications for the race were:

P1 Ocon, P2 Hamilton, P3 Sainz, P4 Alonso, P5 Gasly, P6 Tsunoda, P7 Latifi, P8 Russell, P9 Verstappen, P10 Raikkonen, P11 Ricciardo, P12 Schumacher, P13 Giovinazzi, Mazepin, Norris, Bottas, Perez, Leclerc and Stroll DNF with Vettel Disqualified.

Driver Of The Day: Alonso

If Alonso hadn’t managed to fight Hamilton off for so many laps, Ocon would not have won the race. The put on a masterclass in how to defend, putting in a brilliant performance. It was also the drivers birthday this weekend and you could tell how pleased he was for his teammate.

Special mention goes to, of course, Ocon but also Carlos Sainz who managed to fight his way from P15 to P4 (P3 with the disqualification).

Biggest Crash: The Turn 1 Incident

5 drivers out of the race from one incident. Bottas braked late then skidded on the water, hitting the back of Norris who then hit into the side of one of the Red Bulls, with Bottas taking out the other, forcing Gasly wide. Stroll then took out Leclerc who spun Ricciardo around on the exit of the corner. The race went on for 2 laps under yellow flags with the race being red flagged due to the amount of debris on the track. Bottas, Stroll, Leclerc and Perez were immediately out, with Norris retiring in the pit lane under the red flag as it was not possible to repair his car. Verstappen managed to make it back out however still had damage that was unable to be fixed, costing him about 0.5 seconds a lap. You can watch the carnage here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHaXlHBkglw

Overtake Of The Day: Hamilton on Alonso

So the best part of this overtake was how incredibly well Alonso defended. For a good few laps he managed to fend him off, pushing him wide and cutting him off in all the right places. Hamilton was able to overtake Alonso in a textbook way after the Spaniard locked up however it was a great overtaking battle between the pair. You can watch the whole battle here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlHxUewihps

Biggest Heartbreak: Vettel

He drove a mega race, battling Ocon near the end and finished P2 only to not have enough fuel in his car…. The FIA rules state you need a 1l fuel sample at the end of the race, however Vettel only had 0.3l. This meant a disqualification from the race. The Aston Martin team have launched an official challenge into this decision.

The driver also received a reprimand for not taking his Pride Same Love t-shirt off after the We Race as One message. The rules state the drivers should remove their t-shirts so that the national anthem is not politicised. When asked about it when it was announced he had been summoned to the stewards, he said ‘they can do what they want to me. I don’t care. I’d do it again’. Vettel has made his stance on LGBTQ+ rights very clear this race weekend, wearing shoes with a pride flag on for media day and racing with a helmet with the flag down the back of it. This is after the Hungarian government introduced legislation that discriminated against the community.

Best Radio Comment: Russell

This week this award doesn’t go to the funniest or the most ironic message, it goes to Russell who showed us what a classy driver and team player he is. When Latifi was up in P3, Russell got on the radio and said “If you need to compromise my race to help Nicky, do it. Prioritise Nicky’, whilst he was in P7. This just goes to show what a brilliant guy George Russell is.

Takeaways

What a performance from Ocon and Alonso. Who would have thought going into this weekend that Ocon would win with Alonso P5? Everyone is so chuffed for the young Frenchman who has really fought to be in the sport – his post-race celebrations said it all.

Yet another slightly lacklustre performance from Ricciardo. He had the opportunity to fight for points with 6 cars, including from the top teams, out but finished in P11. He had such a great weekend at Silverstone, so fingers crossed he will be able to rest up ready for Spa after the summer break.

The Williams finally got some points!!! George Russell crying in his post-race interview certainly got the feels of F1 fans everywhere. It was a huge result for both Russell and Latifi, with Latifi running in P3 for a good while. Ocon (Vettel at the time of the race) have Latifi to thank as well as he held off the rest of the field so long that they were able to establish a solid lead. It was clear to see what this meant to the drivers, with Russell tearing up in his post-race interview.

Schumacher got his elbows out. He made some great moves to defend himself against Hamilton early on after the restart. Even though Hamilton did get past him, it was great to see him defending really well.

In terms of the Red Bulls, Verstappen used his 3rd engine for the race today. This means he has used up his engine allocation for the season. Considering we are only halfway through the season, Verstappen is going to have to take a 10 place grid penalty later in the season when he enviably has to use a forth engine. Perez expressed his concern about his engine from today’s race which means he may be using up his allocation before the season is out as well.

F1 now goes into its’ summer break, returning for FP1 on Friday 27th August. But with the summer break comes ‘silly season’ so stay tuned for who moves to which team for next season!