Can Jenson Reclaim the Hungarian Grand Prix?

I loved 2006. Fernando won the drivers title and the season finished with me thinking that next year it might well be Jenson covered in silver stuff, celebrating his first World Championship. However, the Dark Ages that followed quickly brought me spiralling back to the ground from cloud nine!

2009 has been a dream for me, with Jenson leading the Championship and Brawn looking very strong. However, the tide has quickly turned against Brawn and Jens. At the moment the Red Bulls are the cars to beat. As we head to Hungary next week, what are Jenson’s chances of taking control back and reclaiming the site of his maiden victory? And what was Jenson’s form leading into the past three Hungarian GPs?

Ok, so the RA106 was undoubtedly one of my favourite F1 cars ever. I loved the chassis design and don’t get me started on that gorgeous livery! However, I do tend to look at the 2006 car with rose tinted spectacles. Yes, after Hungary, the Honda team and Jenson scored more points than anyone else….ermm…but they had to because of the pretty terrible start to the 2006 season! I imagine the bookies chances of a 2006 Hungarian win for Jens were extremely low!

Nevertheless, from way back in 14th (despite qualifying fourth, Jens had a ten place penalty), with an injection of raw talent, skill and a little bit of luck, Jenson claimed his first fantastic race win.

It may well shock you, (well it surprised me anyway) to learn that the 2006 GP was the first ever wet Hungarian race (due to the track being wet at the start).

Now people call Hamilton and Vettel ‘wet weather specialists’ but they quickly forget quite how awesome Jenson can be. In just two heart stopping laps, Jenson’s Honda had passed, (on track), Massa, Fisichella and even Schumacher!

Jenson’s first bit of luck, (or perhaps good judgment and skill) manifested itself when Räikkönen attempted to mate his McLaren with a Torro Rosso (what a strange baby that would make!).

The safety car was deployed and Jens decided to stay out rather than pit (which took him up to P2, behind Alonso).

After the safety car had returned to the pits, Jenson began to really close in on Alonso (which made for a thrilling race!). However, unfortunately Jens‘s RA106 needed a drink and he had to pit.

Then came perhaps Jenson’s second bit of luck. Alonso was comfortably first but after a pit stop for dry tires his car's driveshaft failed (though he was also looking a bit hairy on the dry compound!)

Jens therefore inherited the lead and comfortably for him…though not so much for me….went on to win.

For those of you who didn’t watch it and want to know how James Allen reported it…I’ll fill you in. (pause to clear my throat)…. James Allen: JENSON BUTTON………..(pause for a short while whilst we wait for Jens to cross the line)…….WINSSSSSSSSSSS!……GET IN THERE!’

Classic James Allen!

That famous year Jenson travelled to Hungary with 21 points. However, whilst he had scored five points in Germany, he had previously gone five races with out scoring a single point. His best result had been coming second in round two (Malaysia).

I’m afraid if you want race descriptions of the woeful 2007 and 2008 races you’ll have to refer to previous articles (though I only started in 2008 so look elsewhere for 2007!). Anyway, I don’t want to depress you by describing them!

Now 2007 as I’m sure you all know by now was a totally different story all together! Jenson went to Hungary with just one point. He had just fought his arse off to cross the line in P8 in the French Grand Prix. Jenson would only score another five points and didn’t even finish the Hungarian GP just one year after his fantastic maiden win. This year he was pretty equal with Rubens, both had terrible cars and I believe both drivers pushed the RA107s as hard as was possible.

On to 2008 now and although Jens went to Hungary this time with three whole points after a great drive in Spain…..he would finish 2008 with the same number! Meanwhile his team mate had consistently outperformed him and had even scored a podium (Honda’s last) in the British Grand Prix. Yes Rubens was driving for his career amongst strong rumours that he was warming his seat for Bruno Senna, but Jenson seemed to have lost the plot. The dissatisfied Brit turned to triathlons, stating that he had a more equal chance in those races than he could wish for in F1. I thought that my favourite driver would go down in history as another great driver with only one Grand Prix win!

As if the terrible season wasn’t enough, by Christmas he didn’t even have a team!

However, unless you’re totally uninterested in motor sport or have only just got back from the moon…..you’ll all know what happened next!

The new Brawn GP team were very strong in their first limited tests, but what did that mean? Were they simply making low fuel runs in an attempt to entice sponsors? Or was the BGP001’s pace genuine?

Well, we soon found out in Australia when Jenson and Rubens claimed their new team’s maiden first and second place! 2009 then developed into a wonderful dream which has led to Jenson being top dog in the Championship since round one and this time he travels to Hungary with 68 points, which is only 17 points shy of his highest ever F1 points total (85 in 2004).

However, it hasn’t been a wonderful lead up to Hungary. Despite being on a five race streak, the Red Bulls have really closed the gap and even overtaken Brawn in the last two races. On top of that the Brawn team will go to Hungary with a very shaky team spirit.

Britain and Germany were both cold and this was bad news for the Brawn’s tyre wear. Frankly, at Silverstone Jenson had no chance. Germany though was more disappointing. I feel that it was more a case of strange strategy and a bit of bad luck than weather that messed up last weekends race.

Still, Hungary should be much warmer which can only be good news for tyre wear. It may well be a wet race, but again, this isn’t bad news as Jenson is no slouch in the wet!

I think the biggest issue for Brawn will be team cohesion and a strong strategy. I know Jenson won from P14 in 2006, but I also think qualifying will be crucial. If the race is dry, Brawn must qualify high, and hopefully away from the KERS cars. If you pull away on a dry Hungarian race track…..you’re gone forever!

What about the threat from Red Bull then? Well the driver rivalry is certainly no weaker there than it is at Brawn. Webber has really taken the fight to Vettel and there is a far smaller gap between the Red Bull boys in the drivers’ standings.

Poor old Rubens is disenchanted and I fear may well do something a bit silly one of these days, but this year Jenson has had him pegged. As I say, the Red Bull fight is more intense and if they can concentrate on battling each other, this may take some pressure off Brawn; (though it might also make the competition hotter!)

Overall, I hope the Championship will start to turn back around as we head to warmer climates. I would argue that Hungary will be an intermediate stage. Qualifying will be crucial, so too will be the relationship between Rubens and Brawn for the weekend; (things are looking much better by the way).

I’m afraid I can still probably see a Red Bull claiming victory, but (and this is a strong but), I don’t think Brawn will be as low as they have been in the previous two rounds.

My prediction? A Red Bull driver on the top step…..but at least one Brawn man with him on the podium. However, lets not forget 2006, when the cards were not in Jenson’s favour….he came away with that special win!

One thing is for sure….I can’t wait!