Rate the race: 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix

2013 Hungarian Grand Prix

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What did you think of the today’s race? Share your verdict on the Hungarian Grand Prix.

F1 Fanatic holds polls on each race to find out which fans thought of every race during the season.

Please vote based on how entertaining and exciting you thought the race was, not on how your preferred driver or team performed.

Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below:

Rate the 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix out of ten

  • 10 (9%)
  • 9 (23%)
  • 8 (32%)
  • 7 (20%)
  • 6 (9%)
  • 5 (3%)
  • 4 (1%)
  • 3 (1%)
  • 2 (0%)
  • 1 (2%)

Total Voters: 603

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2013 Hungarian Grand Prix

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Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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189 comments on “Rate the race: 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix”

  1. Traverse (@)
    28th July 2013, 14:48

    7.5/10 My favourite driver wins…yay! I predicted that Ham would win but I didn’t think it would be by such a margin, I’m pleasently surprised. Hopefully Merc can finally take this form forward. *Fingers crossed*

    Kudos to Raikkonen…I guess…

    1. Traverse (@)
      28th July 2013, 14:49

      *Pleasantly

    2. “Kudos to Raikkonen…I guess…” That had to be painful for you to say ;)

    3. Bah, Grosjean was robbed of P2 by another penalty for racing ‘too hard’. They should remove all the astroturf tbh (but won’t for safety). Grosjean closing on an ailing Hamilton in the dying laps would have been great to see. Hulkenberg was close with Maldonado for P10 before a frustration-borne pit lane speed penalty. Similar to GP2/3, malicious racing moves don’t get punished while something subjective over track limits and white line/kerbs does. If they want track limits respected, make them respectable! That would also make passing a lot easier with longer braking zones, as all the racing lines are now being shallowed out (e.g. T11 exit).

      Vettel – RB should have undercut their way to a 3 stop, by 1 lap each time but messed up the strategy and got held up. Even in these circumstances Lotus can’t capitalise (KR in Q, held up in race) and get the same treatment, so at this point Hamilton ironically is best placed to challenge Vettel, if not Raikkonen.

      Ferrari’s pace is disappointing, perhaps they have been hampered by the tyre change (a la Force India, who should have blocked it from happening IMO, and will lose to McLaren now that they didn’t. With their McLaren technology deal running out for 2014, I wonder how fast their new car will be).

      1. and by racing too hard, you mean over-taking Massa while being totally off the track?

    4. Merc did survive Hungary’s “African summer” so we should expect them to fare at least as good in the races to come. Maybe Nico’s luck changes and both Mercedes are able to eat Vettel’s advantage. To make it even better we will need a consistent Grosjean and improvements on that Ferrari.

      Looking forward to Spa (And I got tickets!)

      1. You lucky devil (tickets) ! Enjoy ;)

    5. @Traverse Funny, my vote exactly, though your driver was ahead of mine. I think it was great to see Lewis (perfect race) and Kimi (great defending) both taking points off Sebastian.

  2. 8 ! Loved it !

    Sad Hami had a reasonably easy time at the front. But still, great race !

  3. Expect Hamilton to call Mercedes’ pace “schocking” in the round-up later today.

    1. Alot of “shockings” today I imagine ;)

    2. Or “miracle”

      Actually we did not anticipate that, looking back at Keith’s race preview, the only thing that seems surprising is Merc’s pace.

  4. Fantastic battle for the lead, stunning drives from Hamilton, Vettel and Raikkonen. Had me on the edge of my seat for nearly the whole race, gave a 9/10. Shame about Grosjean, shows flashes of brilliance but ruins it nearly as quickly.

    1. same old same old from grojean, he’s just a magnet of car collisions… he wouldn’t have been fighting for second place today!!!!

      1. Quite true though I don’t think the drive through was fair. Had he tried to stay ten cm further to the left he would have been pushed off the line by Massa anyway.

        However, it seems Brundle and Coulthard were onto something about his spacial awareness in general.

        1. The drive-through ruined the race. Best overtaking maneuver in the race and they rule it illegal. Stewards at the moment are ridiculous. I think both rulings against him were bad today, and I normally don’t like the guy. Just annoys me that the race is controlled by stupid steward decisions. Apart from that great race.

          1. “The drive-through ruined the race. Best overtaking maneuver in the race and they rule it illegal.”

            I haven’t seen it, but according to the stewards, he completed the pass with all 4 wheels over the line. If that is the case, the stewards ruled it illegal because it was illegal.

            I do feel a bit sorry for him, though. A couple of mistakes cost him dearly in a race where he otherwise performed really well.

    2. @jameseden I think the one thing it was lacking actually was a battle for the lead but great elsewhere!

      1. *Strategic battle I guess would be more appropriate ;)

      2. A great race for chess fans.

    3. Traverse (@)
      28th July 2013, 14:55

      I’ve come to realise that Grosjean is beyond help regarding his inability to judge space and take evasive action accordingly. He’ll never learn because this is his style of racing, he’s just haphazard. It’s a shame because he has the pace to win races.

      1. I agree. If Romain had a car like the Red Bull or the Mercedes which is good in qualifying, and he could stick it on pole and control the race from the front I think he could be as good as anybody on the grid.

        1. vettel also made a mess of most of his overtake attempts.

          As for Romain, his move on JB was silly. But he should never of got a pen for his move on massa. If they dont want drivers straying off the track by a fraction they must get ride of huge run offs. Also drivers were doing it every lap, esp vettel and kimi on their own. They dont get a pen as they are not wheel to wheel with someone but what difference should it make, they have gained time by doing and therefore got to the end of the race quicker than someone else. They need to be clear on the rules. Drivers leave the track on exit of chicane at canada every lap and no one cares. It should make no difference if you do it when overtaking or not. Rules should be Rules, currently they are selective

          1. vettel also made a mess of most of his overtake attempts.

            The only one really, was the small incident with Raikkonen. Grosjean hit Biutton, skipping the chicane, plus went off after passing Massa.

        2. @debaser91 like I said yesterday, if Grosjean got his act together, he should be the one REd Bull should hire to partner with Seb next year. That kid post incredible fast laps both on Saturday and Sunday he just needs someone to help him iron his “imperfections”…

          1. @jcost

            His supporters have been saying that for 5 years now in F1 and a couple of years before that in lower formulas.

            a) When is it going to happen?
            b) Why hasn’t it happened already?
            c) How much time does he need?

      2. I disagree. I don’t think he’s haphazard. I think he was doing great job today and he was unfairly penalized for his excellent overtaking move on Massa. I’m not even sure he went off the track with all four wheels, because despite numerous replays we didn’t get a clear shot. Also, it looked like he was already ahead of the red car when he did it.

        1. I was agreeing about the part about Romain’s pace being good enough to win races. I think he was very unfortunate to get penalised for the overtake on Massa, that would have been a candidate for pass of the year. But don’t forget he also did make some unnecessary contact with Button earlier on at the chicane, he just seems to attract trouble although I thought his driving at the start was pretty stellar, particularly with Vettel’s rather aggressive chop across his front probably unsettling him a bit.

        2. The penalty was for the move on Button where he bypassed the chicane. A good move given the circumstances but illegal under current rules.

          1. The penalty was for the move on Button where he bypassed the chicane.

            Sure, he was to blame for his contact with Button, but it wasn’t the penalty that destroyed his race. He was given a drive-through penalty for his awesome move on Massa and this one effectively ruined the whole event for him.

        3. @maroonjack His car was travelling in a straight line with all the visible wheels more than half a kerb outside the track limits. Don’t know how much more obvious it has to be…

          1. @hairs Grosjean initially left the track with two wheels and when he was already ahead of Felipe he was forced to move further to avoid contact. It’s not just my opinion, many F1 experts and drivers shares this view, even Massa says that the penalty was wrong.

          2. @maroonjack partially ahead. he had to go partially off track to start the move, and fully off track to finish it.

            Replays are very clear. You need eyesight to be an expert here,nothing else.

            If there was armco not runoff his race was over.

    4. You must have been drunk if you were on the edge of the seat. It was more like an average football match with 70% dullness and occasional flashes of action.
      If you think that strategic battles are exciting then you might as well watch chess or snooker.

      1. My view entirely.

  5. Lewis came, I saw, I conquered. The most deserving man own.

    1. sorry for the typo
      Lewis came, saw, conquered. The most deserving man own.

  6. Raikonnen>vettel, end of story, great race from hamilton, simply this guy is unlucky not to win another 2 races this season if not of the mercedes using the tyres to a maximum extent…

    1. @ramysennaf1 of course he is, based on one isolated race on a track which is recognised for being very difficult to overtake on. Ridiculous you could draw a conclusion based on that as evidence.

      1. @vettel1, hyperbole aside, how many attempted passes did Lewis defend, after order was established on 1st. lap I don’t recall any serious moves on Lewis, I did however see him put a couple of good passes on Mark and Jensen.

        1. @hohum I think he was quite fortunate that on both occasions he encountered Mark he was involved in his own battles with other drivers (firstly Alonso for position and secondly Hülkenberg as lapped traffic). That prevented him from taking a good defensive line in the first instance in turn 2 and from getting a decent exit from turn 3 in the second instance. On Button the superior top speed of the Mercedes showed through. Nonetheless I’m not trying to discredit Lewis: opportunities came his way and he seized them the moment they appeared.

    2. So in Germany Vettel>Raikkonen?

  7. I really like Hungary, I use to live there and really enjoyed my stay there. But this is the worst place for F1 in the world.

    1. I have been living here in Hungary all my life, still couldn’t agree more

  8. A solid 7. Excellent strategy battle. Hamilton got all the passing done when it mattered. Red Bulls obviously paid the price for low straight-line speed. VET’s stint behind Button decided the race.

    1. he wouldn’t have passed hamilton whatsoever, he couldn’t pass raikkonen on close to dead tyres.

    2. @sankalp88 Are you seriously blaiming lack of straight-line speed on the Hungaroring?

      1. @roald absolutely he’s correct in saying that. We saw how easily Hamilton got the move done down the main straight on Button, whereas Vettel couldn’t get close enough and so consequently was stuck behind him for 12 laps.

      2. @roald

        What I meant was relative straight-line speed. Compare the Mercs and Ferrari with RB and Lotus. Grojean was stuck behind Alonso in the final stint, for simply that reason. A RB unable to clear a massively slow Button. Just watch HAM clearing BUT, he just cruised past. Although HAM’s move on WEB was spectacular to say the least.

        1. @sankalp88 Hamilton showed us with his move on Webber you don’t necessarily need a straight to overtake. Twice.

          1. @roald

            You also have to realize the circumstances of that move. Both times he made that move WEB was stuck in someone’s slip stream. Nonethless HAM showed excellent spatial awareness on both moves. Also consider WEB: like I mentioned, RB’s simply too slow on the straights. WEB can be very aggressive when overtaking (one of his few redeeming qualities!) was stuck behind ALO in the middle stint. I’m certain ALO would have kept WEB behind for a few more laps had he not bailed on those mediums.

          2. When you’re not fighting for the championship, you can take more risks. Splendid race by Hamilton.
            And Vettel definitely has learnt how to win championships.

          3. @AlexFerrari
            Spot on.

    3. Exactly what @sankalp88 said, straightline speed actually decided this for Lewis (getting past Button due to that extra speed) whilst Vettel, Grosjean and Raikkonen (at the early stages of race were stuck behind Massa for 15 or so laps). In a track where it’s difficult to overtake and the only place(s) require topspeed, it’s obvious it plays vital part in it.

    4. 7 seems fair to me.

      There were a few battles and attempts to overtake outside of DRS zones (Turns 4 and 6), and the overlap of pit strategies helped keep things interesting to the end.

      It was a “good” race in terms of entertainment, but not a great one.

    5. Meanwhile shambolic performance from the reds :( — Alonso’s challenge is in tatters.

    6. @sankalp88, “Excellent strategy battle” Agreed, only I prefer racing to strategy.

  9. such a good race DRS was perfect this race, Lewis and Grosjean made some great moves okay Grosjean was slightly sloppy but still was going for it, also what an end between Kimi and Seb, great race
    9

    1. @bezza695
      Agreed in regards to the DRS… It’s purpose was to nullify the effects of the dirty air around the corners, NOT as an overtaking device, in itself.

  10. 8/10, brilliant battles for the lead throughout the race, great variations in strategies, a fantastic drive from Hamilton and Webber 10th to 4th. A great way to finish this half of the season!

  11. 9.

    The racing was spectacular – no stupid highway DRS passes. DRS did what it was meant to do and that is to give drivers a hunch into T1. People actually fought for position and could keep faster people behind. The tyres weren’t over the top and were important, but didn’t dictate the racing.

    Would have been a ten if the battle at the end were for the lead and Grosjean received the penalty for the right thing…

  12. 9/10. A very good race without too many silly DRS passes butwith lots of proper racing, different strategies and an unpredicted outcome.

  13. Solid 8: some nice proper racing for once (no easy DRS passes), the tyres weren’t dominant and a nice battle for the minor podium places. However, the win seemed rather unchallenged from the first round of pit stops after Vettel was stuck behind Button.

    On that note, Red Bull must recognise they are really hurting from not having the top speed to be able to make passes easily. If they can’t be sure they’ll grab the lead early on a change of philosophy is needed to an extent I think.

    1. On that note, Red Bull must recognise they are really hurting from not having the top speed to be able to make passes easily. If they can’t be sure they’ll grab the lead early on a change of philosophy is needed to an extent I think.

      That, and overheating parts of the electronics in hot weather are really their weakspots, aren’t they @vettel1.

      I agree with you on the 8 and it was very refreshing to see DRS only help stay close instead of having drive by-passes.

      1. @bascb absolutely: of course Vettel had to hold back and then re-mount a charge on Räikkönen and perhaps maybe lost out for the same reason with Hamilton. It’s probably exemplified by the track characterises though: overtaking shouldn’t be such a big problem in Spa as they can just use the bus stop as per last year for example.

    2. I forgot to add my highlight of the race: Pastor Maldonado scoring William’s first point of the season. That was a nice solid weekend for Maldonado and I hope he continues on that trajectory, as I really think the guy is a seriously talented driver when he’s not crashing!

      1. and he’s not been crashing all that much lately

    3. @vettel1, I found it interesting rather than exciting but can you imagine what a great race it would have been without the pit-stops and different tyre strategies, 70 laps of HAM,VET,GRO and RAI, all on the same strategy all similar in speed, could have been epic.

      1. @hohum the Hungaroring doesn’t really provide many opportunities for passes though: I think it’d just be a case of everybody in a Trulli-train-type situation which I personally don’t think is very entertaining to watch! That’s partially due to aerodynamics though which I know you’re not a big fan of.

  14. 8/10 Best race so far I think. It was a great. I was on the edge the entire time. If I were voting based on my driver, I’d give it a 9/10 because Ham is my man and I definitely enjoyed it more because of that, but I want to try to take out the subjective opinion. Fantastic!

    1. well said there mate . I did the same . Was torn between 7 or 8 . Would have been great if Alonso could have also come to the party :(

  15. 6/10, definitely better than average. I liked Lewis from pole and Räikkönen with his successful two-stopper, but it could’ve been better.

    My vote isn’t higher for two reasons:

    1.) There were a few overtakes, but they were mostly from drivers straight out of the pits on others with old tyres.
    2.) The DRS was absolutely useless in most situations like straight-up fights for position. Not even with a car faster by 1+ sec did it play any role (as seen at the end between Vettel and Räikkönen).

    1. The DRS was absolutely useless in most situations

      Great, Just how it should be!

      1. +1 Dizzy

      2. Yes, it is okay on most tracks and I have complained about it in some cases as well, when it has made overtaking too easy.

        But this is the Hungaroring, where regular overtaking was not possible. We’ve only seen it under very specific conditions like in the first 1-2 laps.

        I haven’t seen a single overtake, where both drivers were on similar strategies. Even if the car behind was more than a second faster, it didn’t happen. I’m sorry to say, but that is usually rather boring and it wasn’t even on a street track like Monaco, where it could be excused.

        1. The fight between Vettel and Räikkönen definitely wasn’t boring. On a different track with DRS, Vettel would have breezed by and the fight would have been over before it started. This is how racing should be, a driver successfully defending against another driver, both pushing each other hard lap after lap.

          1. Lets agree to disagree then, @metallion

            It was clear to me from very early on in their “fight”, that Räikkönen would have to make a clear mistake to lose the position.

            The only small chance Vettel had was after Räikkönen was particularly slow in the first sector. Even then, he had the better placement on the inside of the corner and was slightly ahead of Vettel.

          2. It’s always been part of racing, trying to push the driver in front into making a mistake. You shouldn’t automatically get past just because you have the faster car. Defensive driving is and should be as important as attacking driving.

            As a Räikkönen fan I’m probably a bit biased in this situation though but I try to stay as neutral as I can. Everyone has a different view on things, so yeah we’ll just have to disagree.

            On an unrelated note, Kimi said in an interview that if he could change anything about current cars he’d give them an extra 300hp and less grip so they’d be more challenging to drive and tires and other parts would get pushed harder.

    2. @kneyfield

      Not even with a car faster by 1+ sec did it play any role (as seen at the end between Vettel and Räikkönen)

      I think that’s more due to the top speed deficiencies of the Red Bull more than anything. The Mercedes would’ve had the speed in hand I think.

      1. The unfortunate thing for Vettel was that the places where he was evidently much, much quicker in Turns 2 and 3 up to Turn 4 and the chicane are nigh on impossible to overtake if the guy in front drives smartly, as Raikkonen did. Both Raikkonen and Vettel mentioned that Kimi was faster in the last two corners onto the straight, which given Red Bull is slow in a straight line anyway meant he couldn’t get past.

        1. I think people don’t get it when they say Red Bull is slow in straight line speed? Is this the same Red Bull that overtook Ferrari in Monza last year in a straight?
          But it did that before they even reach the end of the straight when they where accelerating.
          What Red Bull usually does is put shorter gears so it can have better acceleration but smaller top speed. What i really don’t get is why Hungary was a problem considering the straights aren’t even that long and why didn’t the Red Bull get on there ass before the corner to the straight to get the benefit of accelerating fast.
          I think the problem Red Bull faced was that in this track because the straights are small and it’s full of corners others put small gears too and couldn’t approach them as fast as it could do on other tracks when they have longer gears than Red Bull.

      2. Yes butthat’s a mistake made by Redbull. I think over confidence they would be on pole cost them this one.

        1. Not overconfidence . Maybe as @vettel1 says they ought to change their race philosophy a bit .

          1. 6 world titles in three years, and on the way to titles 7 and 8 says their race philosophy is working just fine.

          2. @debaser91 it’s not working so well this year though on the slightly more difficult tracks for overtaking: I’d put a safe bet on that had Vettel had an extra 5km/h at the top end he would’ve got that second place (if not by passing Räikkönen by passing Button earlier than he did). It works fine when you can get the lead early on but they must be more open to that situation not arising as Mercedes still have the qualifying advantage.

            @f190 yes it is absolutely a lack of foresight by Red Bull, I’m not trying to argue otherwise. It’s not Vettel’s fault though.

      3. @vettel1, don’t forget that being slow in a straight line is the price RBR pay for being fast in corners and those cars fast in a straight line pay a penalty in the corners, so you pays your money and takes your chances.

        1. @hohum no absolutely and it has worked fantastically for them in the past (as it plays to their strengths of superior downforce) but if you can’t get pole on a track like this then you really need that little bit of extra speed to try and be able to mount an attack in the race. It’s partially just down to the circuit though: in Spa I don’t think they’ll have a problem overtaking (recall Vettel last year using the bus stop chicane?) and Monza isn’t too bad either.

          I think after then Red Bull will have the advantage anyway as we head into the Asian rounds over Mercedes as that’s where they’ve been particularly strong the last three or four years so perhaps a drastic shift isn’t needed but is probably worth bearing in mind for next year.

    3. 6 – Mostly due to the track itself even though this race was better than some in years past at Hungary. There were some good drives and interesting strategies, but the track severely hinders the action. Watching faster cars stuck behind slower cars for many laps is not good racing action.

      There were some positives, I’m glad Hamilton won. This bodes well for Mercedes and for a more interesting fight for the championships in the second half of the season. Happy to see Williams finally score. Glad to see Lotus and Kimi do so well. I can understand why Grosjean incurred his penalties. Perhaps on a track with a bit more room he may have had a cleaner race. But, that is F1.

  16. I expect Hamilton to get close to 60 % at the DOTW poll after an easy Vettel-esque win.

    Entertaining race, gave it a 7 – probably would have been an 8 if there had been a real battle for the lead.

  17. Aditya (@adityafakhri)
    28th July 2013, 14:54

    How did Mercedes gain that much? How??? Regardless, I think Lewis drive was sublime and the win was well deserved. Shame circumstances ruled out Grosjean…
    and the ultimate one was – Sebastian: “Hey, he didn’t give me enough room!” Conclusion: Kimi won’t go into Red Bull next year.

    1. haha, there was nothing absolutely nothing wrong with that duel, clearly vettel saying gibbrish to hide the fact he couldn’t pass.

    2. @adityafakhri ” Conclusion: Kimi won’t go into Red Bull next year.” Except that this will have no effect on that, or if it has, it’s the otherway around, Kimi showing he can pull a 33 lap stint on tires and fend off their main man who’s 1sec+ faster per lap than Kimi. And moreover, Kimi fights until the end, hard but fair.

    3. and the ultimate one was – Sebastian: “Hey, he didn’t give me enough room!”

      I like Vettel as a driver, but I must tell that this complaint was a little too much. That’s the kind of behavior that makes people call drivers “cry babies”.

    4. You are reading too much into it. They were laughing about it on the podium and Vettel knows Raikkonen will fight hard, but fair. What he said over the radio was just spur of the moment and frustation. After the race there was no problem.

  18. The only thing I liked about the race was an outstanding drive from Hamilton, and I don’t even like him at all. Seriously, respect. Other than that, maybe the fights from Grojean. Other than that, I though it was really boring. People getting stuck behind Button for half the race didn’t help. And I know it’s not his fault, he was just doing his job, but still, after the first 10 laps, a snorefest in my opinion.
    5/10

    1. Funny, I saw very nice defensive driving from both Raikkonen and Button, very nice attacking drives from Hamilton and Grosjean and a very good race from Vettel and Webber really. Shame about Grosjean throwing away part of that with mistakes on (or should we say off?) track.

      1. Raikkonen was precise and cool in the end . Yeah shame about Grosjean there . He could have held back just a little …just a littttle

  19. 8 – That was a pretty good race with Raikkonen and Webber’s different strategies making it interesting. Worrying for Ferrari that Alonso was really nowhere on pace compared to Hamilton, Red Bull and Lotus but then the Hungaoring has never been good for them since Alonso joined the team. It doesn’t suit the characteristics of their car and he was lucky to even finish ahead of Grosjean in the end.

    Good to see Lewis win, the move on Button was essential and won him the race, and I especially loved the opportunism where he used the backmarker to get past Webber. That was also important. He really deserved that given Rosberg got a pretty undeserved win at Silverstone when Hamilton would have walked it in all honesty if his tyre hadn’t have exploded. Loved Raikkonen’s defensive driving at the end as well. I think we are starting to see who is the better driver at Mercedes now although it has taken a bit longer than expected.

    Final quick question for anyone who may know the answer. What is the most number of second places by one driver at a single venue? Raikkonen now has 5 in Hungary, 4 times second to Hamilton. Must be pretty frustrating for him!

    1. raikkonen has a record of second places finishes, remember 2003, he had maybe 7 or 8 times second place.

    2. How does “Rosberg having undeserved win at Silverstone” have anything to do with Lewis “deserving” this win? You would be better of saying “Hamilton lost a looking-to-be-win in Silverstone due to tyre explosion” and just leave Rosberg out of the equation, not like he caused it for Hamilton. I guess you think the engine blow-up for Rosberg now was “well deserved for Rosberg”? @debaser91

      1. I don’t see anything wrong with what I said. Hamilton was due a win, he had some bad luck at Silverstone when Nico had some good fortune. Nothing more sinister than that. Rosberg was unlucky today and Lewis was a little fortunate that he got past Button quickly while Vettel came out just behind rather than just in front of Button. But Hamilton’s drive today was more impressive than Rosberg’s in Silverstone. And please don’t put words in people’s mouths, nowhere did I imply in any way that Rosberg deserved his engine blow up today. That was just bad luck.

      2. @lari

        Maybe @debaser91 is not targeting Nico, from my understanding he should say Kimi if it was him winning the race Silverstone. Regarding luck, I think Nico’s is more on the bad side of it than the other way…

        1. @debaser91 & @jcost I might read too much into it, just came out as “an attack” on Rosberg and “defend” on Hamilton, which I just couldn’t understand why it was needed. As Jcost said, Rosberg has had more than fair share of bad luck (more than Hamilton, you might add) this season. So if we should take sided, why not take Rosbergs side? Nvm, just stirring abit. :D

          1. I apologise if you thought that was my intention. General misunderstanding, no harm done though.

          2. All good man, I shouldn’t read too much into it, just want to defend the ones who’re left with the shorter stick :)

  20. Good, (mostly) clean racing and some great defensive driving on different strategies. I quite enjoyed that one. Gave it an 8.

  21. 6/10, Can’t see how anyone could really give it more than that to be honest?

    Hardly any overtaking, Hardly any opportunity for overtaking, No fight at the front & not a lot going on.

    Races liek this where Vettel wins usually get rated below 5, clearly Hamilton-Bias going on here as usual!

  22. Solid 8 – Hungary needs to change the layout a bit to make overtaking easier towards turn 1, 2 or 4. Then it would be an even better grand prix.

    1. It’d take some landscaping, but why not straighten out the run between 3 and 5, and turn 4 into a slight kink?

      Also looking at the maps, perhaps convert turn 10 to a double hairpin, and follow that with a sweeper leading into what now is turn 12?

      1. there is a lot of ground water beneath the circuit so doing massive landscaping like you suggest is gonna be extremely expensive. But I think if they changed turn 2 – make it leaning inwards to allow a variable race line then we’d see more overtakes already.

  23. Went with a 4. Monaco without walls – so true.

  24. Hamilton has now win a race in every season since he is in F1.

    1. A win and a pole. The only driver in history. This is also Hamilton’s first back to back wins for a particular race.

      1. @theoddkiwi well that all depends if you define it by the calendar or simply by whole seasons, as if we exclude Vettel’s half-season in 2007 he’s also achieved that statistic. Nonetheless deeply impressive from Hamilton but also a mark of just how fortunate he has been with regards to his entry into F1 straight into a top team.

    2. Is he the only driver also to have been in a team with winning capability for the whole career so far this getting these results? Not many people get the chance to start from a winning team @ race 1 in their careers.

      1. ya not a great stat to boast about ! But he has loads of other stats ;) ..BTW where is he in the all time pole position list ? anyone ?

        1. @hamilfan he is currently 7th (with 30) behind Mansell (32), Prost (33), Clark (33), Vettel (39), Senna (65) and Schumacher (68).

          1. Wow vettel has that one going … can’t see lewis catching up unless vettel has a barren streak which is unlikely at the moment . Senna 65 ! respect !

          2. @hamilfan Senna really owns that statistic though, as Schumacher took 250 races to reach that value whereas Senna only took 162 races – serious respect!

            I’m going to take a guess that Vettel will add to that tally before the end of the season also but well done to both of them – they’ve still got several years left each to add to their respective totals!

      2. Button was Lewis’s team mate for 3 years and he has only one pole to his credit compared to Lewis’s 9 poles.
        It does not mean that every one will get a pole , if you have a good car.
        Driver skills do matter a lot.

        1. Exactly… & the one pole Jenson got was when Lewis & his side of the garage got the wing choice wrong. Compare Vettel’s poles to Webber’s during their tenure together @ RBR as well.

  25. I liked it. It had an unexpected winner, variety of strategies some good battles and plenty of brave overtakes. Oh, and there were no DRS power or tyres drama.
    9/10

    1. 9/10 and you “liked it”, for that sort of rating it should have been orgasmic, not likeable.

  26. a solid 7
    pretty entertaining race, however spoiled by that incredibly stupid penalty for grosjeans who would’ve been a contender for the podium aswell

    1. great to see williams finally scoring a point again!

    2. I agree. There were plenty of other drivers putting four wheels over white lines without drawing a penalty. Some selective stewards investigations methinks.

    3. Brother Lehmann
      28th July 2013, 15:04

      + 1

      Would say that there was a “Crashjean bonus” for Grosjean there. Giving penalty for passing … come on.

    4. Alex (@korbendallas)
      28th July 2013, 15:15

      The penalty was not for going over the white line, it was for completing a passing move whilst off the track. I don’t recall anyone complaining about how stupid it was when Vettel got a 20 second post-race penalty for EXACTLY the same thing in 2012.

      1. Actually I recall a lot of people complaining about that one with Vettel @korbendallas, it was a big debate afterwards between the fans here.

        But I do agree that the penalty was very clear, he went off track while passing and that is not allowed.

    5. Sorry what “stupid” moves are you referring to?

  27. 8. Enjoyed the race. Great pass by Ham on Web with the back-marker in the mix – WOW!

  28. Chris (@tophercheese21)
    28th July 2013, 15:03

    Loved every moment of it! 9

    1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
      28th July 2013, 15:24

      I picked Vettel to win, and im SO PLEASED that I was wrong!

      Pros:
      – Hamilton wins!!!
      – Mercedes race pace was actually really decent.
      – Epic battle between Grosjean + Vettel
      – Great recovery from Mark
      – Kimi’s ability to look after tyres and still keep relatively good pace is incredible. Great strategic call for the 2-stop.
      – Button holding up Vettel was very entertaining. Particularly enjoyed that!
      – Good to see Williams finally getting their first point!

      Cons:
      – Unfortunate to see Grosjean shoot himself in the foot repeatedly.
      – Ferrari have to improve their car. Fernando will not even come close to winning the WDC with his current equipment. As good as Fernando is, no one can compete with that machinery.

  29. Didn’t get a single element of my predictions right, so 1/10.

    …I joke, of course.

    A very solid 8/10 for me. Not a classic but thoroughly enjoyable all the way through. Overtaking, while not impossible, was not as easy as in previous races, which resulted in some very enjoyable passes.

    The only thing that’s left a bitter taste is the penalty following Grosjean’s sensational move on Massa. But, them’s the rules, so no point in complaining about that.

  30. 8 for me, nice to see Mclaren working their way to the front again and finally that first point for Williams

  31. This, along with Monaco, is the worst track on the calendar. Along with the desperately unfair penalty on Grosjean, I was underwhelmed. Is there some secret FIA rule along the lines of “Thou shalt not overtake a Ferrari”?

    1. Overtaking off the track’s fair now?

      1. I think they should reward it if someone can go faster in gravel/rough terrain vs track ;)

        /end sarcasm

  32. Was torn between 7 or 8 but gave it an 8/10 . we saw vettel vs button vs grosjean which had me in the edge of the seat . In the end Kimi vs vettel was so close . Couldn’t ask for too much more there .

  33. There were some great battles. I was happy to see hamilton win. I was happy to see vettel earning his pay. Happy to see Kimi on the podium. But man, that second Lotus is being under-driven, and kimi and vettel are so pal-ly — it’s really looking like Lotus will have two empty seats at the end of the season.

  34. A short poem to sum up the start of the race for me:

    Hammy lined up first on the grid
    As the weather looked increasingly torrid
    He waited patiently for the lights
    As he narrowed his sights
    To the first corner 600m ahead
    “Grosjean, don’t crash into me,” he pled
    And so the lights wet out, and the racing began
    And dear Hammy tried the best he can
    To avoid any attacks from the nearing frenchman
    And just as the cars raced wheel to wheel
    My father called me in for a meal.

    (to be continued.)

    1. Good one, though if you’re summing up the start, there’s 20 other drivers that were not mentioned, or atleast a handful of top drivers if you have to draw a line ;)

      1. @lari Thanks for the tip.

    2. Dude you rock ! you got yourself a new fan :D

      And dear Hammy tried the best he can

      …….you mean tried the best he could …but the rhyme would be off .cough cough

      1. I’m from Hong Kong, and English is my second language; feel free to correct me every time you see something wrong :)

    3. @chingh you didn’t disappoint ;)

  35. After FP1 and FP2 on Friday, I really though we were in for a tedious time at one of my least favourite tracks with Red Bull just disappearing into the distance. Instead we had a great race for once. Not ruined by DRS passes ad infinitum, but enlivened by differing tyre strategies. It’s still a horrid track, though.
    I think Hamilton should say a very special ‘thank you’ to Button for keeping Vettel behind for 12 laps. Rather disappointed for Ferrari, and surprised Vettel couldn’t pass Kimi at the end. Don’t know what to say about Grosjean; someone needs to take the lad in hand and point out a few home truths to him.
    8 overall.

  36. Some good hard race from start to finish.

    I’d love to know what RBR “FAIL 22” message was about…

    1. @ming-mong
      I think it was an instruction, I think he had to restart his KERS system, and they gave him the restart sequence (he would have to position the switches on his steering wheel to those positions)

      1. Both drivers received that message. Odd.

    2. Most likely a failed sensor that needed to be reset, and not a team order!
      That’s what David Coulthard said during his commentary – I guess he had a few of them go when he drove for Red Bull.

  37. Gave it 9. Great race, with great strategies battles, great overtake maneuvers.
    Hamilton was perfect, the pass on Button was essential. Great drives from Raikkonen and Vettel also.
    Feel bad for Grojean, second was his if not for the penalty, which i think was a bit harsh.
    Happy for Williams also.

  38. great drive from grojean, unfortunate but hope he learns..dont know what alonso was on about in the press interview seems he was not very happy with grojean..

  39. what is happening to ferrari and alonso . alonso should quit ferrari and move into some other team ,maybe redbull or so if possible .ferrari sucks and as good as a talent alonso is ,he is wasting in time with ferrari and their come next year we would dominate with a super car strategy

    1. There isn’t a driver in F1 who wouldn’t give up their seat for a chance to be Ferrari’s favoured driver. It is a luxury that only a handful of even the greatest ever drivers will experience. Just to be in that position is an enormous achievement in itself. Alonso’s not going to give that place up for anything.

      1. Oh come on ! I understand that prestige but ultimately you want to win !

      2. are u kidding .winning is something that ultimately matters .no one would remember massa 20 years down the line .alonso should win .its should be about winning ,not prestige and how u did in the past

  40. 1/10, Grosjean got a penalty for overtaking. Shame about the ban on overtaking, improves safety I suppose.

  41. Gave it a 7. While the strategies were interesting, there were some good battles and I didn’t zone out like some Hungarian GPs before, a lot of battles for position were denied due to the track’s characteristics. Raikkonen is doing some great overtakes lately and Hamilton’s moves on Webber were amazing, but at the same time we have Vettel not being able to pass Button, holding up Grosjean as well, Grosjean having a great race with some dreadful moves still and Vettel complaining over the radio like last year. Vettel has grown a lot, but I don’t understand his panic behind the wheel.

    As for Alonso and Ferrari, windtunnel problems or not, they’re throwing away their season. I’m beginning to get the same feelings as I had about them with Schumacher in 2005/6 and Raikkonen in 2008, it’s not working and they seem to be unable to find a solution.

  42. an 8 from me. Very exciting and some ballsy overtaking maneuvers which you should do, if you want to overtake in Hungary

    One thing I don’t understand is how on earth Webber didn’t manage to hunt down Vettel in the closing laps. He was on new options and the options which were used in qualy held up for 10 laps no problem at the start of the race with heavy cars and less rubbered track. So how come Webber stopped catching Vettel after 5 laps on new options at the end of the race? The only answer I can see is the “fail 22” message was given to protect golden boy from attack. Quite what had MW to lose from sticking two-fingers up to this I don’t know. Or maybe they fed him misinformation about the gaps so he’ll oblige? So many questions I have and no answers.

    IMO Webber isn’t hard enough ATM. He gave up the chase of Seb too easily and he gave up the positions to Hamilton twice too easily. Great start and great race from 10th to 4th but could’ve been more

    1. Agreed.

    2. They can always make sure by giving him wrong delta times . currently their target for webber could be to bring home points come what may , say a 5th or 6th to secure WCC . He is to be nowhere allowed near vettel . pity rosberg had some woes today , or he could have upset the order a bit

  43. David not Coulthard (@)
    28th July 2013, 16:45

    6, not a Spa, not a Monaco.

    Congratulations to Williams, by the way!

  44. 9 for me. Great victory for Hamilton and very good race also for Kimi, Vettel, Weber and Grosjean.
    Three better drivers of today formula 1 in the podium! 3 great champions!

  45. A strong 8. Very good race, lots of action, great drive by Hamilton. Kimi got smoked on pace by Grosjean this weekend but managed to stay out of trouble during the race and finished a strong second so kudos to him.

  46. Ridiculous penalty for Grosjean. 7/10

  47. Before the start, I expected this race to be a boring one. Vettel had shown incredible pace on qualifying and free practice, and the bad reputation of Mercedes towards it’s tyres gave me the impression that the race was going to be an easy victory for Vettel.

    But I was proven wrong, because this race was a thriller! The first half of the race was quite unpredictable, and it looked like Webber, Grosjean, Raïkkönen and even Hamilton had a chance of victory. Vettel was stuck quite twice behind Jenson Button, and that ruined his race, but made it quite interesting. But then, we began to see that Hamilton’s tyres were going on well, and I started to believe in him winning this race.

    The end result was a pleasant surprise, and the fight between Raïkkönen and Vettel kept us awake right until the finish. But this was just one of many thrilling battles that there were today. Just a shame that Grosjean had a penalty, he deserved a big result after a brilliant race.

    So, I rated 8/10, because a thrilling race was totally unexpected I thought!

  48. I think RB was too conservative and preferred Vettel to finish a sure 3rd than go for a possible win. When VET came in for his last pit stop with about 16 laps to go, he had 7.5 seconds on HAM and 16 sec on RAI and 9 sec on WEB who needed to pit again and would have come out 30 seconds down.

    Unless his tires just went off by 5 seconds on a lap (which would allow him to come in and cover WEB and ALO), he had a small chance to hold off HAM, and definitely RAI who would also be on very old tires as well.

    Smart choice I guess for the championship, but I would have love to see VET go for the win.

    1. If you noticed, when the primes started going off, they were losing a second a lap. If RB had gone for trying to finish those last 16 laps, he would have been lucky to finish in the top 5. When these tires go…they go.

  49. 7, yes there weren’t too many overtaking but there were some battle which kept us on the edge of our seat.

  50. Michael Brown (@)
    28th July 2013, 18:30

    6/10. Mildly entertaining.

  51. 8.

    One of the best starts this season and a race that proved F1 can achieve strategic variety, spectacle and quality on-track racing afterall. The compounds used were a good call, the DRS zones were well defined and set this time. We had wheel-to-wheel racing, drivers constantly pushing, various strategies paying off, a (more or less) surprise winner, a LOT of good to great pitstops and no fumbles down the pit lane and a LOT of tense moments during most of the 70 laps. The race was good to watch and one of the best Hungarian GPs in a while.

    The downsides:
    – nothing happening in the midfield;
    – no one other than the usual suspects in the top 5, again.

    Throw in a raging Di Resta in the top 5 and a couple more midfielders in the top 10, mixing it with the big boys and it could have had the potential for a truly great race.

  52. I thought this was the weakest race of the year. Terrible track– it’s Monaco without any charm, or glamour, or a fraction of the history. Hamilton had a great drive, and his victory was clear as soon as Vettel got behind Button. The only real exciting moment would have been Vettel on Kimi, but it didn’t turn into a challenge except at one moment when the pass didn’t turn out. There were many penalties that were not deserved. There wasn’t real tension– just uncertainty (like the prospect of a tire or engine failure) which isn’t real excitement.

  53. 7/10

    It was alright.
    The lead battle was decided when Hamilton cleared Button and Vettel/Grosjean couldn’t
    Some decent moves by Hamilton, he was definitely the DOTW

  54. Daniel (@collettdumbletonhall)
    28th July 2013, 19:38

    That penalty on Grosjean was far too harsh. He barely had any space and was only millimetres out anyway…

  55. 8/10. Seeing Hamilton win did contribute to this rating, but also the intriguing battles made this race thoroughly entertaining through some differing strategies. DRS didn’t overshadow the racing which is always a positive and Williams getting a point is good to see. I’m enjoying the 2013 season more than before.

  56. Hamilton won because vettel was held up early by button. in this way, Hamtilton had a bit of a lucky ‘Vettel-esque’ win. all his rivals got held up at some point.

    cant believe the Mercedes tyres last for so long in this heat.

  57. 8/10

    Personally, this was my favourite race of the season so far, I think. Loved how DRS didn’t seem to do anything. It was very comprehensible: there were a lot of strategies being played out and the winning driver was the one that was able to overtake the drivers on different strategies the most effectively. So overtaking became the most important factor, which is the key element of any great Formula 1 race.

    The overtakes themselves were quite staggering, basically every corner in sector 1 saw its own overtakes. As I mentioned in the forum, I think Grosjean’s penalty shouldn’t have been issued – as a result, it compromised the race a bit, which was unfortunate.

    Still, excellent race, this is what I want to see with a bit more going on in the midfield

  58. Almost perfect race with the pole and the win by Hamilton but marussia look like they struggled today which I’m concerned about. Fingers crossed the races coming up will favour them

  59. 8.5/10
    I really enjoyed this race.
    It was amazing to see Lewis back to winning ways, it was almost like seeing him win his first in Canada 07′
    Fantastic drives by Kimi, Mark and as much as it pains me to say it, Sebastian as well, even I can see it would have been a task for Lewis to keep him behind had he not been held up behind Jenson for so many laps.
    I feel Romain’s pass on Felipe was a stunning move and the penalty given was ridiculous, I really hope this doesn’t stop drivers going for gaps due to fear of leaving the track.
    I hope Mercedes can now keep up this pace and drag Lotus along with them so Kimi and Lewis are right in it for an exciting end to the season.
    It seems Fernando, unless Ferrari can pull something amazing out of the bag, is all but out of the championship charge.

  60. I rated the race an 8. Was very disturbed by Grosjean’s penalty passing Massa. That was a gutsy move! He had already passed Button when he cut the chicane, so no foul. Granted that was not the cleanest pass, but for godsake this is Formula 1 auto racing and not junior gokarting. Bravo Hamilton!

  61. Fantastic race all around, one can only hope that Mark wouldn’t have had the eletrical/KERS issues in qualy to give us that extra something in the end.

  62. I’ll go with an 8. Good race in Hungary. Worked out very well for Hamilton, sly ******* eating the humble pie every Friday before qualifying and then taking pole on Saturday and today his first win for Merc GP. Job well done as well for Iceman Raikkonen holding off Sebastian, it was pretty intense in the end.

  63. I gave it a 9. I know it wasn’t as thrilling as a race COULD be on some other venues, but compared to other previous Hungarian GPs it was really a fantastic race. Great strategy variations, good battles for top positions, daring overtaking moves and great defending from some of the drivers. The only fault IMO was that the lead was never in danger, I liked the fact that an unexpected driver won, though. I don’t think any more could have been expected from a race venue like the Hungaroring.
    I was quite sorry for GRO though… I dont really like the fella, but this weekend he was great I think.

  64. Best race of the season so far for me. Not a huge amount of overtaking, but plenty of genuine battles going on throughout the entire race. Grosjean’s penalty for being run off the track by Massa was absolutely outrageous, but his bash with Button was pretty stupid. Unfortunately he’s now got a bit of a reputation as a crasher, so the stewards are extremely critical of him. Happened to Hamilton a few years ago. Feel bad for the guy though – he’s one of the fastest out there and F1 shouldn’t be so keen to abandon genuine talent, when the grid is being increasingly stocked with drivers who have little more going for them than large pocketbooks.

    Anyway, great action from Hungary, and a good way to go into the summer break. Great win for Hamilton, and some hopes that a genuine title fight could come out of this.

  65. This GP was boring : Lewis Hamilton led from the beggining to the end (was never close to lose his real 1st place anyway) and what i consider like entertaining battles were inexistent.

    This was also a painful GP to watch this year. Sadly I think I couldn’t disagree more with almost every Steward decision made for this race. :(

    Furthermore, I think that hungaroring doesn’t have a nice race design. I have no idea why they allow such boring designs for an F1 track.

    This was still a formula 1 race… hence the rating i give for it still gets some points.
    congrats Kimi, nice passing in the pits! – 4/10

  66. I gave the race a 7, it was alright with a few pieces of action here and there. I was tempted to give a 7.5 to compensate for only seeing the highlights but that would have meant rounding it to an 8 and the race defiantly wasn’t an 8 for me.

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