What a weekend this has been.
Heikki Kovalainen finally cashing in on his maiden victory, Timo Glock packing a first career podium whilst Hamilton's puncture and Massa bowing to lady "badluck" wrecked the predicted outcome of a classic race.
Nobody owns Hungaroring, with seven different winners in as many races. Who would have thought Heikki Kovalainen would have lifted the silverware:
2007 Hamilton
2006 Button
2005 Raikkonen
2004 Schumacher
2003 Alonso
2002 Barrichello
Thoughts
Whilst pole does not necessarily grant you P1 all the way, Hamilton could have done a lot better. Overtaken by Massa right at the beginning, the young McLaren talent was not able to play cat and mouse properly with the Brazilian hot shot.
It got even worse with a left tyre puncture which led to another run in the pits with 30 laps to go; the whole incident wrecked Hamilton's chances of a podium, as finishing fifth was definitely not on the agenda.
Staying at the top of the league in the driver's championship was part of it, so this weekend was not so bad in some ways. Damage limitation was key.
McLaren
The silver arrows clinched the top spot with their newly found talent, Heikki Kovalainen. Mr. Money in the Bank, as I like to refer to him ever since he signed with the Woking outfit, has finally cashed in on the money with a victory after one long run of sheer bad luck.
How ironic this came as a result of Massa's engine failure, yet for all his efforts, determination and seeing his way through a difficult start of the season; the Finn deserved this victory by a mile and over.
Have the tables turned? Can Iceman II build from here with renewed confidence and double the cash, or will he get overshadowed by McLaren's numero uno Lewis Hamilton? The answer will come in three weeks' time in Catalunya's European street fight!
Fire
The race organizers and engineers are in for a grilling literally, after not one but three cars caught fire during refueling: Bourdais, Nakajima and Barichello.
All sent the temperature soaring high in the pitlane, calling for new measures to be put in place to make sure such incidents do not happen again.
Three fires in one Grand Prix are just unacceptable; one fire for the whole season in itself is about unacceptable. (Mr. Ecclestone and Co. please get your heads around this one....)
Massa
Sometimes life is a b.... and Massa knows this better than anybody, having being outdone last year by Raikkonen for the title, then being relegated to number two status this year.
Worse, in some races, Massa will just lose his cool and disappoint. Yet he bounces back to own grand prix and somehow just outpaces everyone in his way to clinch victories.
Hungaroring was about to unfold in this fashion with three laps remaining until the Ferrari engine blew out its life and soul. This was not right at all.
Massa did everything by the book to win, outpacing Hamilton and cashing in on his opponent's misfortunes.. It was all there for the taking, the silverware, the Champagne and also the chance to regain the lead in the driver's title.
22 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment
Ben Auty 11 months ago
Great stuff Al ... Good to have you back ... Your articles are rare nowadays but I understand why so I wont get on your case but I will give you 5 stars and a POTD mate ...
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Alex Levy 11 months ago
Cheers for that fellow. it really felt good getting this article off my chest. And thanks for your support which is warmly appreciated on this end too.
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Ben Auty 11 months ago
No bother ... Hope ur sticking about for my next article ? ... Coming soon ! ;)
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Billy Sexton 11 months ago
nice article... would be interesting if alonso moved to ferrari and the fires are certainly a cause for concern, i think it was just the heat in hungary but if it happens again this season then action needs to be taken.
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Alex Levy 11 months ago
The question is not If Alonso moves to Ferrarri it's When.... and yeah the fire incidents are a great cause for concern for safety of everyone... I mean can you imagine what could have potentially happened if the flame fed back into the pipe all the way down the tanker - boom!!! ok yes they do have seals to prevent these things happening but regardless just too close for comfort.
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Miles Black 11 months ago
Good article Alex, very much enjoyed it, well done.
I have given it my seal of approval in the form of 5 stars and a Pick of the Day.
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Alex Levy 11 months ago
Cheers for that fellow. any after thoughts???
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Miles Black 11 months ago
Not really no, I think it was largely a straight forward race bar the numerous big shocks we had so there wasnt much to be honest but I know that we have some very exciting prospects going forward.
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Paul 11 months ago
Your take on Alonso has not validity and another shot at Kimi. shows a complete lack of understanding F1
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Michael Griffin 11 months ago
haha, sure it does!
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Alex Levy 11 months ago
Explain yourself... Are you telling me Fernando Alonso does not believe he can do a better job than Raikkonen if he was driving the F2008??? Really?? Alonso believe he's the best and he is pound for pound he is the hottest property in Formula one... Just needs the right package and Ferrari just has it
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mark andrew 11 months ago
Does anyone else see a shot at kimi ? i dont , i see questions posed about kimi's motivation etc.......
Taken from article ((((((((What message has been sent here? Is Raikkonen implying he is too much of a genius of a driver he can just as well allow his opponents to get past him in the driver's championship only to go out there and regain his top spot for the pure adrenaline fun of it?
Is he just bored of Formula One, and that display of pure pace is another blip on the radar of his intention to leave the sport because he is too good for us?
Who knows?))))))))))))
Read them properly again and you will see Question Marks all the way through , there is no Swipe at Kimi here . Yet again people reading too deeply into a Quote or comment .
And the bit about Alonso is true as well , he does think he is Better than Kimi and felipe , he thinks he is Untouchable .
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Alex Levy 11 months ago
Hey Mark
Thanks for defending this fortress buddy....
anyways what did you make of the Hungaroring?? any extra analysis I or any one else on Bleacher failed to look into??
and yes Alonso does believe he is the best and why not??? lol beating Schumi twice for the world title. Managing 109 points with mclaren last year considering the circumstances and the fact the FIA appointed an agent to look after him in the last race just goes to show the Oviedo native can boast a lot of things in his career, these include glory and tough times but there you have it, the guy is that damn good. Yes Raikkonen, Massa and Hamilton and Kubica and the rest are all bril drivers but if someone is consistent in this game look no further....
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mark andrew 11 months ago
Hey mate , no worries . I really did not see any attack on Kimi of any kind .
There is nothing wrong with Fernando thinking that way , after all thats how you become champion right ? You was stating the obvious with that comment .
I enjoyed the Hungaroring , I felt bad For Sebastian Vettel , he has been doing really well lately , i was hoing he would score points , butyou cant have it your own way all the time eh .
I was happy when Massa's engine Failed but thats just the Mclaren in me , i punched the air in jubilation , but after the race had finished i felt a a tiny twang of sympathy for him , i recognise how decent a drive he had .
Raikkonen did alright for me to say he has been off the pace recently , he would of been 4th without massa's misfortunes which is still quite good really , it cant be easy to do what they do .
Apart from that mate nice artice and you covered the major points .
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Paul 11 months ago
Mark, I can show you a number of other instances when you argued about a point, simply because you read something out of context. Alex has used a hatchet on Kimi during his last two articles, for a real hack job.
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mark andrew 11 months ago
Why who has read out of context on this article ?
Ive admitted when ive got things wrong but you are seeing things that are not there yet again .
Alex didnt have a swipe at kimi , i actually laughed at it because its true that kimi can just flick it on and off at the turn of a switch , but you read out of context here not anyone else paul .
Yes there was ONE article where Alex had a dig at Kimi but that isnt the case here .
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steven stones 11 months ago
Nice article, better than a regular race report! I enjoyed reading this one.
The article did not have a swipe at Kimi, it raises questions about his pace and I think this was one of the key points of the weekend. But I personally think he just doesn't have it anymore and whats more, he should probably pack his bags and leave making space for some younger talent elsewhere with Alonso alegedly moving to the Scuderia.
I also enjoyed watching Glock take 2nd on merit, nice one son! And as for Massa, he drives for the enemy but I felt for him on Sunday. Reflections of Hakkinen (was it 2001?) in Spain.
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Alex Levy 11 months ago
Hey Steven
hm it's interesting how things are unfolding with regards to Kimi Raikkonen... I agree he is lacking the drive to go on and defend his title... But I would not discard him away from formula one just yet...
I take a more cautious approach i believe the iceman needs some time off to reflect on his goals in life and whether pursuing a couple more years in F1 or not doing so is the right choice for him.
Whilst I appreciate your poihnt of view, with Fernando Alonso ready to take over, let's see how things unfolds may be a sabbatical year would do the iceman some good - see Ross Brawn as a good example of that.
Anyways glad you enjoyed the article. I haven;t got as much time to contribute nowadays but still whenever duty calls....
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Paul 11 months ago
Alex, your dribble about Kimi, is an absolute joke. It is impossible that you can believe this dribble, so I must assume that do not want anybody getting in the way of Hamilton winning. Your bias is poison and has no objectivity!
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steven stones 11 months ago
What the hell? Your responses make no sense Paul, Alex didnt present a particularly extremely biased viewpoint on Kimi, in fact he TEMPERED my extreme take on the situation. Honestly mate. Cheers Alex, I do enjoy your stuff as and when it arrives, nice to look forward to something well written!
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Madan Gopal 11 months ago
Nice article.
Hungaroring is a difficult circuit to overtake and it was quite obvious when Kimi jumped Alonso after the 2nd round of pitstop, he could show the real pace of F2008. How does this amount to the speculation that Kimi has lost his desire, focus etc etc?. He did accept his fault/mistake during qualifying which put him 6th on the grid.
In a similar fashion how come Hamilton could not make any inroads after being stuck behind Alonso?. It is just the nature of the circuit. Didn't the same Kimi driven F2008 pass a few cars in Silverstone??.
This year, even when Kimi is having off-days, he is still steadily accumulating points towards his 2nd Driver's championship. All the statements about him not having desire, mind being elsewhere is "pure" speculation.
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steven stones 11 months ago
Thinking about your take on Raikkonen maybe taking a year off and reflecting on his career. Would be nice to see Alonso move into the empty seat partnered with Massa, then if Kimi wants to come back, see him take Massa's seat and for sure if he was coming back it would be to restamp his authority over Fernando. Then we would have plenty to watch at Ferrari! Probably won't happen in a million years but it would be fun!
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