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| Hungarian GP 3rd - 6th August 2006 - Race Report |
Length:
4.381 km |
| Budapest. Commonly known as the most boring circuit on the Formula One calendar. A series of tight bends that offers little to no room for overtaking.
The 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix, held on that very track, was undoubtedly one of the most memorable events in recent seasons for a whole host of reasons. The first and foremost was the winner, the perennially unlucky Jenson Button of Honda. Finally, his victory came together. The second reason, the two names that followed him home. Pedro de la Rosa of McLaren, and Nick Heidfeld of BMW Sauber. The third; the fate of the two protagonists in the championship fight. Fernando Alonso’s Renault failing for the first time in 23 races and Michael Schumacher and Ferrari making nothing short of a mess of their chances. Underpinning all the action was the unusually unstable Hungarian weather with rain showered falling through out the day leading to constantly changing track conditions. Through the morning rain had bucketed down over the paddock and circuit leaving the surface sodden as the cars formed the grid early in the afternoon. By that stage the weather seemed to be easing, however the dark clouds continued to threaten. Most drivers chose to start the race on intermediate rubber, Honda’s Rubens Barrichello and Schumachers the exceptions in choosing full wets. As the lights dimmed and the cars set off on the first of 70 laps it quickly became apparent that the masses had gone with the ‘inters’ for a reason. Barrichello went immediately backwards while Schumacher took advantage of his rivals’ uncertainty and shot all the way up to fourth. Soon though he too was under attack as his compatriots found their feet. Kimi Raikkonen was at the head of the field, leaping out of pole position and masterfully racing away to an early lead in his McLaren. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa disappeared from second, leaving the Finn’s teammate Pedro de la Rosa, Alonso, and Button at the front of the chase. Alonso had made a similarly impressive start to Schumacher, and had soon accounted for his rival in a courageous wheel-to-wheel battle. As the race wore on mistakes were frequent and many drivers were spotted pointing the wrong direction at times. Most commonly were those using the Bridgestone rubber, which, despite its pedigree in the wet, proved about as adapt to coping with a sodden track as a set used slicks. Williams’ Mark Webber was certainly unimpressed by the grip the Japanese tyres offered as he lasted only two laps before running off the circuit to notch up a ninth retirement of the season. BMW’s Robert Kubica had the benefit of the Michelin grip but the task remained seriously daunting as it was only his first Formula One race. He had an early spin, and was soon off again. Second time around he clipped a barrier and lose the front wing of his car. Schumacher was forced to make an early stop when he suffered similar damage after a tangle with Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella. Fisichella stopped soon as well, however he was unable to run again. The Italian went flying off the circuit and into the barriers before bulldozing his way onto the circuit. At one point it seemed he might be able to continue but an inspection by the mechanics found irreparable damage to the Renault’s rear wing. And while all this went on behind, Raikkonen kept his head down and built a comfortable lead. It wasn’t long before the Finn, with the rain once again falling, Finn was called in for his first fuel stop. His teammate de la Rosa followed and the lead of the race was handed over to the resurgent and now flying Alonso. As the Spaniard had not been involved in the ‘top 10 shootout’ on Saturday he was not forced to carry his qualifying fuel load into the race. For that reason, if all went to plan, he would only have to stop once and would surely run away with the chequer. And the race win wasn’t the only thing the Renault star was thinking of. As he lapped the Schumacher Ferrari it seemed the curtains were also being drawn on the title fight. Raikkonen’s exit only made the job easier. The Finn’s heavy shunt saw stewards call on the safety car meaning Alonso could make his one and only stop without losing a second of time. The amount of debris left of the track from Raikkonen’s stricken McLaren meant the safety car was out for almost 15 minutes. The incident had occurred when he was coming up to lap Tonio Liuzzi. Instead of making a pass, he misjudged his move and ploughed into the right rear wheel of the Toro Rosso. As the race resumed Alonso led from Button, de la Rosa, Barrichello, Heidfeld, Red Bull Racing’s David Coulthard, and Schumacher. In the turning point of the race the track began to dry significantly and Alonso’s pace began to drop away. He became vulnerable to Button, who now had the once unconceivable thought of victory at the forefront of his mind. From eight seconds back he began to close in on the lead Renault and was eventually just a few tenths behind. However Button would need to stop again. Alonso, it seemed, may still be safe. Button stopped, he daringly elected to stay on the intermediates and short fuel his car in an attempt to re-catch and over-run Alonso. As the Briton resumed his chase and began to close in at over two seconds per lap it became apparent that Alonso was suffering. And adding further concern was the fact that Schumacher was now the fastest man on the track and climbing up the order as his harder Bridgestone tyre enjoyed the warming track. Renault had no choice but to pull in their man for a new set of ‘slick’ rubber. They made then change and Alonso eased out the pit exit, struggled around turn one, then got caught off and spun off the circuit through turn two. He later revealed that the car had suffered a broken drive shaft, incredibly the first failure he had suffered in 23 races. Button was now out on his own, in the lead of the race by some 40 seconds, and he comfortably made one final stop. Just 16 short and faultless laps stood between the Briton and his maiden victory. The word faultless couldn’t be used in relation to Ferrari and Schumacher who, it has to be said, committed strategic suicide. All around drivers were stopping for slick rubber, and all of a sudden the seven-time champion found himself sitting in second position. With the exit of Alonso an eighth title was becoming a closer reality and Schumacher seemed to get greedy. He would attempt to complete the race on heavily used intermediate tyres and go for the full eight points, rather than stop and possibly lose two to de la Rosa. The team used the excuse they thought it would rain again, however the state Schumacher’s tyres were in meant they wouldn’t have been of any use anyway. A stop seemed a ‘no brainer’ yet still Schumacher pushed on. He began to lose time; one second per lap, two seconds per lap, three seconds per lap, until he was seven seconds per lap off the pace of Button. De la Rosa was all over his back and attempting to make a pass at each turn. For a while the Ferrari’s superior straight-line speed meant he hung on, but the Spaniard inevitably made the pass. Such were the time losses that Heidfeld was now a threat as well and, encouraged by the success of de la Rosa, tried to make the same pass into the second sector chicane. Schumacher stupidly tried to prevent the move and ended up clashing wheels with his compatriot. The hit saw him suffer serious steering and suspension damage and caused his exit from the race with just four laps left to run. Button would go on to claim a famous victory. On the circuit where his fellow Brit and former world champion Damon Hill claimed his maiden win, Button would start his tally as well. De la Rosa finished second, Heidfeld third, Barrichello fourth, Coulthard fifth, Toyota’s Ralf Schumacher sixth, Kubica seventh and Massa eighth. Only eight cars managed to complete the distance in a strange race that, in the end, played no part in the championship standings. Alonso and Schumacher are still separated by 11 points, the gap from Renault to Ferrari has narrowed by just one point to nine. |
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