Race recap: 2016 Hungarian Grand Prix was the pits
Mon, Jul 25 2016
Hamilton parked his Mercedes-AMG Petronas in second on the grid but stole the lead through Turn 1 and never looked back. Teammate Nico Rosberg yo-yoed behind him in second place, getting into DRS range on a few occasions but never close enough to pass. Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo kept the leading duo honest, but the Aussie couldn't put genuine fear into the German team and finished third. This is the third year in a row for Ricciardo on the Hungary podium.
The pits provided our few scraps of excitement. During a stretch when Ricciardo managed to close on Rosberg, Mercedes told Hamilton to speed up. When Hamilton said he couldn't go faster, Mercedes said they'd pit second-place Rosberg first instead. Suddenly, Hamilton found the extra pace. Ricciardo pitted in early, hoping that fresh tires and fast laps could allow him to pass one or both Mercedes drivers when they pitted, but once Hamilton hit the throttle the Red Bull couldn't respond.
Further down the lineup, Jenson Button came in on Lap 5 so McLaren could fix his brake pedal problem. The radio exchange before the stop included one forbidden instruction to Button, though, so the Englishman had to return to the pits for a drive-through penalty. Renault's Jolyon Palmer beat Force India's Nico Hulkenberg in a straight-up pit stop battle on Lap 40, but threw the good work away on Lap 49 with a spin on track that cost him three places. A pit wall miscommunication meant the Force India pit crew wasn't ready for Sergio Perez when the Mexican arrived for his second stop on Lap 43. And Daniel Kvyat's regrettable run at Toro Rosso continued, first with car issues, then a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane.
Sebastian Vettel brought his Ferrari home fourth, sniffing Ricciardo's gearbox at the flag but unable to get around the Red Bull. Max Verstappen enacted a replay of the final stages of the Spanish Grand Prix, finishing fifth by holding Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen behind for 19 laps. Raikkonen didn't like Verstappen's defensive tactics, with one of the Dutchman's juke moves costing Raikkonen a front wing end plate, the other nearly causing a collision. One commentator called Verstappen's strategy "robust," Raikkonen said it "wasn't correct."
Fernando Alonso put McLaren on the board with a strong drive to seventh place, ahead of Carlos Sainz, Jr. for Toro Rosso, Valtteri Bottas for Williams, and Hulkenberg claiming the final point in tenth.
Ferrari put on a better show this weekend, but it appears the Italian team's battle is with Red Bull for the moment, not Mercedes. Hungary was the third race in a row that Red Bull outscored Ferrari. Vettel and Raikkonen could likely have gotten around their Red Bull foes at a track like China, but we don't know if that means the Ferraris could have hunted down Hamilton and Rosberg. Press reports describe turmoil behind the Italian scenes, with Sergio Marchionne's renewed involvement adding pressure to an already tense situation. Another clean race at next weekend's German Grand Prix should infuse some positive vibes into the summer break. Hopefully.
Vettel and Alonso beat up on the stricter radio communication rules before the race, as well Button threw a few blows at the FIA mandate as well. A malfunctioning sensor caused Button's car to think it had a hydraulic problem when it actually didn't (every F1 car has back-up hydraulic brake lines in case brake-by-wire fails). When Button radioed in regarding the brake pedal, his team replied, "Do not shift, we have lost hydraulic pressure." Button said he had a safety issue that should have been cleared of any infraction. We don't know the stewards' reasoning, but perhaps they sanctioned Button because although he radioed in about a brake problem, the team advised him on dealing with a gearbox problem – both issues caused by that sensor glitch. Here's what we do know: we'll get more of this drama before the season ends.
Hamilton's fifth Hungarian Grand Prix victory not only makes him the winningest man at the Hungaroring, he now leads the Driver's Championship for the first time this season. The Brit jumped to 192 points, teammate Rosberg sits at 186. Ricciardo leapfrogged to third with 115 points, ahead of Raikkonen with 114, Vettel with 110, and Verstappen with 100.
On the Constructor's side Mercedes has 378 points, way ahead of Ferrari with 224. Red Bull, in third place, closed the gap to the Italians to one point.
We expect fireworks at next weekend's final grand prix before the summer break. We'll see you then.
By Jonathon Ramsey
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