Sidepodcast

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We were all expecting a dull race, so it’s nice to have a bit of a surprise waiting for us on track. Nobody said that all suprises have to be good ones.

The Race

As predicted, there was very little overtaking to be had, except perhaps off the line. All the excitement came from the tyres and from the pit stops, and the odd engine failure as well.

Conclusions

Those drivers having a good day had a supremely good day, count them, Kovalainen, Glock and Alonso. But for those who couldn’t make the end of the race, or who struggled every inch of the way there, they can only be glad there’s a three week break coming up.

Race day in Hungary and it’s hot. According to Stuart in the comments, the track temperature is up to 35C already, and only likely to get hotter.

Post-qualifying yesterday, we learned that Bourdais had received a five-place grid drop for impeding Heidfeld. Personally, I think this is a bit harsh, but no doubt it makes Heidfeld feel slightly better and masks the fact that he still hasn’t put his qualifying woes behind him. Teammate Kubica starts from a much better position up front in fourth, and I’m looking on him to get a good start and mix it up with the McLarens.

At a track where there is very little overtaking, McLaren’s 1-2 makes them almost unbeatable, especially considering how strong Hamilton has been recently. It may be that Hamilton can get his third consecutive win, but it would be even better if Kovalainen could get his maiden victory, proving his extended contract is worthwhile.

As for the rest, and I’m now counting Ferrari in that bunch, Raikkonen may get stuck behind Glock in the Toyota, and if Glock is capable of a Trulli-train himself, Kimi will want to put his foot down. I’m also curious to watch the battle between Alonso, Webber, Trulli and Piquet at the bottom of the top ten. We know the Renault drivers like a battle, and Alonso will be hoping to get the upper hand this weekend. Keep your eye on Vettel as well, in 11th, as the Toro Rosso has appeared strong so far in Hungary, and has whatever fuel load the team desire.

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• Length: 10:14 
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• File: digest43.mp3 
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At first glance, it looks like McLaren will walk this weekend easily, securing a 1-2 in qualifying. However, there are glimpses of hope from unexpected quarters, including Kubica, Glock and maybe even Massa.

Free Practice 3

Another slow start to the day, but once the cars were out on track, it was worth keeping an eye on them. The Renault’s were trying out a radical new (slow) strategy, whilst Vettel was making the most of being able to get through an actual session.

Qualifying

Heidfeld had issues from the very start, whilst Kubica was very much best of the rest. Hamilton and Kovalainen led the way, looking unbeatable.

Conclusions

A five-place grid drop for Bourdais means that he lines up in 19th place, whilst at the very other end of the grid, Hamilton is ecstatic with the new updates to the car.

The man is making some tweaks to the new Live Commenting beta page, so I have been entrusted to write my very first Live Commenting opening thread.

What did we learn from Free Practice 3? On the face of it, very little. It was a slow start to the day, and even when cars were out on track, we were getting some very mixed results. Hamilton continued to dominate, and as it’s looking very much like a McLaren weekend, we have to look further down the field for any notable scraps.

Raikkonen appeared to be struggling for pace in FP3, although he looks to have chosen the shark fin as a viable aerodynamic option, and may have been fiddling with the setup to accomodate that. Massa continues to be right on Hamilton’s tail, so he may opt for a super-competitive qualifying lap to outpace the McLaren in qualfiying.

Renault look to be playing the long game, apparently choosing tyre optimisation over any flat-out lap times, but even so, by the end of the session Piquet still jumped into 5th. Compared to Alonso’s 11th, the Spaniard may have something to prove in the qualifying sessions.

At the back of the grid, this may be a perfect opportunity for Force India to finally get into their desired second qualifying session, after both Hondas, Nakajima, and even Webber wound up FP3 towards the lower end of the timesheets. With little overtaking to be had on the Hungaroring, qualifying is going to be super-important for those wishing to fight for points.

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There were worrying noises coming from the paddock after yesterday’s practice sessions. One of those was a confident sounding Lewis Hamilton and the other was a relatively negative Kimi Räikkönen. It could of course be little more than gamesmanship on the part of this weekend’s two lead actors, or we could be looking at a McLaren front row lock-out this afternoon. Before we get there though, one final sixty minute practice session beckons.

Coulthard is now running his engine for a third race, while Force India have been forced to go back to their non-seamless-shift gearbox, in order that they don’t incur unnecessary penalties. Sebastian Vettel must be wondering what in the world he has to do to get through a whole practice session, and he’ll have his work cut out today playing catch up to his teammate. No doubt Germany feels like a lifetime ago.

Marginally ahead of Vettel we have a struggling Honda team, who’ve yet to get the best from their revised aero package and suspension. Their times yesterday were never comparable to the mid-field runners, and although they can bank on Force India losing two-tenths along with the gearbox, they must be concerned about missing the Q2 cut-off later today.

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• Length: 06:18 
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Last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix turned out to be something of a controversial affair, but what does this years race have in store? Join Christine as she takes a look at the never changing circuit layout, the qualifying events that irrecoverably altered last year’s season for McLaren, and a quick recap of where the teams and drivers stand in this years championship.

Also we follow Gerhard Berger as he drives his own Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 car around one side of Lake Balaton, across the water via transport ferry and then back down the other side, entertaining fans at every turn. It might well be the first time a Formula One car has crossed the largest lake in Europe, but with a new racing circuit scheduled to open nearby in 2010, it may not be the last.

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Hands up anyone who thinks free practice one was a bit of a slow burner?

45 minutes is a long time when nothing much is happening, especially at a track when nothing much happens during the race either. Hopefully the small amount of running accomplished during FP1 means there’s plenty more work for teams to get through this afternoon.

When the drivers finally showed their hands we learned that up front Ferrari just had the edge on McLaren, with Massa the only guy into the high 1:20’s and Heikki mere fractions ahead of Lewis. Alonso appears to have bounced back from his battering at the hands of Piquet, and Glock’s clearly suffering no side effects from his previous accident, both drivers lining up behind the top four.

Vettel was the only man to suffer mechanical problems in the first season, he completed just four laps and was already down on his teammate when he pulled to a stop. Making that deficit up shouldn’t be too tricky this afternoon if his car holds together.

ITV appeared to have a severe headache earlier on, so hopefully their problems will be sorted before the final 90 minute session, otherwise it’s just live timing and it’s like 2007 all over again.

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As Formula One teams prepare to run some laps in Hungary we’ve found ourselves at a bit of a loose end. Unusually, the weather seems almost predictable this weekend, leaving us little to do but look to the track for some excitement.

This morning is expected to be hot and dry, although Brad pointed out that the city of Budapest experienced torrential rainfall yesterday evening, so there’s a very slim chance that some of Saturday or Sunday’s action could be rain affected.

On paper, warm temperatures appear to favour Ferrari, but we’ve speculated in the past that the red cars work better on a rubbered-in track, and seeing as this place is renowned for being something of a dust bowl, things still may not go their way. McLaren by comparison should be looking forward to a peaceful weekend after re-signing Heikki for a further year (his capitulation in Germany bearing fruit already).

Further down the field, Red Bull’s decision to run their Renault engine for a third race in a row doesn’t come into play until tomorrow. Glock recovered well from his shunt in the last race to test in Jerez so he’ll be on duty this morning and finally, keep an eye on Piquet, who’s probably still on cloud nine after his first F1 podium two weeks ago.

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