Formula 1 2015: Round 10 - Hungarian GP

Frank Bullitt · 27-07-2015 2:56am

Finally, a good race!

All we needed was some chaos...

v3ttel · 27-07-2015 10:00am

Absolutely loved that, so action packed. I was sure Vettel was goosed when the safety car came out. The Ferrari didn't look great on the mediums during practice, but he's been imperious this season. Great result for Red Bull & McLaren too.

Very refreshing not to see any Mercedes driver up on the podium for once. It's nice to see the other battling for the lead rather than Merc's sterile domination. The 3 best races this year imho, have been the ones where they've been challenged.

One thing that's a shame though, is that now Mercedes seem to finally have an Achilles heel, the starting rules are changed at the next race. Hopefully Ferrari & Williams remain fast starters so we can have more races like the last two.

Myrddin · 27-07-2015 10:05am

v3ttel wrote: »

Absolutely loved that, so action packed. I was sure Vettel was goosed when the safety car came out. The Ferrari didn't look great on the mediums during practice, but he's been imperious this season. Great result for Red Bull & McLaren too.

I thought Merc made a bizarre decision to put Rosberg on the prime again, instead of the option. I know there was more laps left than they'd have liked, but I think the tires had it in them, and they threw away a win with that decision. The pace Lewis had on the options was immense, & Nico could have won that race I reckon.

One thing that's a shame though, is that now Mercedes seem to finally have an Achilles heel, the starting rules are changed at the next race. Hopefully Ferrari & Williams remain fast starters so we can have more races like the last two.

I personally think Merc have been messing about with the start procedure for the last three races, trying to get the drivers used to what they'll have to do. Their starts have been weirdly, & consistently bad which is very strange.

Andrew76 · 27-07-2015 10:16am

Myrddin wrote: »

I thought Merc made a bozarre decision to put Rosberg on the prime again, instead of the option. I know there was more laps left than they'd have liked, but I think the tires had it in them, and they threw away a win with that decision. The pace Lewis had on the options was immense, & Nico could have won that race I reckon.

Rosberg had asked for the mediums over the radio before his pitstop which Brundle thought was strange. I would've preferred to be on the softer tyre too for the last stint. It almost sounded like he just wanted to be on the same tyre as Lewis just in case it turned out the better choice.

Myrddin wrote: »

I personally think Merc have been messing about with the start procedure for the last three races, trying to get the drivers used to what they'll have to do. Their starts have been weirdly, & consistently bad which is very strange.

Yeah you get the impression there's something funky with their launch procedure that is causing the problems rather than the drivers.

Cracking race to watch and was delighted for Ferrari & Vettel. Poor Kimi, the chap has no luck these days. Strange that Williams didn't really feature much this weekend.

Myrddin · 27-07-2015 11:04am

Andrew76 wrote: »

Rosberg had asked for the mediums over the radio before his pitstop which Brundle thought was strange. I would've preferred to be on the softer tyre too for the last stint. It almost sounded like he just wanted to be on the same tyre as Lewis just in case it turned out the better choice.

I was watching on the Beeb, & Coulthard thought the same - seemed bizarre. Horner commented too that he felt it was crazy conservative of Merc to do it. Nico's radio message seemed to suggest he was playing it safe, so he could at least match Hamilton worst case. The delta between the two tires made it a no brainer though, even for arm chair viewers

Yeah you get the impression there's something funky with their launch procedure that is causing the problems rather than the drivers.

There has to be something up. Both Mercs caught snoozing at lights out two races in a row (and by two different teams) is certainly against the odds of probability.

flazio · 27-07-2015 1:46pm

A bit of me was disappointed that after the puncture, Rosberg didn't come back on the radio and say "Rico's hit me."

ScumLord · 27-07-2015 3:48pm

That was a great race, the fact red bull could just about put up a fight and Ferrari could actually beat Mercedes made for a really interesting end to first half of the season and the fact McLaren could finish a race, in the points! Gives me real anticipation for the next race. It's looking good for the end of the season.

Myrddin wrote: »

I thought Merc made a bizarre decision to put Rosberg on the prime again, instead of the option. I know there was more laps left than they'd have liked, but I think the tires had it in them, and they threw away a win with that decision.

It could be argued that he'd be on the better tyre towards the end but it was definitely the wrong choice at the time.

Rosberg's race was disappointing alright, he had every chance in that race and just couldn't pull it together. Hamilton put on a great show, I always like to see him forced down the field because I know it'll be entertaining watching him fight his way back through. He almost could have had 2nd place.

Mercedes seem to have awful trouble with starts and cold tyres, if they're systems are flawed maybe the rule change on starts for Spa will actually help them because they'll be ditching the broken system and relying on the skill of their drivers.

recyclebin · 27-07-2015 4:00pm

I'm hoping for rain in Spa in 4 weeks otherwise Mercedes should win easily from the front. Hungary is the kind of track that does not need a good engine and was always was going to be good for Red Bull and Toro Rosso and Mclaren and bad for the likes of Williams and Force India. If it was not for punctures and mistakes Mercedes would have had both drivers on the podium. Dont think they would have bet Vettel though.

walshb · 27-07-2015 4:26pm

prettyboy81 wrote: »

Crazy stuff & Hamilton the big winner!

Unreal how the fortunes and positions changed through the day. That race could well be the difference between champion and 2nd place! Very tough luck for Nico with 5-6 laps to go.

Frank Bullitt · 27-07-2015 4:35pm

Ill be keeping an eye on Williams at Spa and Monza. They don't like the twisty stuff like Monaco or Hungary, and they are mammoth in a straight line.

Also delighted to see a double points finish for McLaren.

Myrddin · 27-07-2015 4:39pm

walshb wrote: »

Very tough luck for Nico with 5-6 laps to go.

I don't know, if anything, Nico should have secured his position much earlier in that race. It was a very poor performance from him overall, & he might just rue the day he couldn't reel those Ferrari's in a lot sooner.

walshb · 27-07-2015 4:43pm

Myrddin wrote: »

I don't know, if anything, Nico should have secured his position much earlier in that race. It was a very poor performance from him overall, & he might just rue the day he couldn't reel those Ferrari's in a lot sooner.

Indeed. Too cautious and tame a race. Still rotten bad luck at the end.

Myrddin · 27-07-2015 4:49pm

I'm curious why his form was so poor, I mean we've seen his battling & beating Ferrari's already this season...so we know he can do it. Lewis while down in 9th was lapping 3 tenths quicker than Seb, while Nico in third was dropping behind at a rate of knots. Is it simply the track dynamics maybe, in that certain tracks suit different drivers (ie this track is to Nico what the Red Bull Ring is to Lewis)?

27-07-2015 4:57pm

Don't think anyone expected that pace from Ferrari. Hamilton had an atrocious race and was very lucky to get anything from it. Rosberg was poor all afternoon and could have won if he'd listened to the team for the last tyres.

ScumLord · 27-07-2015 5:17pm

Myrddin wrote: »

I'm curious why his form was so poor, I mean we've seen his battling & beating Ferrari's already this season...so we know he can do it.

The mercs seem to be unable to deal with dirty air, even Hamilton has trouble getting past cars with slightly less performance than them. It took Hamilton a while to get past Masa.

I wonder was Nico doing his usual thing of staying out of dirty air hoping to make the pass in the pit stops or on better tyres. He doesn't seem to have the same tenacity as Hamiton. He doesn't seem that pushed to win and when he does push he makes errors.

Myrddin · 27-07-2015 5:37pm

ScumLord wrote: »

The mercs seem to be unable to deal with dirty air, even Hamilton has trouble getting past cars with slightly less performance than them. It took Hamilton a while to get past Masa.

Definitely, this is an area that Merc struggle with. However, I'm not convinced this explains what happend here. Lewis was able to pass what, five or six cars with relative ease, including Massa who was fastest in the speed traps during practice if I recall correctly? Granted, the Williams doesn't like the twisty bits, but even at that, Lewis in traffic lapping a few tenths quicker than Seb, whereas Nico was falling behind. So both cars were in dirty air, yet one was quicker than the other.

I wonder was Nico doing his usual thing of staying out of dirty air hoping to make the pass in the pit stops or on better tyres. He doesn't seem to have the same tenacity as Hamiton. He doesn't seem that pushed to win and when he does push he makes errors.

That's a more likely explanation I think (make the passes during the stops, or later on in the race while he was supposed to be on options while Seb would have been on primes). If so, I think the competition is too tight to be playing it so safe like that.

ScumLord · 27-07-2015 5:50pm

Myrddin wrote: »

If so, I think the competition is too tight to be playing it so safe like that.

Definitely, I get the impression he spends to much time thinking about strategy. If he spent more time focused on ultimate lap time he wouldn't need to spend so much time on strategy.

pyramuid man · 27-07-2015 6:55pm

Not sure if it has been said already but Lewis looked like he thought he was going through backmarkers who had been blue flagged. He was expecting to get the best line against Rosberg on the first lap and again with Ricciardo when he hit him. He might have been lapping quicker down the field than Seb was in the lead but I think Vettel had more in the tank if Lewis came knocking. He was leading and needed to pace himself correctly. He had Kimi behind him and if push came to shove, Kimi would have made it difficult to overtake. Nico's tyre choice was unusual to say the least but maybe he didn't feel too confident in the sorts in his first stint and felt the mediums were the better choice. Who knows?

I thouroughly enjoyed the race though. Best in a while and plenty of action between Lewis, Pastor & Ricciardo. Great performance by red bull, Toro Rosso and McLaren too. Felt sorry for Hulkenburg as he was having a decent race until the front wing came off.

All in all the racing looked like F1 of a few years ago where there was some competition in it and that is not a bad thing. Danny Ricciardo really showed his class and why he deserves his #1 driver status and seat in F1.

Jordan 199 · 28-07-2015 1:42am

This was without doubt the best race of the season so far. Great way to end the first part of the season.

Less than four weeks to Spa so at least I have the 1991, 1994 and 1998 Belgian GP's to watch during the summer break

challengemaster · 28-07-2015 1:58am

Fantastic race, which is unfortunate in one way because it really did highlight how crap the rest of the season has been so far, as Lightning already mentioned. Maybe Ricciardo should try take out the two mercs every race

Feel absolutely gutted for Raikkonen being plagued by issues - hopefully he's starting to show his actual worth to Ferrari and will have his contract renewed. Seb did a great job, well deserved victory.

All you can do is laugh at Maldonado.

pyramuid man wrote: »

Nico's tyre choice was unusual to say the least but maybe he didn't feel too confident in the sorts in his first stint and felt the mediums were the better choice. Who knows?

Toto Wolff: "When the Virtual Safety Car came out, it was close for him to get into the pits – but he managed it.” explained team boss Toto Wolff after the race. “However, the default set of tyres was the prime, as we still had around 30 laps to go in the race under normal conditions – and that was the only set we were able to fit to the car in time. In hindsight, the option tyre would have been ideal to attack Sebastian, who was forced to run the prime – but hindsight is a wonderful thing.”

Myrddin · 28-07-2015 9:20am

challengemaster wrote: »

Toto Wolff: "In hindsight, the option tyre would have been ideal to attack Sebastian, who was forced to run the prime – but hindsight is a wonderful thing.”

But Seb HAD to run the primes by then, because he started on options & went to options in the pits....not really sure how it's a hindsight thing?

challengemaster · 28-07-2015 3:52pm

Myrddin wrote: »

But Seb HAD to run the primes by then, because he started on options & went to options in the pits....not really sure how it's a hindsight thing?

That's his point, in some crazy german-english way :pac:

Basically because they were outside the window for what the option tyre could manage in terms of life - the garage was still stocked with loads of primes. Nico was (give or take) almost at pit entry when the VSC was deployed, so had to dive into the pits. By the time he'd reached the merc garage (which is the first garage to stop at), the pit crew didn't have any time to think about strategy or search for the softer option tyres - they just grabbed what they had handy - primes.

In hindsight - having a softer option tyre which could have been nursed around for a few laps under SC conditions would have been an ideal strategy move to attack Seb towards the closing laps, but they weren't prepared for what happened so all they had was prime tyres to put on the car.

Myrddin · 28-07-2015 4:35pm

challengemaster wrote: »

That's his point, in some crazy german-english way :pac:

Basically because they were outside the window for what the option tyre could manage in terms of life - the garage was still stocked with loads of primes. Nico was (give or take) almost at pit entry when the VSC was deployed, so had to dive into the pits. By the time he'd reached the merc garage (which is the first garage to stop at), the pit crew didn't have any time to think about strategy or search for the softer option tyres - they just grabbed what they had handy - primes.

In hindsight - having a softer option tyre which could have been nursed around for a few laps under SC conditions would have been an ideal strategy move to attack Seb towards the closing laps, but they weren't prepared for what happened so all they had was prime tyres to put on the car.

Makes sense all right. Though even before the safety car, he was questioning whether to go onto options for the final stint which struck me as odd, surely he knew the delta from the practice sessions & they had an idea of the window needed etc. It seemed ultra conservative in the end, & I reckon it cost him big time.

Corben Dallas · 28-07-2015 8:52pm

I think that Toto Wolfe interview (after the race?) was maybe a PR exercise to save Nico's decesion to stay on Options, (this was the wrong tire as it would be about 25 laps? after SC came in,) Nico's focus seemed to be totally on whichever tire LH was on and just copy.

When Nico on Radio coms said "What tire is Lewis on?" "Options". "Thats the one I want." and the reply was " the Pit Wall says (tire strat.) its the wrong choice."

He went with Options and you would think that with 25 racing laps(not SC) to the flag he would need to be on the fastest tire.

Whenever its hot Ferrari's find pace, Singapore could be their track. I was really dissapointed for Kimi, looked bolted on for 1-2 Ferrari, would have been great for the thousands of Finns that go to the Hungaroring every year.

Overall great race, cant wait for Spa.

flazio · 31-07-2015 12:41am

Jordan 191 wrote: »

This was without doubt the best race of the season so far. Great way to end the first part of the season.

Less than four weeks to Spa so at least I have the 1991, 1994 and 1998 Belgian GP's to watch during the summer break

I'm probably alone in this but I wish RTÉ's commentary was available for this one.

Formula 1 2015: Round 10 - Hungarian GP

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