Formula 1's Latest Rumours and Talk: Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and More
Just two months ago, a winless Lewis Hamilton was 43 points behind Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg in the Formula One drivers' standings.
After securing his fifth victory in six races in Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix, however, the British driver has moved to the top of the championship and is now the hot favourite to win a fourth world title in 2016.
It has been a remarkable turnaround, and after becoming the most successful driver in the 30-year history of the Hungaroring, Hamilton admitted he was pleased to win after a mediocre weekend by his standards.
Kimi Raikkonen may only have a single Hungarian GP victory to his name, but seven podium finishes in 14 visits to the track should be enough for him to be also considered a Budapest specialist.
The Ferrari driver's chances of adding to that tally evaporated when he was eliminated from the second segment of qualifying on Saturday afternoon, with Raikkonen recovering to finish sixth on race day.
The 2007 world champion was less than impressed after the race, though, complaining about the defensive tactics used by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, which led to a collision between the pair at Turn 2.
Another driver left unhappy at the chequered flag was Jolyon Palmer, who was on course for his first F1 points finish when he threw 10th place away with a spin at Turn 4.
The 2014 GP2 champion was understandably devastated about his missed opportunity but has argued his spin was not a result of driver error.
While Palmer was disappointed, the other plucky Brit on the 2016 grid, Jenson Button, was disgusted by the stewards' harsh response to his technical problems at the start of the race, with the 2009 world champion becoming the second driver to be punished for transgressing the new radio restrictions.
Closing our post-Hungarian GP roundup is McLaren-Honda reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne, who may be set to replace Rio Haryanto at Manor in the coming weeks.
Lewis Hamilton Delighted with Hungarian GP Win After 'So-so Weekend'
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Hamilton has admitted he was overjoyed to claim his fifth win of the 2016 season at the Hungarian GP after enduring a "so-so weekend" in Budapest.
The three-time world champion won four of the five races leading up to the Hungaroring race, but his weekend got off to a poor start on Friday when he crashed in the second practice session, bringing a premature end to his running.
Hamilton was then beaten to pole position by team-mate Rosberg in controversial circumstances in qualifying, when the German only slightly eased his pace despite the presence of double-yellow flags.
However, Hamilton snatched the lead at the start and led almost throughout to secure his fifth Hungarian GP win in 10 visits and return to the top of the drivers' standings for the first time since the end of 2015.
After the race, the British driver was accused of deliberately slowing his pace to back Rosberg into the chasing pack while managing the gap to his championship rival, although team boss Toto Wolff dismissed the suggestions, per Autosport (h/t Eurosport).
And Hamilton has insisted he had no intention of forcing Rosberg into a vulnerable position, suggesting he always felt in control of the race while managing his tyres. He told Sky Sports F1's Emma Walker:
"I knew what I was doing, it's not like I've not been doing this for a long time.
There was never a moment that I felt that I was going to lose it. Because it's so hot here, you don't need a five or ten second gap. I just need to do what I have to do. ...
It's really about give and take. If I picked up the pace in those early moments, I might not have been so quick in those last moments.
Today I really owned it and did what I had to do. ...
Through the weekend I got stronger and stronger. To win the grand prix and have a so-so weekend, I'm pretty happy with that. ...
It was nothing to do with Nico, I had no plans on him being anywhere else but second. I wanted him to stay in second. I was just managing the tyres.
I was chilled the whole time. I said to [the team], 'Just be chilled, I know what I'm doing.'
"
Per Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble, Hamilton has denied suggestions that he "influenced" the FIA's decision to investigate Rosberg's pole lap on Saturday evening but confirmed he sought "clarification" from race director Charlie Whiting.
Hamilton's desperation to evade the threat of Rosberg saw the world champion wave his middle finger in the direction of Esteban Gutierrez when the Haas driver refused to obey blue flags during the race.
Gutierrez took to his official Twitter account to criticise Hamilton's behaviour, writing: "Being a world champion doesn't give you the right to be disrespectful to your competitors, my friend."
Kimi Raikkonen Unhappy with Max Verstappen's Defensive Tactics
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Raikkonen has criticised the defensive tactics employed by Verstappen during their Hungarian GP battle.
After being held up by the Finn in the first half of the race, Verstappen found himself ahead of the 2007 world champion in the fight for fifth place in the closing stages at the Hungaroring.
The Red Bull driver fiercely defended the position from Raikkonen, with the pair colliding at Turn 2 before narrowly avoiding another collision at Turn 1.
In the interests of safety, F1 regulations prevent drivers from making multiple changes of direction when defending their position, with Verstappen appearing to test that rule to the limit when under pressure from Raikkonen.
After the race, Raikkonen told Sky Sports he has "seen people penalised for much less" and continued to criticise the teenager later on. Per Autosport (h/t Eurosport), he explained:
"I tried to miss him and I just managed to but there were two times that in my feelings it wasn't correct.
For me you move once right and then I decided to go left but the other car moved back.
I did everything I could do to avoid any contact but once I decided to go somewhere you can't just come there.
It was good that I managed to somehow half miss him.
I moved and then once I decided to go, it's very hard to back off and the other car started to move after me.
I guess in the rules...there are so many different rules these days that if you're in front then in some rules you can move.
But when the guy behind takes his position you commit to something and when the other car moves afterwards it's difficult to avoid the car in front.
"
Per the same source, Verstappen suggested Raikkonen was looking for "excuses" for his failure to beat the Red Bull driver to fifth place, insisting he "only moved once all the time" and saw "no issue" with his defensive manoeuvres.
Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene admitted he was going "ballistic" with Verstappen's tactics, revealing FIA race director Charlie Whiting decided against investigating the 18-year-old despite Ferrari's complaints.
Raikkonen's team-mate, four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, also offered his opinion on Verstappen's driving, suggesting the teenager is "very aggressive" but will "calm down" in time, per Motorsport.com's Charles Bradley.
Jolyon Palmer 'Gutted' to Miss out on Maiden Points Finish in Hungarian GP
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Jolyon Palmer has admitted he was "gutted" to have missed out on scoring his first F1 point after a spin in the latter stages of the Hungarian GP.
After failing to finish higher than 11th in the opening 10 races, Palmer enjoyed his most productive weekend since the season-opening Australian GP at the Hungaroring, where he was running in 10th place with 21 laps remaining.
However, a spin at Turn 4 saw the Renault driver drop down to 13th place, with Palmer only able to recover to 12th ahead of the chequered flag.
The 2014 GP2 champion driver has revealed he was devastated to miss out on his maiden points finish, suggesting he was not to blame for the incident. He told the team's official website:
"I’m gutted as my first points in Formula 1 were there for the taking. The car was good and I was driving well within myself in P10. I turned in the same as normal at turn four—I wasn’t hanging everything out and I was looking after the tyres—but for some reason I lost the car in a massive snap. I need to look at everything with my engineers to see if there is anything we could have done to prevent it. I was running 10th, we had completed all our pit stops, we had good pace relative to those ahead and behind so it looks like we’ve made a real step forward this weekend. It was the best drive of my career today and just one small spin took away those points. I’m gutted today but I’ll be fighting to get in the same position or better in Hockenheim.
"
Renault team principal Frederic Vasseur shared his driver's frustration, telling the same source how the spin was "unfortunate" on a day when Palmer's first points "were there for the taking."
Palmer's latest no-score is likely to raise further question marks over his F1 future, with his seat known to be under threat from reigning GP3 champion and Renault reserve driver Esteban Ocon.
Palmer recently told Sky Sports News HQ's Matt Morlidge he is "not worried by Esteban" and is "not fussed about anyone else."
Per the same source, Ocon said he is "getting ready" to make his F1 debut in 2017, denying he is specifically planning to inherit Palmer's seat.
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Jenson Button Outraged by Penalty for Breaking Team-Radio Restrictions
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Button has become the latest high-profile figure to criticise F1's restrictions on pit-to-car radio after he was handed a drive-through penalty during the Hungarian GP.
The McLaren-Honda was running solidly in the top 10 at the Hungaroring when his car developed what the team's official website confirmed was "a sensor failure" on Lap 4, affecting his brakes.
The pit wall advised Button how to manage the issue, which later resolved itself, but were deemed to have broken the new radio rules, which prevent teams from feeding their drivers with information during the race.
After Rosberg's post-race time penalty at the British GP, Button became the second driver to be punished for breaking the restrictions and has questioned the wisdom of stopping teams telling their drivers about potential safety concerns.
Per Motorsport.com's Charles Bradley, he said:
"The brake pedal went to the floor, and obviously it’s never nice for a driver to get that feeling. For me that’s a safety concern, a safety problem.
The guys gave me a switch change, so it didn’t happen again, so the pedal wouldn’t go to the floor again and we got penalised for that. We had a drive-through for that, even though I was last.
We’re told that if you’re told you have a problem, you have to pit. And I’m guessing you have to pit earlier than we did. There are certain things we shouldn’t to be telling drivers, because we need to deal with it ourselves, but when you have a power unit that’s so complex—a driver can’t figure it out for themselves.
When your brake pedal goes to the floor, I figure that’s a safety concern and I don’t think you should get punished. It could end in an accident.
"
Button's complaints about the radio rules come after Force India were unable to inform Sergio Perez of his braking problems in the Austrian GP, which ended with the Mexican crashing on the final lap of the race.
Per Motorsport.com's Jonathan Noble, chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer argued it is "ridiculous" to be prevented from informing drivers of such fundamental issues, calling for F1 to "take an educated approach about what should be able to be said and what shouldn't."
McLaren-Honda Reserve Stoffel Vandoorne to Replace Rio Haryanto at Manor?
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Vandoorne has emerged as a leading candidate to replace Haryanto at Manor for the second half of 2016.
As reported by Motorsport.com's Adam Cooper, the contract Haryanto signed to race for Manor in 2016 only covered the first half of the season, with his management looking for further sponsorship funding "in Indonesia and elsewhere in Asia" to allow the 23-year-old to continue.
"Time constraints" are likely to see Haryanto remain with Manor for this weekend's German GP at Hockenheim, with the backmarkers set to spend the month-long summer break finding "a solution."
Reserve driver Alexander Rossi, who is combining his Manor duties with a full-time IndyCar drive in 2016, and Will Stevens, who represented the backmarkers in the 2015 season, are potential replacements for Haryanto.
GP2 driver Jordan King—whose father, Justin, helped rescue Manor from administration 18 months ago—is also set to come under consideration.
But Cooper has suggested McLaren-Honda may yet allow Vandoorne, 24, to race for Manor—who once held a technical partnership with the team—to gain further experience ahead of next season, when he is expected to partner two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.
After winning the GP2 title in 2015, Vandoorne impressed while deputising for the injured Alonso in April's Bahrain GP, where he scored the team's first point of the season despite never driving the MP4-31 car prior to the race weekend.
When asked whether he could loan Vandoorne to Manor for the remainder of 2016, McLaren racing director Eric Boullier told Sky Sports' television coverage of the Hungarian GP: "As part of the McLaren-Honda family, if Manor would like to race him, we could maybe consider some experience this year. Maybe, but there is nothing true so far.
"We would listen what they have to tell us, obviously, but no decision, just a discussion."
Should Vandoorne join Manor, the Belgian could make his debut for the team in his home race at Spa-Francorchamps in August.
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