In this piece, I will be assessing ten key features from each Grand Prix weekend from the 2010 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. It has taken two weeks for me to digest the events of what happened in Budapest, due to my summer holiday. However, it was another dramatic race which ended up with a new championship leader and a former champion receiving more criticism for his driving standards. So, this is a round-up of Round twelve, the final event before the Grand Prix circus headed for its extended summer break.
Red Bull Racing – A Stunning Pace
When Red Bull Racing turned up and set their first competitive tracks on the Hungaroring, the rest might as well have gone home, because they had no hope of winning. This circuit suited all of the Red Bull’s features on the car, especially downforce levels. This should have been a nailed on one-two for Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. However, Vettel being caught asleep on the Safety Car restart once again showed the Milton Keynes team lack of ability to turn dominant performances into maximum points hauls. Vettel’s record of one win from his seven pole positions is a dismal statistic. It is giving Webber his best shot at the world championship, and a stunning mid-race stint on tyres that were starting to fade won him the race. Webber is on a crest of a wave again, Vettel has to once again stamp his authority on the team if he is going to become champion this year.
Michael Schumacher – Another Dangerous Move
Michael Schumacher’s performances in 2010 have been a constant theme in these conclusion blogs, simply because he can’t stay out of the headlines. This time, it was for a crazy and mad lunge on his former Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello that the Brazilian called ‘the worst manoeuvre on him in his F1 career.’ Once more, Schumacher missed Q3 and was struggling in 10th place in the race. Barrichello had run as high as 5th, but a late pitstop dropped him out of the points. However, on more favourable tyres, he homed in on Schuey at some three seconds a lap. With four laps remaining, he got a run on the German out of the final corner, and went to the inside. Michael’s response was brutal, shoving his former friend almost into the pitwall. The Williams was millimetres away from a nasty connection, but Rubens just about squeezed through. Afterwards, condemnation followed for Schumacher’s driving standards and the stewards agreed, slapping a 10-place grid penalty on him for the next race at Spa in a fortnight’s time. Maybe it is time for this ageing world champion to call it a day before he tarnishes his reputation even more.
Dangers in the Pitlane Are Well-Documented
Maybe it has been coming for a while, especially when you think of the side-by side racing between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel in China and Hamilton vs. Fernando Alonso in Montreal. The scramble for the pits in Budapest led to a near-miss for everyone involved in the pits, highlighting the well-documented dangers involved. Mercedes failed to tighten up the right-rear wheel on Nico Rosberg’s car, leaving it to detach as he left the pit box. It narrowly missed Pedro de la Rosa and the Sauber mechanics, bounced up and hit a crew member from the Williams team, who luckily escaped with bruising. Rosberg parked his car on the exit of the pits, probably unsure to the carnage he had just caused. During the chaos, the Renault lollipop man lost his focus, due to the errant wheel and released Robert Kubica into the path of Adrian Sutil. The result was a collision between Kubica and Sutil, which would eventually end both of their afternoons. Renault and Mercedes were fined $50,000 for their lack of safety and dangerous pitlane manoeuvres.
McLaren’s Worrying Lack of Pace
This was by far the least competitive weekend for the McLaren team in the 2010 season, and with the summer break underway, it can’t have come at the worst possible time. To be over two seconds slower than Red Bull in qualifying must ring the alarm bells at Woking headquarters. Lewis Hamilton dragged his uncompetitive machinery around to 5th on the grid, and then used the Safety Car to jump Felipe Massa in the pits. The damage limitation was working well, until a transmission failure on Lap 24 left him stranded on the exit of Turn 3. Jenson Button failed to get into Q3, and was squeezed out by Pedro de la Rosa and Michael Schumacher at the start, relegating the world champion to a very frustrating 15th. He pitted just before the Safety Car came out, which allowed him to jump a few places, and wind up 8th. However, he was lapped by Webber six laps from the finish, which highlighted the drop off in pace for McLaren. They need an upturn in pace and fortune very soon, otherwise their championship dreams will become a distant memory.
Vitaly Petrov Underlines His Potential
The Hungary weekend could well turn into the making of Vitaly Petrov as a Grand Prix driver. Petrov has been overshadowed by Robert Kubica all season, but he destroyed him in Budapest, qualifying an outstanding 7th, easily his best in 2010. Petrov then made a lighting start and catapulted upto 5th. Though he gave up quite feebly to Lewis Hamilton on the second tour, Petrov was a comfortable 6th for the rest of the afternoon, and regained 5th when Hamilton retired. This was a brilliant weekend from the Russian and he has probably given Eric Bouillier some headaches now over who will be Kubica’s team-mate for 2011 and beyond.
Robert Kubica – A Poor Weekend
Whilst Petrov had his best performance of the season, Robert Kubica turned in his weakest drive of the season. On a track similar to Monaco, Kubica was expected to be a major threat to the McLaren’s and Ferrari’s, but it simply never came together. To be outqualified by Petrov was a major surprise, as this was the first time the Pole has experience that feeling since Japan 2009. Stuck behind Rosberg in the early exchanges, Kubica would have struggled to beat the likes of Button and de la Rosa in the race, but for the unfortunate collision with Adrian Sutil in the pits, which was through no fault of his own. Robert has never had a prolific record at the Hungaroring, and that continued in 2010. I bet he wished it never existed.
Continued Improvement for Sauber
On Switzerland’s national day, Sauber continued their rapid rate of improvement, with their first double points finish of 2010. Pedro de la Rosa is a Budapest specialist, and starred in qualifying on his way to 9th on the grid. Despite a poor start, de la Rosa lapped strongly all afternoon and will be satisfied with his 7th place result, ironically the first points he has scored since his comeback this season. Team-mate Kamur Kobayashi blamed traffic for his shock elimination in Q1, and this was followed by a five-place grid penalty for missing a weight check during practice. From 23rd on the grid, Kobayashi’s Sunday afternoon looked like it could be a very frustrating outcome. However, he had a stunning first lap, gaining eight places and kept Jenson Button honest all afternoon. Ninth at the end was almost unnoticed by many, but it is Kobayashi’s 4th points finish in the last six races. He is Japan’s best F1 driver they have ever produced and if the improvement continues from the team, Sauber could threaten to be best of the rest by the season’s end. The horrors of the early flyaway races now seem to be a century ago.
Nico Hulkenberg Fulfils His Potential
Nico Hulkenberg has had a tough baptism of fire this season, largely down to a uncompetitive car that Williams have given him this season. However, he has matched Rubens Barrichello as the season has worn on and now, he is getting the equipment to produce the business. Hulkenberg outqualified Barrichello in Hungary and despite trailing him early on, made his strategy work against the veteran and wound up an impressive sixth, easily his best performance of the season. Finally, his potential looks like it is being fulfilled.
Positives for the New Teams
Jarno Trulli led them home, three laps down, but the Hungarian Grand Prix turned into a very positive weekend for all the new teams. This was the first time in 2010 that all six cars from Lotus, Virgin and Hispania all finished, so all should be satisfied. Sakon Yamamoto beat Lucas di Grassi, whilst Timo Glock outqualified both Lotus cars for the first time since Shanghai, and finished less than ten seconds behind Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen in the race. For once, there were encouraging stories to tell for all the new teams, rather than face sorrow tales of misfortune.
Force India – Feeling the Pressure
As Renault stay ahead of the midfield group, and rapid improvements come from both of the Sauber and Williams teams, it is Force India who are falling backwards. Regular top ten qualifiers earlier in the season, the team are facing the pressure of being out developed by teams who have better resources and bigger budgets. Vitantonio Liuzzi touched Michael Schumacher on the first corner, broke part of his front wing and then dispensed those contents in the middle of the track on Lap 13, which bought the Safety Car out and turned the race on its head. He finished a miserable 13th, and the pressure will increase on Liuzzi to hang onto his drive. Adrian Sutil was very unlucky to be caught up in the Kubica pitlane incident, but there is no doubt that the team have dropped back. Spa and Monza will be interesting to see, as these sorts of circuits should suit their car with downforce levels.
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