Rate the race: 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix

2017 Hungarian Grand Prix

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

Since 2008, F1 Fanatic has held polls on every F1 race to find out which fans thought of each round of the season.

Join in the latest poll and give your verdict on the race: 10 being the highest and 1 the lowest. Please vote based on how entertaining and exciting you thought the race was, not on how your preferred driver or team performed.

What were the best and worst moments of the race? What was the main thing you’ll remember about it? Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below:

Rate the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix out of ten

  • 10 (2%)
  • 9 (2%)
  • 8 (11%)
  • 7 (27%)
  • 6 (25%)
  • 5 (14%)
  • 4 (8%)
  • 3 (5%)
  • 2 (3%)
  • 1 (2%)

Total Voters: 475

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176 comments on “Rate the race: 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix”

  1. 8 – not much overtaking, but great tension due to Ferrari’s caution after the pit stops.
    2 points off due to Max taking away what could have been a better race.
    Props to Hamilton for returning the podium to Bottas – this was a gift, IMHO, as Bottas really didn’t keep Hamilton in range.

    1. Simon (@weeniebeenie)
      30th July 2017, 14:39

      I didn’t feel much tension personally simply because you knew nobody could overtake.

      1. I liked a lot. It’s the unpredictable elements. They exist in every race, but they we so unpredictable here.

        1. Simon (@weeniebeenie)
          30th July 2017, 15:07

          What was unpredictable?

          1. Justin (@boombazookajd)
            30th July 2017, 15:10

            Whether Seb would even be able to finish…could Lewis overtake Kimi…would Max catch Bottas…. You can be the rain on the parade but Alex and I seem to have enjoyed the race.

          2. Wisdom does counter enjoyment. But that was anything BUT an unpredictable race. You can twist it however you like, but that was relatively boring, at best.
            The only half-surprise was Lewis playing the team game, and it wasn’t really a surprise because we know how Lewis is, but still, I’m now hoping he pulls it off this year, because if he does, it’s gonna be a fantastic season.
            It’s a shame Lewis isn’t this fair everywhere else, but still, hats off to him. Vettel would not and did not act the same.

          3. ” Vettel would not and did not act the same.”

            I’m not sure Vettel would have done the same as Lewis in the situation, but “did not” implies he should have let Kimi pass him today. Why?

            “Yes, Seb, we’d like you to move over and let Kimi pass, so he can take a run on you for a better finish. If he can’t secure the win, we’ll have him drop back to let you through…”

            Kimi: Yeah, I couldn’t pass myself for the win, it’s tough to pass here and my tires were going off, so I dropped back and gave Sebastian back the spot…”

          4. @weeniebeenie and James are absolutely right. There was no tension. This was so predictable other than how bad Seb’s steering problem was. Either he kept going or he didn’t. If he didn’t, then everyone moves up a spot and it’s that simple.

            There is no passing in Hungary, it is just a long parade. F1 either need to stop doing so much aero or they need to change the configuration of this track. Not worth watching the race to me.

          5. @uan I mean Vettel didn’t do it in the past. In this race he was hanging on for dear life and I don’t think he should have let Kimi past, although, to be honest, I’m pretty sure he would have let him through if the team asked him to. Maybe. I’m talking about Multi21 and other occasions in Red Bull, more than anything.

        2. Justin (@boombazookajd)
          30th July 2017, 15:32

          It was not as boring as Silverstone, Monaco, or Canada. So yea, it was pretty exciting. It does also help that I am a Ferrari fan and my drivers secured their 1-2. So… maybe I am juuuuust a smidge biased.

          “We all know how Lewis is”….yea we do…and he’s never played the team game before. That was a massive moment and I was utterly shocked that he moved over, especially with Verstappen on Bottas tail. I have mad respect for that move, though it will be all the more shocking if he loses the championship by 2 points. I have little care for Lewis, just don’t like the guy. Wouldn’t buy him a beer but he’s gained some sporting respect there. The best are always the most ruthless, so seeing him move over was a huge shock to me.

    2. I love tense races like this. Each driver having to drive flat out and make no mistakes.

      1. If only the Red Bulls were in the mix we could have had another Spain 1981

    3. This Hamilton Vs Bottas situation points back to qualifying – If Hamilton’s car didn’t have those basic setup issues he would have been amongst the Ferraris. Hamilton clearly had the measure of this track.

      Then Hamilton had radio issues in the race which meant he had to come in for his pit stop when ordered. When Hamiltion’s radio did eventually come back on, it was revealed he could have driven longer on his first set, which would have meant fresher tires at the end and even more preassure on the Ferraris.

      Yeah, props for returning the position. This begs the question, what’s the point of a circuit where it’s imposible to over take. Did anyone manage this without blue flags?

      1. You raise a good point about the fresher tyres and radio issues, however some days things just don’t go the way one plans.

        In regards to the set up issues, this has been happening all season for Lewis. I have noticed he always seems to be flying in first practice but whilst other drivers cars evolve his car doesn’t seem to do so, it’s quite a peculiar situation.

        In regards to giving up the place it is more remarkable, since he couldn’t have had a few more championship points, a podium and there was a chance if they didn’t get it right he could have even lost a further place to Verstappen.

        1. Justin (@boombazookajd)
          30th July 2017, 15:13

          Really have to hand it to Lewis. That was not something I expected from him at all. It really grinds me the wrong way to say this but I have to give him a bit more respect for that. Now if he could lose the dramatic melancholy attitude and that hideous nose ring…

          1. @boombazookajd – my sentiments, exactly!

          2. I agree, not a Hamilton fan, but respect to him for handing the place back to Bottas (even if it was team orders).
            We know that Vettel would NEVER ever do that

          3. HAM would have NEVER done it with ROS .. likely ROS wouldn’t have given it up to begin with

      2. ‘If Hamilton’s car HADN’T had those basic set-up issues ‘…….some of
        these really great comments would be much more readable. Quite clearly
        grammar spelling and particularly syntax don’t count for much these days,
        but their lack don’t ‘alf make readin’ an’ understandin’ some o’ these
        comments pretty bloomin’ ‘ard !
        ( and yes….I am quite aware that many F1 Fanatic commentators do
        not have English as their first language, and that there is also a very
        strong undercurrent of rejection of correct grammar among the
        young, but it don’t ‘alf ‘elp when wot’s writ meks sense ! )

        1. The post is grammatically and syntactically fine, and perfectly understandable — as Kwaw wrote, Hamilton has a rather poor history of evolving setup this season. So the present tense: “… car didn’t have those basic setup issues” is more than reasonable.
          You want to put it in the past tense: “… car HADN’T had those basic set-up issues” which implies the problem will not happen again. Perhaps you work for Mercedes as their in-house crystal ball gazer?

          1. Oh yes…… @paul-a, you guessed right ! I work for
            Mercedes Benz Inc.in their Myth-Making Department. It’s my
            job to make sure all the myths they need created about their
            Brand Image Department are all of uniform size and colour.
            It’s tough work but extremely well paid.

            Sadly, as we clearly perceive syntax and grammar from
            opposite ends of the social spectrum it will soon be
            necessary to declare total war on each other and hurl
            insults about everything to do with F1.

            Now where did I put my tin hat ?

      3. And if Vettel didnt have any problems he would have had an easy race win. Hamilton messed up qualy (again) all by himself. He did not pass anyone at the start and was lucky Verstappen got penalized out of the way for him or else he would have been stuck behind a Red Bull all race.

    4. IT WAS BOTTAS THAT GIFTED HAMILTON- Hamilton would not have passed him.

  2. 7/10.

    Vettel’s problems kept the race interesting, even though there weren’t many overtakes.

  3. Intriguing team race. Hamilton the winner, letting Bottas back past. Kimi should have won, Ferrari letting Vettel win. And Red Bull… no excuses for Verstappen, but he was punished enough cause the penalty arguably cost him a chance at the win. Very interesting dynamics. Fun season this.

    1. Even though Ferrai gave Vettel the win, you could argue they maximised the teams points today.

      Letting Kimi through early would have allowed Hamilton to overtake Vettel. They absolutely nailed the strategy.

    2. @hahostolze I think Ferrari should’ve let Kimi past to guarantee the win. They didn’t, and Kimi didn’t take action hence Ferrari did not let Vettel win, Vettel won by being doing just enough to keep Kimi at bay.

      1. Justin (@boombazookajd)
        30th July 2017, 14:39

        IF you watched live timing, there wasn’t a single point where Lewis was lapping considerably faster than Seb OR Kimi. Kimi also never had the pace to pass Seb. Flat out, Seb had control of the race; start to finish. Kimi played a team role, as he should have being the hardest car to pass. If Ferrari had let Kimi pass Seb, it likely would have been a 1-4 or 1-5 even for Ferrari.

        Ferrari had it under control and clearly gambled a bit, but they should be commended for their tactical and strategical planning this time.

        1. @boombazookajd I agree, but we can only say that in hindsight with the fact Vettel now won the race. Back at lap 40 it didn’t look like Vettel would even finish the race in the top 5. Hence I said Ferrari should’ve let Kimi past then to guarantee the win instead of just waiting for Bottas and Hamilton to overtake both.

          Looking at it now they gambled right and Vettel won, so it’s easy for you to say the above.

          1. Justin (@boombazookajd)
            30th July 2017, 15:17

            No, its not easy. I watched live timing lap by lap. It was evident as the laps turned that Lewis didn’t have a magic 1 or 2 second advantage. Ferrari was never presented with hard evidence that Merc was going to catch AND PASS. They caught, and they had Kimi in second to provide an air disruption to Lewis. Had they swapped, Lewis could have easily (possibly) passed Seb and then hunted down Kimi. But Ferrari got it right. They won. It wasn’t an accident, they did gamble but he who dares, wins eh?

        2. @boombazookajd actually on the 51st lap Hamilton was two tenths of a second faster than Vettel, and only slightly less faster than Raikkonen.

          The pace was there, just a case of a little too late.

          1. Justin (@boombazookajd)
            30th July 2017, 15:15

            2 tenths is nothing and on lap 51 Lewis was 2 seconds and more behind Seb. I don’t even know why that matters when Lewis needed to pass Kimi and NEVER mounted a proper attack. Seb and Lewis often traded 1:20’s and 1:21’s as the race progressed.

      2. Simon (@weeniebeenie)
        30th July 2017, 14:43

        This track basically guaranteed the win, they did the right thing.

      3. Ferrari want both crowns… The WDC and WCC.

    3. @hahostolze Kimi tried to win, he almost got Vettel at the start but the track wouldn’t allow for much more. RB had no chance to win, they went for the normal strategy they had good pace but it was only because of Ferrari’s problems and traffic on Lewis.

    4. Simon (@weeniebeenie)
      30th July 2017, 14:40

      Verstappen was not going to win that race, you can’t just deduct the 10 seconds and say he’d be first, he would’ve been stuck behind cars just as everyone else was.

  4. Props to everybody at Mercedes. Lewis giving back the position was a nice touch.

    Good race but people can’t overtake in Hungary…

    1. There was NO tension because the best cars/drivers combination of the day “Kimi or Lewis” didnt win because of no overtaking..don’t understand all the tension comments!!!

      1. Shaun Robinson (@)
        31st July 2017, 9:48

        +1. Some people were kidding themselves that an overtake was possible thought there was tension. Other people who knew that it was never going to happen felt that it was boring and predictable. I was in the latter category hence rated it a 4/10.

  5. 8/10 Quite an enjoyable race, although the track layout really robbed us of an amazing race with amazing battles. +1 for an Alonso fastest lap! Who would ever have guessed?! Not to mention finishing 6th as well.

  6. Great race !!! BEST Results.

  7. Hats off to Mercedes. Love this team. I just wonder whether Kimi was holding back there. Anyone surprised by how quick Lewis was today? I did not expect that pace from him from what happend during practice. 8/10

    1. @krichelle not surprised by Hamilton’s pace on the soft tyre based on Friday’s running. It went wrong for him yesterday with tyre issues and messy Q3. Although the Ferrari was blistering Vettel / Raikonnen and Hamilton all had similar race pace today on the Soft’s, possibly Hamilton’s Merc edging it with the Ferrari better on the Supersofts. Bottas nowhere today unfortunately.

  8. Also, respect to Hamilton for letting Bottas through!

    1. Justin (@boombazookajd)
      30th July 2017, 14:36

      I want to find out if he was ordered to do that or if that was of free will, if it was the latter I have to honestly give a huge amount of respect to Lewis.

      1. GtisBetter (@)
        30th July 2017, 14:37

        yeah, it was agreed. Bottas let Hamilton through to try and get Kimi, if he couldn’t he would give the place back.

      2. It’s both — he was ordered but how often have drivers ignored such an order.
        I didn’t think he would and was very happy that he proved me wrong.

      3. Clearly Justin you are at a loss for words because of your illogical hatred, even if it was team orders Lewis still could have disobeyed because he risked Losing a further place to Max if they didn’t get the swap right. But Lewis chose to do the right thing regardless. Please give credit were it’s due.

        1. Justin (@boombazookajd)
          30th July 2017, 15:21

          Do some reading through the thread. I have no idea where you find my illogical hatred. Thank you for your input sir but I’ve already handed Lewis the credit he deserved. I was merely musing on whether than move was ordered, and has since come out that he did it on his own. A very surprising move for someone involved in an extremely tight battle.

          1. I have done some reading through the thread, when you can explain why exactly his nose piercing, for example, has anything to do with his racing. I will accept that I am mistaken.
            His life choices are up to him, do you expect him to live up to your standards. In fact I respect Hamilton for being his own man and not a sterile characterless figure, whilst I accept that some kind of decorum is expected (including refraining from foul language and driving into others when you are angry) I do not believe that drivers should be expected to be these ‘clean’ individuals that we are too often misled into believing they should be.

            I apologise to everyone else for talking about matters other than the actual sport, but it is annoying that all too often when some detractors find that they can’t pin anything on the driver in the way he performs in the sport they turn to petty things like dress, place of residence or body art.

          2. Justin (@boombazookajd)
            30th July 2017, 16:01

            you clearly lack a nose for humor

      4. I’d be surprised if it was an order. The gap between HAM-BOT was greater than BOT-VER, so a team boss is unlikely to give that order and risk losing WCC points.

        Bear in mind that when Hamilton was given 5 laps to overtake Kimi around lap 52, Bottas dropped back something like 4 seconds. At the time they gave Hamilton another 5 laps to execute the overtake, Bottas hadn’t really closed down that gap.

        1. Hamilton was at risk from VER and also was stuck behind VER for 32 laps all the while VER got a penalty….

          VER should have been given a 10 second stop go instead, which has to be taken within 3 laps after getting it. That would have freed up Hamilton earlier and would effectively convert to a two stop (with the ‘stop go’ they can’t work on the car of course) and VER would subsequently not have been so close to the lead. That would have been a more appropriate penalty for what VER did to RIC as well.

      5. Hamilton admitted he couldn’t overtake and asked if he could let Bottas past around ten laps from the end, so I think it’s fair to say he did it of his own volition rather than because he was ordered.

      6. @boombazookajd

        Hamilton came on the radio and asked the team if he could have a go at Raikkonen saying if he failed to overtake he would give the position back. Mercedes agreed and gave him 5 laps to try an overtake. Then they gave him 5 more. And after that they were a bit worried about Verstappen closing in on Bottas.
        Kudo’s for Hamilton for giving the place back right at the end. Toto was NOT happy with that.

    2. petebaldwin (@)
      30th July 2017, 14:58

      Surely just as much respect is due to Bottas for letting Hamilton through in the first place?

      1. @petebaldwin indeed! Good team play between them at the moment….

    3. How can you respect team orders? It’s sad.

  9. A very boring circuit.
    The race had no history. Just like a train in a hot summer day.

    1. A curious view, I must say.
      The race had a ton of history.

    2. Justin (@boombazookajd)
      30th July 2017, 15:22

      Do you even F1 bro? I mean…really…do you even know anything about F1?

  10. A potential great race destroyed by team orders. 1/10

    1. @idmjungle I don’t quite follow. Mercedes were the only team who did team orders, and it added more to the race if anything.

      1. Hahaha you think there were no team orders in Ferrari?

        1. @edmarques No I don’t believe so. Raikkonen couldn’t get past because of the track, not because he was ordered not to. What would you have preferred? Ferrari to actually use team orders and let Kimi past?

  11. Gave it a 5. So much potential, quite fun but again the cars can’t follow. They really need to allow ground effects and reduce the complexity and angles of the wings.

      1. Yeah, just like the last one I gave it a 5, nothing going on , a procession interrupted by nonsensical team orders, no overtaking at the front, how could it possibly be any near an 8??

        1. I think the team orders were spot on, Bottas was clearly struggling and it was the right call to let Ham through, ultimately he gave the placer back so I think all was fair play. As for Ferrari, they judged it right, Vettel 1st and Ham 4th and a 1 2 couldn’t really have gone better for them.

    1. Paul (@frankjaeger)
      30th July 2017, 15:04

      100% a race with great potential, but destroyed by the regs

    2. Justin (@boombazookajd)
      30th July 2017, 15:23

      definitely agree. Simplify that front wing and lessen the cars dependency on undisturbed air.

  12. 4/10. Tense race, but the fact that the leading cars couldn’t even get within DRS range without suffering from turbulence more or less ruined it.

  13. Very poor ‘race’ if one can call it that. What is the point of drivers closing the gap then being unable to overtake.

    Looking forward to how some are going to react to Lewis giving back the place to Valterri Bottas (was the right thing to do), which is a little set back for Lewis’s title challenge.

    I think Ferrari’s tactics show that they have a no.1 driver so much so they were prepared to let both cars get passed by the Mercedes just to increase the chance if Vettel winning.

    1. Hamilton was never going to overtake the Ferraris. They didn’t need to let Kimi past to guarantee the win as a 1-2 was already basically guaranteed given the track layout.

      1. Justin (@boombazookajd)
        30th July 2017, 14:55

        exactly. If anyone watched the timing screens as the battle unfolded it was apparent Lewis didn’t have the pace advantage to mount a proper overtake.

        1. @boombazookajd it was interesting watching Hamilton try though, fascinating watching his lines as he closed into Raikkonnen using trying something different to keep his front wing even partially out of he turbulent air. Anyway the combination of the 2017 aero and Hungaroring made it impossible.

          Was interesting to see Verstappen fly up to Bottas then just hit a wall of turbulent air unable to keep the gap below 1sec.

          1. Justin (@boombazookajd)
            30th July 2017, 16:10

            The battle was really exciting! Hamilton really made it a show and tested the Ferrari’s, their strategist, and the drivers. Now we see why Kimi is called the Iceman…not a wrong move in a time where a misstep would have been duly punished by a charging Lewis.

    2. Justin (@boombazookajd)
      30th July 2017, 15:02

      No. Sorry about your feelings but this is the FACT of what happened.

      Ferrari was faced with a decision; put Kimi in the lead, guarantee (if you can even say that) a win, and leave Seb to the wolves. So lets evaluate this. Had Seb been left to fight Lewis, it’s quite likely that he would have been passed. It’s also likely that he would have been passed by Bottas as well, and Max at the end. With this decision, yea the Kimi fans would see a Kimi win finally (though orchestrated by team orders, not real pace). It’s also likely the Scuderia would have a 1-5 finish, the Mercs likely filling the podium and instead of 39 points down, they are even further behind.

      By leaving Kimi behind Seb, they placed a buffer that Lewis could not pass and as the race went on, Lewis’s brakes overheated and he needed to back off. Seb controlled the pace, every once in a while he dipped into the 1:20’s, much like Lewis did. Kimi did his job holding place in 2nd.

      All in all, the Scuderia did an amazing job making a well educated and level headed decision (yes, some guts too; in front of both bosses) to protect the 1-2 and the maximum amount of points before the summer break.

      1. I’m not sure why you think that Lewis would have gotten pass Vettel if Kimi was let through. You’ve also said Vettel and Hamilton where lapping with similar times. Those are conflicting theories. If Vettel’s steering became really problematic causing him to slow more, Kimi would have been able to take him fairly easily.

  14. I thought it was quite exciting. Very tough to overtake though. I think Räikönnen tried to overtake Vettel but despite his problems did not manage.

    1. So had they swapped positions, wouldn’t it have been the same situation the cars following in the dirty air would have struggled to get past Vettel’s car instead. However with places switched surely Raikonnen would have had a chance to pull away since he had more pace than Vettel, thus greatly increasing the chances of a Ferrari win. However with the Mercedes within the DRS zone (and yes at times they were, it is staying close and trying the pass that is the issue) a small mistake by Raikonnen would have meant that Kimi would have been overtaken leaving Vettel with steering issues more likely to be passed too. Although the strategy did work, it was more risky than letting Raikonnen through and I am sure the motive wasn’t so much about ensuring a Ferrari one two but more about meeting conditions as stipulated within the on of their drivers contracts.

      1. Justin (@boombazookajd)
        30th July 2017, 15:44

        I think Ferrari probably knows better than you…and lo! Ferrari secured the 1-2… they made the correct call.

        Also if Kimi’s position hinged on no mistakes (which he made none of, because he is the Iceman after all) then why put Seb who had a messed up steering situation and would have fared better on a NASCAR track in front of Lewis?? The latter decision makes no sense and therefore corrupts your entire argument to put Kimi in front.

        Unless you are motivated by your obsession of Lewis who could have picked off Seb easier than Kimi, gained points and ultimately the championship lead by what would have been a purely illogicaly and idiotic strategic call by Ferrari…

  15. 6/10 – Really boring first 30 laps, but a very exciting second half of the race!

    1. Justin (@boombazookajd)
      30th July 2017, 14:54

      They pretty much are all like that…for a reason. Typically you see a scramble at the start for a few laps, the cars settle in and drivers put their heads down until the first stops. Typically that last third or half in this case is the exciting part. Really really rare we see an exciting race throughout the race.

  16. 5/10 This is combination of the track and aero rules that makes it impossible to race it on the track. You know its impossible when a Mercedes can’t even get into DRS zone of a car that lap about as quick as the McLaren. Still kudos to Vettel, Raikkonen, Hamilton, and Alonso for doing the best racing they could in their position. Bottas and Verstappen is relatively underperforming though.

  17. Good race, these 2017 cars are annoying though. Well done Hamilton for giving the place back, he had and knows he had Bottas well beaten here on race pace, 8 secs ahead before giving the place back and duelling with Raikonnen, that team work should payback later in the season with the team shuffling Bottas when needed.

    Great weekend for Vettel, awesome quali and managed the race very well. He was probably the cork in the bottle with Raikonnen and Hamilton faster but leant on the car when he needed to secure the win. Also good for Ferrari in the WCC clawing 16 points back vs Merc. Kimi has been excellent in the last two races showing his old pace.

    Thumbs up for Alonso good race, that McLaren would be a great car with a decent PU.

    Max…absolutely amateur collision with Ricciardo shades of Maldanado completely unnecessary.

    1. @ju88sy, I wouldn’t blame the 2017 cars in particular, because the circuit configuration means it has always been extremely difficult to overtake. Even the very first race there in 1986 saw very little overtaking, and Boutsen famously held Senna off in 1990 – even though Senna was much faster than him – having intentionally gone into that race weekend with the goal of scoring pole position and then relying on the difficulty that other drivers would have in trying to pass him as his way of securing the win.

  18. Amateur move by Verstappen ruins Redbulls best chance to maximise points for the season.

    Ric rightfully upset over it.

    Hat’s off to Hamilton for giving the place back to Bottas.

    Rated it a five. Not a lot of excitement but not horrible either.

  19. ILuvSoundtracks (@)
    30th July 2017, 14:42

    7.

  20. Simon (@weeniebeenie)
    30th July 2017, 14:42

    5/10, no real tension or excitement because you knew nobody could overtake, as has pretty much always been the case with Hungary.

  21. The first part of the race was straightforward and boring, but then it got alive from the pit stop phase onwards.

  22. I gave it 8…..its a track that is easy to collide than overtake…as it was proved….tensions in Red Bull in the future could be interesting, and I am sure Max knew what he was doing clashing with his team mate….possibly costing the team a good chance of a win…..and though not the race…had to love the Alonso picture on the deckchair…

    1. Justin (@boombazookajd)
      30th July 2017, 14:51

      The deckchair painting was a great sign in F1, seems like things are a bit more laid back and it was a comical moment in a typically boring and gray atmosphere. Loved it.

    2. I am quit sure Max didn’t want to hit his teammate as he said during interviews he made an mistake in turn 2

  23. Rate the what?

    Can a group of cars circling a piece of tarmac like this be called a race? We saw Verstappen make a mistake on lap 1 and a Haas mechanic make a mistake in a pit stop. Nothing else happened. If a Ferrari 1.5s off the pace cannot be attacked by its closest challengers, if the important decisions are not taken behind the steering wheel but behind a desk in the pits, what’s the point anyway. Poorest showing so far in a poor season anyway.

  24. Neil (@neilosjames)
    30th July 2017, 14:47

    Steady gaps throughout the field, no interesting strategies, one good overtake that I can remember (Alonso on Sainz)…

    Even the ‘close race’ at the front in the final stint wasn’t exciting to me, because there was no real possibility of a change of position happening without one of them making a sizable mistake. That wasn’t at all likely, and without the chance of an overtake, watching three cars driving round between one and two seconds apart doesn’t push me anywhere near the edge of my seat.

    For the most part it was a very boring procession, rather than a race. Don’t think it was the worst GP of the season so far, but it’s on the podium.

  25. 8 for me… kimi winning the race would be a perfect 10…

  26. Justin (@boombazookajd)
    30th July 2017, 14:50

    8/10. Not a ton of overtaking but there was plenty of suspense for 20+ laps. I wonder what Honey Badger could have done had the Flying Dutchman not punted him off.

    Mad props to Lewis if he willingly gave that position back, I did not expect that and may have not have done it myself, given the 14 point gap now.

    Also mad props to Ferrari for that gutsy call to maintain the 1-2. Live timing showed Lewis never had a significant performance advantage that genuinely put the 1-2 in doubt. Had Seb traded, he could have very well been caught by Lewis, Valterri, and Max. So for those who believe Kimi should have just been handed the win, recall the often repeated line “The leader (Seb) was in control and did what he needed to do” Just like Lewis has said on MANY an occasion (like Abu Dahbi 2016). Ferrari had the timing in front of them and if you followed along on the timing screens from F1.com, it was evident that Merc wasn’t able to mount a proper overtake from Lewis or Valterri. Great job to the Scuderia, who often makes very poor tactical and strategic calls.

    This was a great race without the bumper car action before the summer break!

    1. Willingly gave the place back?

      Err, are you suggesting Mercedes cut off his power by some remote control device? Even if they instructed him to do so, Lewis returned the favour by slowing down so of course he did it willingly, but I am confident he did it of his own volition as he said he would earlier. Please give credit were it is due.

    2. petebaldwin (@)
      31st July 2017, 12:40

      This comments section contains lots of people congratulating Lewis for giving the place back but i still haven’t found one congratulating Bottas for giving the spot up in the first place.

  27. Tracks where it’s difficult to pass should have more than one pitstop, I just found this race frustrating.

    1. Can’t wait for Singapore and Suzuka later on this year. I’m just so fill of anticipation for those races after Lap 1.

  28. Well done Alonso :)

  29. with virtually no chance of any competitive overtaking this was a dull race, vettles steering was borked but RAI still could not ovetake and while faster than RAI, Ham could not get past him either, it was pointless watching the last half.

    While I am pleased for PDR getting a drive, the praise from the SKYF1 commentators was sickening, he was last, lapped and slow and they were talking as if he had just hopped in the car and driven it to a podium.

    1. Justin (@boombazookajd)
      30th July 2017, 15:06

      IIRC, he was in front of the Saubers when he retired. Di Resta had not been in a race in F1 in 3+ years and here he drove that car well, stayed out of the wall and did all he could until the car broke. It might as well have been a podium for him. I didn’t see the Sky broadcast but is it so wrong for them to praise him? Palmer had an entire year of experience in 2016 and is still sending cars into the barriers.

      So yea, I think Di Resta did a damn good job.

      1. Nope. He was dead last when he retired.

        1. Justin (@boombazookajd)
          30th July 2017, 15:39

          better than you, me, or Maldonado would have done. But I do stand corrected.

    2. had just hopped in the car and driven it to a podium.

      Only the last 3 words there was wrong though

  30. 8…

    Hungary produces 2 types of race. Tension inducing edge of seat racing and terrible boring processions. This time it was a great race, tension from Vettels handling issues and Hamilton pushing hard on the back of Raikkonen for the final 20 laps.

    Credit for Hamilton for returning the position back to Bottas on the final corner.

    I did feel the stewards were harsh on Verstappen for the penalty, especially given that Grosjean got slammed hard on the first corner (hard enough to lift the car) and Alonso and Sainz on the restart, both of which were no worse than that of Verstappen.

    1. Evil Homer (@)
      30th July 2017, 15:25

      Stewards harsh on Max after that clumsy move??? Really. Have another look at it.

      He actually didn’t get just no penalty but was rewarded for that move. Clawed back point’s on his team mate

      1. @evilhomer

        And Bottas got P2 for crashing into Raikkonen at Baku…
        And punted off Raikkonen and Verstappen in Spain. No penalty whatsoever.

        If you think this was a deserved (or even a lenient) penalty than why was Bottas not penalised?

    2. Justin (@boombazookajd)
      30th July 2017, 15:38

      no worse? Verstappen punted his teammate off! He had just avoided slamming in to the back of Kimi and clearly wasn’t settled in as he slid into Dan. Really though, are we going to keep making excuses for the kid? Maybe this move didn’t require a 10 second penalty, maybe his weaving all over God’s creation last year did. Or perhaps it was the running off track and coming back out in front in Silverstone…or maybe someone, somewhere, just needs to settle the kid down so he can reach that potential of his.

      Making excuses for him isn’t going to settle him down. It will only further embolded him to do dumb stuff. Ricciardo was right, immature and stupid. You can’t win a race on the first lap, but you can lose it. Imagine if he didn’t have that 10 second penalty…

      1. @boombazookajd

        You can’t win a race on the first lap

        On tracks like Hungary, Monaco and Singapore it’s pretty much the only chance. I think Verstappen realised if he let Ricciardo passed there Ricciardo would definitely finish in front of him. I also think he underestimated the lack of grip from his left front tyre which had picked up dirt from the run off at turn one. How many times have we seen Verstappen do a lock up like that? I can’t remember any other instance. Regardless, he braked too late, understeered, went full lock but couldn’t avoid his teammate anymore. A stupid mistake, yes. But let’s not make it seem like he deliberately tried to ram off his teammate here.

    3. As an Max fan i ma say he deserve that penaulty as he took out an other car so 5 seconds for causing an colkision and the other 5 seconds for taking out the other driver.

  31. 9. Just for how well Alonso did :D

    1. His overtake alone is worth half a point.

    2. He worked since into it. “Back to back you say, kid? Oh I’ve got a second DRS”.

    3. Justin (@boombazookajd)
      30th July 2017, 15:35

      the beach painting and his embracing of it easily made the day

  32. 6. Tense, but the end result just doesn’t capture which car/driver combo was the best.

    1. Justin (@boombazookajd)
      30th July 2017, 15:08

      can you elaborate? Are you suggesting that Ferrari, the team that put both cars on the front row was slower than Merc?

      Spoiler alert, the leader needs to win the race as slow as possible. Lewis had said this over and over again, especially against Rosberg. Ferrari controlled the race, Merc tried to catch and pass. In the end, Merc only caught up and didn’t pass. Not even with DRS.

      1. It was a Red Bull.
        Probably the one with more orange.

        LOL

      2. @boombazookajd
        I think he’s trying to say Raikkonen was the better driver today. Which isn’t true as Vettel was pulling away until he got a problem with his steering wheel. After that both did a great job of bringing home a much needed 1-2. because in the end the Mercedes is still the faster car. Ferrari maximized on a weekend where Hamilton (once again) struggled in qualifying. But I fear the advantage Mercedes has will mean Hamilton will score a few more easy race wins from pole and take the championship lead.

      3. Yeah… Kimi 1st, Seb 2nd, Lewis 3rd and Bottas 4th would’ve been the most appropriate ranking.
        And yeah, Vettel was doing great before his car had a steering wheel issue, but that’s exactly why I came up with the “Car/Driver” combo explanation to begin with.

        And my meta-point is about the near-impossibility to overtake in Hungary. Don’t get me wrong — I’m pretty sure the drivers absolutely love this track, but with the current state of F1 cars, overtaking there is absolutely a chore.

  33. Not sure what to make of this race, there was a good deal of suspense throughout but ultimately very little on-track overtakes and positions only really gained through messed-up pitstops.

    7/10 for me

    1. Justin (@boombazookajd)
      30th July 2017, 15:09

      or a turn 2 shunt.

  34. Lewis spent more than 10 laps trying to overtake a teammate who the moment he got through was more than a second faster in the first lap with no DRS and a compromised entry into T1. Imagine what he would have done if the radio was working(and he was allowed to go a bit longer, although that would have been compromised by VES ahead of him) and he was allowed to attack the Ferraris much sooner.

    This race gets a very weak 2, almost a 1 really, for VES taking out RIC (the one man who would have taken no prisoners down into T1: Remember the lunge down into T1 on ROS in 2015) thus getting a time penalty for himself taking him out of the fight for the podium, and the tedious nature of this track. I guess now I can plan other things for the Singapore and Suzuka races after Lap 1 of those races because those might be as processional as this race.

    1. I’m actually looking forward to Singapore this year; with the big fat cars, stronger drivers will shine towards the latter stages… If they can avoid each other with the fat-tired, wider cars.

  35. With Mercedes radio going mute and Seb’s issues, this was red bull’s 1-2 to lose.

    I’m schadenfreude-ing all the way home.

  36. This one is a bit hard to rate. On the other hand, the race was rather tense, at least the latter part of it. Then again, we all knew that this is Hungaroring and it is simply impossible to overtake here, meaning the result was decided early on barring any technical issues.

    Ended up giving it an average 6/10.

    1. Justin (@boombazookajd)
      30th July 2017, 15:34

      but were the technical issues not enough? Lewis had no radio and Seb had a car setup for the Indy 500….with no guarantee that his steering would even hold up…

  37. didnt enjoy it, im getting so grumpy with the sky commentator trying to inject some note of excitement into the top 4 overtaking when I think most of us knew they can hardly get into drs range let alone get past.

    Interesting to see Ham as hes grown I think a few years ago he would have kept the 3rd place.
    Would have given Kimi driver of the race but he lost it, just 1 sec during the pit stops and he would have come out in front but instead I give it to Alonso, hes such a great driver.
    Happy holidays! cant wait for a real racing track in Belgium.

    1. Neil (@neilosjames)
      30th July 2017, 15:28

      I half suspect that commentators (not just the Sky ones, but they’re the ones I watch too) have been instructed to try to talk things up and ‘create’ drama when races are dull. Felt a little bit sorry for them in Sochi, and again here…

      1. @jackobite @neilosjames I get frustrated with that aspect of the commentary too! It feels so disingenuous. It’s the same with the way the pundits talk up going to places like Russia, Singapore, Abu Dhabi etc because they have the circuits dressed up well, but then the following week admit that they know that the races are always boring there

  38. Adam (@rocketpanda)
    30th July 2017, 15:28

    By no means a classic but a good tense little race. Impressed with Hamilton giving 3rd back to Bottas – I never expected him to do that. Also impressed Vettel was able to hold onto the lead given how bad his steering had become. Definitley a bit of an own goal by Red Bull though.

    Good, if unspectacular.

    1. Justin (@boombazookajd)
      30th July 2017, 15:32

      +1

  39. I am over the moon that we have gotten rid of the high degradation Pirelli tyres. 2017 tyres are soooo much better! The old tyres did however seem to liven up what has always been an extremely difficult circuit on which to pass, we’ve probably been spoilt over the last few years. For me this race was heading for a 4-5/10, until Vettel’s issue brought Raikkonen, Bottas and Hamilton into frame, the intrigue boosted my score, but when it became clear that we weren’t going to be able to get a reasonable attack from a driver behind due to how difficult it was to follow, I had to stop at 6/10. Looking at the bigger picture, for me the 2017 changes have in general brought better racing on a whole, so I’ll take the odd dull one like this, if we get races more like Spain 2017 etc. I’ll still welcome more ground effects when the regs eventually get rewritten

    1. The 2017 regulations have removed most of the racing from F1. Most races this year have been like this one: boring. The high-deg tyres at least masked the over-reliance on aero. Spain 2017 was nicer than most this year, because there was high tyre degradation (caused by the track surface). Your positive attitude towards this (very very poor) season is probably caused by the fact that there’s more than one team that can win. Now imagine a situation with two or three winning teams that can actually race each other for position. So bringing back high deg tyres just might inject some life into these extremely dull 2017 processions.

      1. @leo b

        Now imagine a situation with two or three winning teams that can actually race each other for position

        I think everyone would love this!

        bringing back high deg tyres just might inject some life into these extremely dull 2017 processions

        That would bring the drivers back to driving significantly within their own ability/limits to baby the tyres. We need a greater proportion of ground effects so that they can race hard and closely

        1. I fully agree aero need to be fixed.
          Regarding nursing the tyres, did you notice that the first 4 cars were way off the pace today, about 1.5s/lap for most of the race? I mean if Alonso, who was only 300 meters clear of being lapped (and was a full second off in qualifying), did the fastest race lap on tyres that had completed 35 laps, then the Ferrari’s and Mercs could have gone much faster. If you found this race intriguing then a little tyre saving shouldn’t be a problem.

  40. 5/10. Between a rather boring run up until the pitstops, to hardly anyone being able to follow within the second, to rather obvious team orders, I didn’t really care for this as a race. Happy for a Ferrari 1-2, but not the most stylish win.

    Loser of the race has to be Max, he punted out his team mate, got a penalty, so that’s a lot of points lost for his team and himself. How he didn’t pass Bottas is beyond me, but that makes it all the more impressive that Hamilton gave the place back.

    This track has thrown us a handful of exciting races, but mostly they’ve been like this. I hope they manage to find a spot to sweeten the track a little for F1 cars one day.

  41. LOL at all of the people rating this 8 or 9 out of 10! :-) How would you rate a genuinely exciting race? ;-)

    1. @downwithdrs 10? (which maybe wouldn’t fairly represent the actual gap in excitement, but still….)

  42. Listening to Sky commentary is getting sickening. The double standard they have when comes to Mercedes using team orders and Ferrari using team orders is utterly unbelievable. Imagine for a second, the teams were swapped and Raikkonen had gave up his podium for Vettel. They would have crucified Ferrari for doing that.

    Lewis did the right thing today. I was impressed with him, but it’s hard to watch a race when you have a commentary team that is so invested in one guy. If you can, go back and watch Sky’s coverage of Hammy’s engine blow up in Malaysia last year, the utter disappointment in Crofty’s voice is clear. If you watch back Channel 4’s coverage of the same race, Ben Edwards had me feeling like it was Murray Walker calling Hakkinen binning it in Monza ’99. Yes, I know Murray himself was a bit of a homer, re: Damon Hill, Japan ’96.

    Race was 6/10. Enjoyed parts but found myself continually shaking my head at comments made by Crofty and Sky’s team. Clearly as the season progresses the chances of Hammy losing another title are getting to their heads.

    1. Justin (@boombazookajd)
      30th July 2017, 15:56

      It’s no secret that Sky, in particular Crofty, has a solid one for Lewis. Though, us Americans have a pretty uninformed crew on NBCSN, consisting of an old senile man, an out of date mechanic, and a relatively exiting Leigh Diffy. Will Buxton is NBCSN’s saving grace. Now if we could just pair him with Anthony Davidson…

      1. The Dutch commentator said:
        “The 10s penalty for Max is ridiculous. Ricciardo retired with a radiator issue, it’s not like he was rammed out of the race”.

        I have to live with that kind of stupidity.

        1. Justin (@boombazookajd)
          30th July 2017, 16:19

          ouch.

        2. That’s not what he said. He said Bottas got away with worse and the stewards are not consistent.
          And he was right.
          Max deserved a penalty imo nevertheless, but maybe not 10 seconds. For 10 seconds you can ram your car into your opponents car, twice, behind a safetycar.

          1. Simon (@weeniebeenie)
            30th July 2017, 20:38

            10s stop and go (Which Vettel got) and 10s time penalty are NOT the same thing. 10s time penalty costs you exactly ten seconds, whether you take it before a stop or added at the end. 10s stop and go must be done in the race, and can’t be combined with a pit stop, so it’s going to cost you 20-30 seconds, depending on the track.

          2. Dear Hank,
            Yes he did say it. About 30 minutes into the race on Lap 18, Mr. Mol has a rant about Hulkenberg and Sainz not being punished and then literally says:
            “Als je nu hetzelfde doet voor iedereen, dan is het niet zo erg. Tuurlijk het gevolg is anders. Het is einde wedstrijd voor Daniel Ricciardo. Maar die einde wedstrijd situatie is gekomen omdat een radiator lek ging, niet omdat hij eraf gerost werd.”

            Translation for our non-Dutch speaking friends:
            “If you do the same for everyone, then it’s not so bad. Of course, the result is different. It’s the end of the race for Daniel Ricciardo. But this end-of-race situation came about because a radiator started leaking, not because he was rammed off the track.”

        3. That comment from the Dutch commentator show’s a special kind of stupid.

          Even Max himself admitted he made a mistake.

      2. @boombazookajd

        LOL. That description. Dear lord.

        It is just a symptom of pay-tv. The Dutch, when we got our own F1 pay-channel had the same problem. Some cheap freelancer that was previously most known as an presentor/voice-over for Japanese game shows on Comedy Central (not making this up) offered to do the races cheap from a broom closet, you could often hear people in the background in the closet whispering to him if something on screen happened. They tried to put Dutch F1 ex-drivers next to him to save him, but after MSM started reporting of petitions to remove him they just put the old pundit from the free open network on the pay-channel, but now they’re back at defending Max no matter what and this pundit carries much more weight so Max never gets questioned at all. Which is ridiculous.

        Don’t like this trend across networks.

        1. Justin (@boombazookajd)
          30th July 2017, 16:24

          @xiasitlo Us Americans get a weird experience because we have 3 Brits explaining F1 to us in a very dumbed down fashion, as if each weekend there is an entirely new audience completely uninformed of how F1 works. Sometimes I can catch a Sky broadcast and I can stomach Brundle and Kravitz. The NBCSN team is relatively balanced and fair, though they really kept harking on Ferrari to swap positions. I was watching live timing and wondering where they were getting the evidence from. Certainly, it upped my blood pressure but as I studied timing and scoring, it became very apparent that they were ramping up the excitment for nothing. Maybe that is good for those uninitiated Americans though.

    2. BBC radio had the same bias. If the roles were reversed (Hamilton with a car issue leading Bottas with the Ferraris attacking behind in 3rd & 4th), I really don’t think they would be saying that the team should instruct the race leader to let the 2nd place car go as they were suggesting Ferrari should consider doing.

  43. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
    30th July 2017, 15:49

    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the Ferraris are unpassable.

    As for Vettel and Kimi, they should have finished 60 seconds ahead of the Mercedes in this race and probably many other races.

    As Lewis showed, he would have finished 30 seconds ahead of Vettel in the Merc if he didn’t have to pass them and 60 seconds ahead of him in a Ferrari…

    1. Justin (@boombazookajd)
      30th July 2017, 15:58

      Seriously? Where do you get those numbers from?? I’m a Ferrari fan and there is no way that Ferrari would have EVER finished a full minute up on Merc in any race, let alone this one. I don’t think Merc finished a full minute up on ANYONE at ANY point of their dominant years of 2014-2016.

      I mean…where does ignorance like this come from?

      1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
        30th July 2017, 23:35

        @boombazookajd Well, no one ends 1 minute in front because they don’t need to do that. They turn the engine down to preserve it. I believe Hamilton has had some 20-30 second leads at times half way through a race. It’s fine to be ignorant as long as you are capable of learning and you don’t profess to know everything :-)

  44. I think we’ve been spoiled in recent memory with the Hungarian GP, I don’t especially remember 2011, but we got fairly memorable races from 2012 onwards. This was back to historic form. A bit of a charge from Hamilton and Verstappen stopped me actually falling asleep so I’ll give it a plumb average 5/10

    1. Agreed @philipgb this is a track that it’s so hard to overtake on that it seemed fine to have cheese tyres there

  45. 4 (actually a 2 but that Alonso ending had me on the floor). It was not exciting, even with 20 lap fresher tyres you could not overtake. (I keep saying buy the circuits extend the straights, Istanbul park is a fine example of how a track should be) The only thing I saw was Palmer getting overtaken on a 40 lap gap. I think Alonso had the only genuine overtake on Sainz?

    The suspense was just because Vettel had some problems. And even then the overtakes were mostly team-orders. Verstappen and Ricciardo accident-free would’ve not even added a few more points. Apart from Verstappen no team tried a different tactic and he did it risk-free as he lapped Alonso in his pit window.

    I really think if you give this race a 6 or higher you should take Alonso’s advice.

  46. Justin (@boombazookajd)
    30th July 2017, 16:18

    @xiasitlo so extend the straights…so we can see more highway passes? That’ll fix F1 for sure! And please highlight who had 20 lap fresher tires? Max’s softs were a handful of laps fresher than Bottas’ but not 20. This race was an example of excitement without overtaking. You aren’t going to have an overtaking fest on this narrow track mate, you need to learn what to expect from each track. Drama caused by car failures is still drama, can you not appreciate the fact Seb had to drive that car with a dramatically canted steering system for 50+ laps? Under pressure from his teammate AND Kimi… appreciate the fact Kimi had to be flawless in his defense of 2nd place from Lewis and was. Appreciate the fact we (well, some of us) were completely blown away by Lewis giving 3rd back with a 5 second gap.

    How did you expect the teams to “try something different?” Red Bull likely only tried something different because Max punted his teammate off on the first lap. Before that they likely would have 2 stopped, going super-soft-supers to the end. They looked especially racey. Otherwise, neither Ferrari nor Merc had the tire allocation to do anything other than a 1 stop.

    Yea, we have overtaking issues, this is old news. Learn to appreciate the sport for what it is. You’re constantly going to be upset if you think each race is going to be dramatic overtaking. It just isn’t in the cards mate.

    1. Justin (@boombazookajd)
      30th July 2017, 16:27

      @xiasitlo P.S. I did not mean to imply you havent watched F1 before, or that you do not know F1. So don’t take “learn” as an affront to your knowledge of the sport. I’ve felt the way you do, and wanted quit F1 but I’ve just learned to accept some races are 8’s and 9’s based off overtaking, some are 8’s and 9’s based on strategies and some races are just 3’s and 4’s (like every Russian GP ever). I’ve come to be at peace with what F1 is.

      1. @boombazookajd

        I already gave an example in my first post? = Istanbul Park shows it doesn’t have to be a highway. I’m not for Shanghai straights. I’m for technical parts that end in just long enough straights like Suzuka’s 130R, Yongnam’s turn 16, or Istanbul parks Turn 8/9, 16 to 19 on COTA (maybe a little bit longer) or most parts of Thunderhill Raceway Park. I said that already. I don’t even like highway straights like Sepang for example…? Your reaction to that seems harsh, if I understand, you even don’t like those straights but if you don’t like Istanbul or for example Suzuka back straights, care to explain please?

        I didn’t meant Bottas Kimi mate, that was 8 laps. I was pointing at Palmer.
        Kimi and Lewis both reported they could’ve at least extended their first stint.

        If you’re happy with what you saw perfect, good for you. But I’ve also watched this sport for decades and, I’ve seen many formula’s, this one has fast cars, but we are still driving on half the same tracks as in 2000 (and I’m not even counting Silverstone and Hockenheim included as the tracks are altered significantly). You could battle on every race back then (with smaller cars). I just don’t think it’s healthy to know; you go to Hungary, if its hot, don’t expect to overtake and focus on the strategy (which can be fine), 2012 for example is one of the best seasons of the last decade and had the Aero problems although less, as the tyres were worse then, so it was already known to the FIA.

        Yes, I’ve wanted to quit F1 as well, but when I watch some of the better seasons even the worse weekends there had 1 great overtaking and nowadays you should be lucky if DRS makes that happen on circuits like these.
        So I don’t accept because I know that history has proven it to be better before.

  47. 3.

    Compared to the GP3 & F2 cars, the aero rules destroy close racing – the GP3 & F2 boys managed some really good overtakes on a “non-overtaking” circuit. Some really good ones not on Corner 1.

    Vettel’s lack of pace meant no-one in front 4 was able to push and aero prevented anyone getting close.

    No jeopardy other than car failures, which should never be the measure of a good race.

    Dull, dull, dull.

  48. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
    30th July 2017, 17:43

    One for thing is for sure – my DVR can skip ahead a lot faster than these Formula 1 cars can:-) I think I skipped 50 laps or so.

    I could have actually scripted the whole race yesterday although I didn’t see the Verstappen-Ricciardo collision.

    Bottas did Kimi’s job at the start of the race today – Kimi is going to buy him dinner :-)

  49. A boring race and a manipulated result. Luckily we have an exciting championship battle.

  50. If only these cars were capable of actually racing each other in close quarters we could have had a much better race. In the end it all fizzled out because nobody was able to get close enough to pass. Still, with a few drivers at least showing race winning potential made gave the race some suspense, even if this turned out to be in vain

  51. 10 out of 10 for the 1st time since Monaco. 4 time this year as Bahrain and Australia were 10 as well. In fact today and Monaco were 11 out of 10.

  52. :D so entertaining race. My 9 yearold watched entire race with me. So it must have been interesting.

    It just shows you do not need overtaking for a good race. I gave it a 9.

  53. 7/10

    Gutted that Danny was taken out. I really bargained on Red Bull mixing things up at the front. I enjoyed the tension towards the end. Would anyone attempt a ballsy dive? Will anyone make a mistake? Will Vettel even finish the Race? Will Ferrari swap their cars? Not every race can be filled with lots of overtakes! The suspense is what made it. Sure it was no ’14 or ’15 but hey, at least there was a bit of tension keeping me on the edge of my seat.

    Kudos to Vettel for keeping in front with dodgy steering and Kimi for not making a single mistake when under pressure. So far this year Ferrari not issuing team orders kept my respect for them higher than for Merc but, that said, my respect for what Merc and Hamilton did giving the place back to Bottas! It was very unexpected and I tilt my hat to them for sticking to what they said they would do. Big kudos to them!

  54. 2/10 – Another F1 snoozefest. Watched highlights on C4, could well have just skipped from Lap 1 to lap 69 and wouldn’t have missed anything.

    Only missed out on a 1/10 because of Hamilton giving 3rd place back to BOT, great sportsmanship.

    Looking forward to Spa when they return !

  55. Well, I just scored the race as a 10 out of 10. But the race I was watching was the F2 Feature race. It had everything the F1 race lacked; plenty of drama prior to the start, loads of overtaking all through the field and a final, drastic denouement at the end. Once again F2 trounces F1 for racing entertainment. I urge you to seek it out and enjoy!

  56. Anticlimax

  57. Shaun Robinson (@)
    31st July 2017, 9:51

    Best race of the weekend was the F2 feature race. That was tense, close fighting at the front, there were incidents and actually had overtaking!

  58. First lap 8 points. After removing Max from his position between the two Mercedes, i tuned to another channel. 0 points, boring.

  59. I thought it was an okay race, while watching I felt some tension – in the sense of – will Raikkonnen indeed hold, will Vettel’s steering get worse or will he be able to keep the win; will Hamilton keep up trying, hm, Verstappen is getting close to Bottas, what’s happening there, and will Hamilton even be able to swap back, if he wants to? I also loved Alonso getting that fastest lap too.

    I’d say, while I predicted quite wrongly, had I been able to see FP3, I’d probably should have expected something like the race result we got, though I hadn’t counted on Verstappen’s zeal ;)

  60. A largely uneventful and predictable race I gave it a 5.

    Although the Hungaroring has delivered some good races in the past given the nature of the circuit I did not have high hopes for this Grand Prix. Before it started I thought that the order after the first lap would be the order at the end, at the front at least, unless a driver had problems or there was something like a safety car, and that is how it panned out.

    I noticed some describing it as a gripping and tense race but I can’t agree with that in the slightest, although there were a couple of overtakes further down the field at no point in the race did I think that there would be an on track change amongst the leaders.

    Given the running order and the time gaps there wasn’t even a chance for someone to try the undercut strategy at the pit stops.

    If Verstappen had not received a penalty for taking out Ricciardo on the opening lap there may have been a chance for some position changes if he had tried the undercut on Bottas or if Hamilton had tried the undercut on Verstappen, but given the 10 seconds penalty due to be added to Verstappen’s pitstop that option was ruled out.

    Vettel had some car problems but he still had enough pace to easily control the race and was never troubled as he had his teammate behind him, Raikkonen seemed to be quicker but not by enough to make a move, although I am not sure how much Ferrari let their driver’s race in situations such as this especially when it is Vettel who challenging for a championship.

    Bottas was slower than Hamilton in the second stint of the race on the softs and he let him through to attack the Ferraris but although Hamilton closed the gap to Raikkonen fairly quickly he struggled to get in DRS range let alone attempt a pass.

    I have to say credit to Hamilton for giving third back to Bottas at the end, although he said he would if he could not get past Raikkonen, given how far back Bottas had fallen back, and that Verstappen had closed up to Bottas after delaying his pitstop and so having fresher tyres at the end, I was not sure if Hamilton would give the position back or if Mercedes might tell them to stay as they were given the championship battle.

    As engine performance is not so important at Hungary McLaren expected to have their best race of the season so far, but given their reliability record nothing was guaranteed, so it was nice to see them get both cars in the points for the first time this year. I also had a little chuckle when Alonso was sat on a deckchair after the race on top of the mural of him sat on a deckchair, with the sign wishing everyone a happy holiday.

    With the form Mercedes has shown in recent races it seemed that they had unlocked the full potential of their car and were set to dominate again, but this weekend showed that it is still tight between Mercedes and Ferrari and that Red Bull have closed the gap, it seems that it is still circuit dependent on who has the quickest car on a particular race weekend.

    Even though Bottas again had a better weekend than Hamilton, I still think that in the end the championship will be between Hamilton and Vettel and that it will be which team wins the development race as to which driver wins the title.

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