McLaren driver Jenson Button celebrated his 200th Formula One start by winning the Hungarian Grand Prix last Sunday after a thrilling race decided by tyre choices in the wet and slippery conditions.
Sebastian Vettel steered his Red Bull into second place while Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso finished third, Hamilton fourth and, after having a disappointing final practice session and race, Australia’s Mark Webber came in fifth, still hanging on to second place on the Championship points table. Vettel made a good start from pole but Lewis Hamilton kept on the world champion’s tail, having begun second on the grid. The wet conditions contributed to Vettel running his Red Bull wide early with Lewis capitalising by capturing the lead. Button then also overtook the German in partially wet conditions, showing the superior power and handling of the McLaren over the previously dominant Red Bull machinery.
As the rain and tyre strategies constantly changed, spectators at the Hungarian GP were treated to a string of overtaking moves at the difficult twisty circuit. Even the pit lane became an attraction when as a result of the slippery conditions Virgin’s Jerome D’Ambrosio came into the pits almost sideways, causing his pit crew to dive for cover. Nick Heidfeld’s Renault caught fire at the pit exit and oddly enough the clerk of the course did not activate the pace car, which made the situation quite unsafe, however there were no injuries from both incidents. In the third race of his career, Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo managed his third finish and highest finishing position in 18th place. More importantly, he soundly beat his more experienced HRT teammate Vittantonio Liuzzi.
The 22-year-old Aussie Red Bull protege, in showcasing his talents to secure his long-term future in Formula 1, has shown enough potential to impress many F1 team managers. The rookie, was not only on equal terms with his teammate Liuzzi in Germany two weeks ago, but surpassed Liuzzi’s performance in the.