The eleventh round of the championship took us to Mogyoród, Hungary. The circuit, laid in a valley, is known to be dusty and bumpy – The many corners and lack of long straights are reminiscent of karting tracks, which is why it is often jokingly referred to as a ‘Mickey Mouse’ track. None of these aspects were the main cause of action, however. No, a little sprinkle of rain ended up causing all of the drama.
Here are the top of the class contenders and struggle bus riders from the Hungaroring:
Top of the class:
Williams:
Latifi – Qualifying: 18th | Race: 8th (promoted to 7th)
Russell – Qualifying: 17th | Race: 9th (promoted to 8th)
In the rounds gone by Williams kept just running short of points, but Hungary was where their luck finally turned. Admittedly, their qualifying session was a little disappointing, as Latifi and Russell both went out in Q1. Especially for Russell this was a real bummer, as he’d been on a streak of Q2 and even Q3 runs which allowed him to rub shoulders with points during quite a few races, but the Williams car ultimately lacked the pace, leaving points to slip between his fingers again and again.
Nobody could have predicted that a drizzle at the start would be enough to get not one, but two Williams cars in the points. During the pitstops at the race-restart, Russell very briefly found himself second due to jumping the queue of cars in the pitlane after pitting for slick tyres. He elicited to give these places back in order to avoid a penalty, which then found teammate Latifi briefly running 3rd.
We all knew it wouldn’t last, but it really was impressive how long the Canadian driver managed to stay up there, before eventually beginning to drop through the pack. Russell, who drove a couple of spots behind him, knew how precious even a single point would be to the British team. He radioed back to the pits: “If you need to compromise my race to help Nicky, do it. Prioritise Nicky.”
I’m normally not a fan of team orders, mainly because I feel that if drivers really are convinced of the speed of the car and their own racecraft, then they should be able to drive their own race. In the case of an underdog like Williams, I’m a bit more lenient, as in recent years it has been so incredibly rare to even get a shot at points. It also helped that George offered himself, rather than being told to do so.
In the end, it proved to be unnecessary, as both drivers valiantly held onto their points. Latifi brought his car home 8th whilst Russell followed on his heels with a 9th position. Later, due to Vettel being disqualified they both moved up a spot, meaning that the Williams drivers collectively brought home 10 points.
This is not only their first double-points finish since Monza 2018, it also moves them up to 8th in the constructors’ standings. Considering the bottom three teams rarely manage to score, this is quite a significant result. Russell’s reaction showed just how significant, as he shed a few happy tears post-race.
Alpine:
Esteban Ocon – Qualifying: 8th | Race: 1st
Fernando Alonso – Qualifying: 9th | Race: 5th (promoted to 4th)
Considering the struggles for the Enstone team to find consistency this season, the result from the Hungarian GP was nothing short of extraordinary. Esteban managed to steer clear of the first-corner chaos and capitalised on Mercedes’ faulty strategy to bring his car home in 1st. This leaves him to go down in the history books as the 14th French driver to win an F1 race. The last time a French driver won a race in a French car powered by a French engine was 38 years ago, when Alain Prost took a win in Austria for Renault in 1983.
Admittedly, his teammate Fernando Alonso played a part in Ocon’s win, but kudos needs to be given to the Frenchman for withstanding the pressure of having a four-time world championship breathing down his neck for most of the race.
Fernando’s return to F1 as essentially a 40-year-old rookie raised some eyebrows, including mine. He proved all critics wrong with his superb drive on Sunday, however, as he managed to keep a rapid Hamilton behind him for about 10 laps.
Despite Alonso’s track record of wet drives (think Malaysia 2012) he had a pretty ordinary start to the race and just about avoided the carnage in front of him, and he would be battling around P5 for most of the race.
Mercedes might have been convinced that Hamilton would be able to elbow his way to the top spot on the podium quite easily, but they clearly hadn’t taken one well-seasoned Spaniard into account. The battle between the two racing veterans earned Alonso his ‘driver of the day’ title, which is certainly well-deserved.
After a really testing run of races for Ocon, the victory was a perfect, if not unexpected, way to cap off this half of the season that had seen decent progress in the early races. With the tried and tested Alonso adding more valuable points, Alpine leap from being in a lonely battle for P7 right above both AlphaTauri and Aston Martin.
Sebastian Vettel – Qualifying: 10th | Race: DSQ (originally finished 2nd)
Whilst drafting up the report cards on the British Grand Prix, I only delegated a top of the class contender position to the German for his actions off track rather than on track. This time around, he truly earned his spot through racecraft, although his support for the LGBTQIA+ community during the entire weekend cannot go unmentioned.
The rainbow flag on his helmet, shoes, t-shirt and mask made it quite clear where he stands on the matter – which is especially relevant when you consider the proposed law which was recently passed in Hungary, banning LGBTQIA+ matters from making an appearance in school educational materials or TV shows for under-18s.
Vettel has always raked in good results at the Hungarian GP, but I don’t think that even the German himself thought that he would be capable of earning a podium spot this time around. Actually, I know he didn’t. The stats surrounding his previous runs were pointed out to him multiple times in interviews, but he simply shrugged them off, unconvinced that they would lead to anything good.
Perhaps you could say that he was right in the end. Vettel managed to wrestle himself up to 2nd position. There he kept the pressure on Ocon for the majority of the race – He would have been able to jump the Frenchman too, had his pitstop gone better. Still, bringing the car home second was an impressive feat.
Sadly, the German found himself disqualified in the end. Vettel stopped the car out on track, rather than returning to the pits, which prompted race officials to take a fuel sample – or better said, they attempted to do so, because they couldn’t extract the required 1 litre…This then led to his disqualification. Not even all the good karma he built up doing his good deeds could protect him from this one.
Aston Martin will be appealing this decision, which is hardly a surprise considering the number of points at stake. The car has been seized by FIA officials whilst Aston Martin drafts their appeal. Had the summer break not immediately followed this Grand Prix, the team might have refrained from appealing, as they wouldn’t necessarily have gotten their car back in time. But considering Spa-Francorchamps is three weeks away, there is plenty of time to get this matter dealt with.
Disqualified or not, Vettel can be proud of his achievements on and off track, which is why he deserves the spot on this list no matter what the outcome of the appeal will be.
Then I’d like to dish out a few honourable mentions.
First up is Mick Schumacher. He might not have been able to bring home points, but making up 10 places from the start and holding his own against both Verstappen and Russell is worth something. That he didn’t manage to hold onto that for the simple fact that the Haas isn’t a competitive car is not something we can hold against the young German.
The second honourable mention is for Lewis Hamilton. I rarely ever laughed as hard during an F1 race as I did last Sunday – as we saw Hamilton lined up as only one on the grid for the restart whilst all other cars went in for a pitstop. That didn’t earn him an honourable mention, though. Him fighting back through the pack after having to pit just a lap later did. It was an impressive feat, and had Fernando Alonso not kept him behind for so long I’m quite certain that he would have managed to take home another winner’s trophy. He seems to have given it his all too, as after the race the British driver looked a bit wobbly after the race. He later mentioned that he is still suffering from the aftershocks of his covid-infection last year.
The last honourable mention goes to Max Verstappen. I feared that I was donning my orange glasses again when I was writing this, but after speaking to a few different individuals, none of them fans of Verstappen and none of them Dutch like me, I do think that I’m correct in giving him a mention. The damage he suffered during the opening lap was through no fault of his own and left him with what was basically half a car to battle with. With the aerodynamics all out of whack, it is actually quite impressive that he managed a few overtakes to take home a few points. He has lost a hold of the championship for now, but Max has always been a chaser, and thanks to the long season he still has quite a few races ahead of him.
The struggle bus:
Valtteri Bottas – Qualifying: 2nd | Race: DNF
Bottas’ track record in wet races has been pretty mediocre in recent years, this reputation took a further battering on Sunday. Things seemed to be going the Finn’s way as he locked out front-row alongside teammate Lewis Hamilton, but after another poor start, Valtteri severely misjudged his braking point and slid into the back of Lando Norris (who in turn was pushed into Max Verstappen’s Red Bull) on the opening lap. His race came to a quick and definite end and took out the other Red Bull of Sergio Perez as collateral as well. It is the first time in his career that Valtteri has retired on the opening lap.
Through what was a rather rookie mistake for a seasoned driver he ended the races of both Lando Norris and Sergio Pérez. Bottas was quick to take the blame and apologise, but Norris wasn’t placated so easily – mentioning that it ‘was a mess’ and hinting that he expected ‘a little bit more’ when racing against drivers from top-tier teams.
Bottas has earned himself a 5-place grid penalty, but that might not be the only punishment the Finn is getting. This incident came at a rather inopportune time, as it is rumoured that his 2022 seat is up for discussion during the summer break. Which means that Valtteri has run out of time to make his case and this result will still be fresh in everyone’s memory.
Lance Stroll – Qualifying: 12th | Race: DNF
Valtteri Bottas wasn’t the only one to flounder in the opening lap of the race. The Finn might be occupying the driver’s seat of the struggle bus this week, but Lance Stroll finds himself in the tour guide’s seat with microphone in hand.
The Canadian locked up under braking to lose control of his Aston Martin in slippery conditions. He slid into Leclerc, causing damage that was extensive enough to force both to retire. Daniel Ricciardo was caught up in the incident too, which forced him to run the rest of the race with damage. This made McLaren’s situation eerily similar to Red Bull’s, both with one driver retired and one driver running a car with extensive damage.
Stroll too has earned himself a 5-place grid penalty for the Belgian Grand Prix, which means that his mistake will continue to haunt him until at least the race after the summer break. He’ll also be off Leclerc’s Christmas card list this year as the impact with the Ferrari driver was severe enoug to write off the Monegasque’s engine, meaning he will be certain to take penalties later in the season. This has prompted an interesting debate on guilty teams being charged for damage during this cost-cap era in F1.
Alfa Romeo:
Kimi Räikkönen – Qualifying: 13th | Race: 11th (promoted to 10th)
Antonio Giovinazzi – Qualifying: 14th | Race 14th (promoted to 13th)
If there was any race Alfa Romeo had a good shot at points, it was this one. Antonio found himself on slicks at the initial start due to a bold strategy call, but he didn’t get to benefit from this due to the red flag and the restart later.
Instead, he only found himself further down the grid than he really should have been. This, I can’t even really hold against Alfa Romeo. They tried something different and daring in hopes of capitalising on the weather-conditions, that either pays off or it doesn’t… Antonio should have really picked a different race to speed in the pitlane though, that certainly didn’t help.
Kimi Räikkönen also ended up having to take a penalty for being released into the path of Nikita Mazepin, effectively ending the Russian’s race. This is on the team, though, they tell drivers when and where to go. This isn’t the first time they let a silly mistake like this in the way of potentially good results, something which was summarized nicely by Kimi’s on board radio; “So we are ****** again? (…) everytime we have some chance something ****** else happens”
Hopefully, Alfa Romeo will use their summer break to put their ducks in a row so they can prevent any further drama in the second half of the season. They will need to capitalise on every opportunity ahead.
No dishonourable mentions today, as the handfull of drivers who didn’t see the finish flag did so due to no fault of their own.
Next up is the Belgium Grand Prix. After a three-week break we will find ourselves in Spa-Francorchamps for the 12th round of the season. The race itself will commence on Sunday the 29th of August at 2 pm UK time.
