Spice Fest in Budapest

 

If I were to tell you that it was not a Mercedes or a Red Bull that won the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix would you be surprised? Somewhat, yes. If I were to add that it was not McLaren or Ferrari would you be perplexed? Certainly. If I were to inform you that it was a maiden win for one of F1's rising stars would you be absolutely blown away? Let me tell you, I most definitely would be. 

Following a somewhat entertaining qualifying session with claims of slow out laps and forcing the opposition out of the 'competition,' F1 graced us with a race that could very well be compared to the intensity and entertainment level as the British Grand Prix at Silverstone 2 weeks ago. 

A starting grid that was more or less expected with Hamilton in pole from Bottas from Verstappen then Perez ended up after 70 laps with the one and only Esteban Ocon taking the top step of the podium with Sebastian Vettel claiming 2nd and Lewis Hamilton down in the final podium place. A shame for the Brit who was looking for a record 9th win at this track which would make him the first individual to win 9 races at any track in the history of Formula 1. 

It was a hectic start which was spiced up with the weather playing a huge role. Hours before the race it had rained in Budapest meaning drivers all started on intermediate tyres. As the lights went out, the grid had a clean getaway however it was the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas that broke far too late and ended up straight into the back of Lando Norris's McLaren. This catapulted the Brit into Max Verstappen who sustained heavy damage to his floor. The speed Bottas carried meant that he rammed right into Sergio Perez which meant that both the McLaren and Red Bulls were out of the race with Bottas also out following damage to his front left suspension. A very costly mistake for the Silver Arrows who were hoping to finish with their first 1-2 of the season and possibly take a commanding lead in the constructor's championships. 

Right behind this pack of drama came the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll who decided he wanted to mow the lawns on turn 1 rather than stay on track. In an attempt, it seemed, to somewhat evade the chaos in front of him he tried to cut the first corner which only led him onto the grass and straight into Charles Leclerc whose race came to an end 300 meters later at the next turn. He suffered far too much damage to continue the race. Amongst all of this, Ricciardo had been spun around, a million pieces of carbon fiber were scattered across the Hungaroring in confetti-like fashion and the race was red-flagged for yet another weekend. On top of this, both Bottas and Stroll have 5 place grid penalties which they will have to serve at Spa 4 weeks away. 

Fast forward 20 minutes and there were only 15 cars left in the race. Verstappen was back in 13th, Ocon and Vettel had snuck their way into 2nd and 3rd respectively after evading all the drama at turn 1 but it was still Lewis Hamilton who led the race. As the cars left the pit lane to have a standing start it became suddenly apparent that with the beating sun in Budapest that it was time to change to slick tyres. At that very moment, every single driver apart from Lewis Hamilton pitted to change their tyres leaving the Briton out in front to restart the race on his own. A catastrophic mistake from the Mercedes strategy team who had to pit straight after leaving Hamilton at the back of the grid with plenty of work to do. 

Having said that, if you place yourself in the shoes of Mercedes, it is extremely tough to make that decision of whether to come into the pits or stay out that early in the race. If Hamilton were to have come into the pits, he would have to wait for every single driver to pass him which would have destroyed his race as he would've ended up right at the back. At the same time, by staying out he was on the incorrect set of tyres and was forced to pit that one lap later letting the entire field, including his title rival Max Verstappen past. It truly was a troublesome call that Mercedes had to make but track position is ever so important at Hungary which is why the boss Toto Wolff backed the strategists decision to stay out. 

Meanwhile, the lead of the race was now in the hands of Esteban Ocon with the raging Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel hot on his tail. This battle would last the entire duration of the race till the very end. However, it could have had all ended very differently. 

Following their second round of pit stops, the Aston Martin team, unfortunately, had a slightly slower stop lasting 3.3 seconds compared to Alpine's 2.3 a lap later. This meant that Ocon came out just ahead of Vettel which could have all been avoided. Hungary is a track where overtaking is extremely difficult due to the high downforce and twisty nature of the track. It is extremely unforgiving. Having said that, if you get the right exit out of the final turn it can be an easy pass with the assistance of DRS down the main straight which was observed countless times throughout the race by multiple drivers. Unfortunately for Seb, while he was within DRS range of the Alpine, he was not able to make the pass given the brilliant straight-line speed of the French outfit. Instead, he had to settle for 2nd, his second podium of the season - a brilliant finish for his team and a big boost for their midfield battle with Alpine and Alpha Tauri. 

Speaking of this intense battle, it was Alpine who made the biggest gains after Fernando Alonso finished in 5th which brought the French team a huge haul of points. He nearly pipped Carlos Sainz who drove a sublime race - and was in full control of his own strategy (going against the advice from his team which you have to have guts to do). After qualifying very poorly way down at the back of the field, he was able to make up 11 spots after chaos corner at turn 1 and from there was able to take his Scarlet Red Prancing horse to 4th place. With McLaren and Ferrari in 3rd and 4th respectively, it is now Alpine taking 5th with Aston Martin in 6th and Alpha Tauri on their tails. 

The hard work that Sebastian Vettel put in for the entire race seemed to have come undone as he was disqualified hours after the conclusion of the Hungarian Grand Prix. FIA mandates that at any given time during a race 1 litre of fuel must be left inside the tank to be pumped out to ensure that all cars follow the 100 kg fuel rule. However come the end of the race, stewards were only able to pump out 0.3 litres, contrasting the team's statement that there were 1.44 litres of fuel left in the car. If this stands, Vettel would lose his second place and the precious 18 points for the Aston Martin F1 team which would drop them to 7th in the constructor's championship. This situation will develop more in the coming days as Aston Martin will try to appeal for this I am sure. 

A special mention has to be made for George Russell. After being Mr. Saturday for race after race after race - he finally finished in the points for the first time in Formula 1. Tears were in his eyes as he was interviewed - it was the same feeling as a win and he is one driver to deserves it the most. As he said himself: "years of dedication to Williams finally paid off." The effort he puts day in and day out to produce the results that he does is a testament to his sheer driving ability. What's more impressive is the fact that he put his teammate's interests above his as he prioritised Latifi's pitstop and whatever had to be done to keep the Canadian further up the field. George is one of Formula 1's best ambassadors. The manner in which he carries himself, his attitude, his drive to be successful. He will be world champion one day and when that happens every single individual will be nothing but happy for his success. A brilliant 6 points for him and his team as for the first time both Williams' drivers finished in the top 10. 

Joy and jubilance for Williams but despair for Haas once again with Alpha Romeo and Red Bull in the same boat as them. Max Verstappen came home limping in what was really half a car to take the final points place as Gasly snatched away the fastest lap from Hamilton on the final lap. Mazepin broke his suspension as he came in contact with Raikonnen amongst the pitstop madness and Schumacher finished the race out of the points albeit with an excellent bit of racing with both Verstappen and Hamilton in the early races of the Grand Prix. 

It was an uphill battle for Lewis Hamilton who looked to take his 100th Grand Prix - the first man to ever do it. After the costly mistake on lap 3, he pitted to a new set of hards and made a brilliant undercut stick as he overtook both Verstappen and Ricciardo in one sweep. This released him into free air to catch the rest of the pack with what was the fastest car by far. After reaching 5th place Mercedes decided to pit him again for a fresh set of Medium tyres which he could truly fly on. Making up 15 seconds in 5 laps he caught up to Fernando Alonso who made life extremely difficult as he made his elbows as wide as anyone could be. An intense duel that lasted more laps than Lewis would've hoped finally ended with Alonso locking up into turn 1 and giving Hamilton the chance to overtake into turn 2. From there it was smooth sailing past Sainz to gain 3rd place. Unfortunately, the pain to overtake the 2 Spaniards meant that the gap to Ocon and Vettel out front was too big. Making up 11 seconds in 3 laps he finished 7 tenths behind Vettel. If only there was one more lap he would have prayed. 

Formula 1 heads into the summer break with a change in leadership. Hamilton takes the driver's championship with Mercedes now taking a 10 point lead in the constructors. Behind them, it's a tight battle for 3rd and 5th. The upgrades the Silver Arrows have brought since their hammering in Austria have proven to be successful and they will look to continue this somewhat good form post-summer break. It, unfortunately, cannot be said for Red Bull who have had a torrid last 2 weeks and will look to turn that around for themselves. The spice levels have risen to new heights in Formula 1. We look to see how much higher on the Scoville scale it will go as Formula 1 heads to Spa - one of the most iconic tracks on the calendar.