Hungarian GP Recap – F1 2013

© Pirelli Tyre S.p.A.

Hot weather and aggressive driving were the topics of conversation after the checkered flag dropped on the spectacular Hungarian GP.  Hit the jump for pictures and our thoughts on the wild weekend in Budapest.

The Hungarian GP is the last race in the season before the summer break and it marks the halfway point of the 2013 season.  As such every team wanted a good result before going into the holiday.  The record heat and tight Hungaroring circuit conspired to make life difficult for all the teams. In addition to the heat, the low downforce setups required to stay competitive on a track with two DRS zones made for some twitchy cars and exciting moments for the drivers. Continuing their domination of the front row the Mercedes team, with driver Lewis Hamilton at the wheel, captured yet another pole position with Nico Rosberg following in a respectable 4th.  As always, the big question was whether the Mercedes would have the pace on race day, especially considering the tire shredding heat. That question was quickly answered during the wild opening laps of the Hungarian GP.  The tight track and aggressive driving of Romain Grosjean managed to shake up the field while Hamilton simply motored away and both Red Bull cars had heat related mechanical issues. After setting very impressive times during practice and qualifying Grosjean showed that he was a force to be reckoned with during the race.  With a display of incredibly aggressive driving Grosjean scythed through the field and seemed likely to put his Lotus on the podium if not take the outright win.  His aggressive driving would not go unpunished as contact with Jensen Button’s McLaren and an aggressive  pass on Felipe Massa resulted a drive thru penalty and a 20 second post race penalty relegating the young Frenchman to 6th.

Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) on track with P Zero White medium tyres © Pirelli Tyre S.p.A.

While his teammate showed impressive speed, and perhaps the brashness of youth, the Iceman (Kimi Raikkonen) once again drove to a strong second place finish moving him ahead of Fernando Alonso in the overall standings.  Qualifying in a lowly 6th position Raikkonen beautifully managed his tires, stopped one less time than his rivals, and managed to hold off an attacking Vettel in the closing stages of the race.  It is no wonder that talk of Raikkonen going to Red Bull next year might be worrying to the German champion, Sebastien Vettel. As for Hamilton he simply drove an inch perfect race taking his fourth Hungarian GP victory and perhaps reinforced the belief the Mercedes really is a top level car. For the first time this season tires were not the topic of conversation during the weekend.  With the tire problems seemingly resolved, thanks to the revised construction, the teams can look forward to a restful summer holiday before tackling the challenges of the Belgian GP at the legendary Spa-Francorhamps on August 25th. For all the official results of last weekend’s Hungarian GP check out the official F1 site.