2008 Grand Prix of Hungary, Kimi Recovers 3rd

Heikki Kovalainen took a shock first Formula One victory in the
Hungarian Grand Prix after the dominant Felipe Massa suffered an engine
failure with three laps to go and Lewis Hamilton fell back with a
puncture.

The late drama allowed Timo Glock to take his maiden podium in
second place, as the Toyota driver fended off Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari
in the closing stages. Although Hamilton had dominated most of the weekend, it was Massa
who surged to the front as soon as the lights went out at the start.

The Ferrari immediately passed second place qualifier Kovalainen,
then drew alongside Hamilton on the outside into Turn 1. Massa then
locked up both front wheels as he braked extremely late for the corner,
but managed to turn in ahead.

Massa then managed to edge away slightly in the first stint, and
although he stopped one lap ahead of Hamilton at the end of their first
stints, the Brazilian’s lead had been sufficient to keep him in front
after the stops.

Hamilton lost more time when he emerged behind Fernando Alonso and
Raikkonen, who had yet to stop, and was running four seconds behind
Massa and not catching the Ferrari when his left front tyre developed a
puncture on lap 37.

The McLaren ran wide onto the Turn 5 run-off and had to cruise back
to the pits, falling to 10th in the process, although the team were
able to fuel Hamilton to the end of the race and he duly gained places
as others stopped.

The incident left Massa with an ample lead over Kovalainen, who had
been unable to keep up with the two leaders and only closed when Massa
eased off in the closing stages.

With Kovalainen too far behind to challenge, Massa seemed set to
take a well-earned victory and jump back into the world championship
lead, only for his Ferrari engine to erupt in a cloud of smoke as he
passed the pits with just three laps to go.

The devastated Brazilian came to a halt near the pit exit and was
left to walk back to the garage as Kovalainen swept past to inherit an
unlikely first win – making him the 100th driver to take an F1 victory…(read full race report here)

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team                      Time
 1.  Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  1h37:27.067
 2.  Glock         Toyota                (B)  +    11.061
 3.  Raikkonen     Ferrari               (B)  +    16.856
 4.  Alonso        Renault               (B)  +    21.614
 5.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  +    23.048
 6.  Piquet        Renault               (B)  +    32.298
 7.  Trulli        Toyota                (B)  +    36.449
 8.  Kubica        BMW Sauber            (B)  +    48.321
 9.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault      (B)  +    58.834
10.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber            (B)  +  1:07.709
11.  Coulthard     Red Bull-Renault      (B)  +  1:10.407
12.  Button        Honda                 (B)  +     1 lap
13.  Nakajima      Williams-Toyota       (B)  +     1 lap
14.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota       (B)  +     1 lap
15.  Fisichella    Force India-Ferrari   (B)  +     1 lap
16.  Barrichello   Honda                 (B)  +    2 laps
17.  Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)  +    3 laps
18.  Massa         Ferrari               (B)  +    3 laps

Fastest lap: Raikkonen, 1:21.195

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                      On lap
Sutil         Force India-Ferrari   (B)    63
Vettel        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)    23

I said yesterday to keep the faith, and Kimi scores a podium as I knew he could! It looked like it was too late to push for Kimi and because of Massa’s disappointing engine blow up that was the reason Kimi backed off Glock. But we saw how fast Kimi caught up to the Toyota and was determined to pass him for the final podium place. It was another frustrating race for the Raikko and his fans, and no doubt many of them who were in Hungary today were happy to see him on the podium after a long time. But I assume it was more frustrating for Massa and Ferrari that his hard-fought for win was cruelly taken away from him with just a few laps to go. It was also weird that we had 3 consecutive splashes of fuel hose fires during the first pit stops. The heat in Hungary finally helped Ferrari but not to the level they hoped despite Lewis’s tyre puncture from debris.

The race start was straightforward and there were no accidents, but we can all agree that the shock of the race was Massa’s bold drive up to Hamilton into turn 1 and then taking the lead from 3rd on the grid. Kimi on the other hand had a poor start again being passed by the car of Alonso’s, though his get away looked good. But this was just like in Hockenheim. He started heavier on fuel and paid his price for the poor qualifying. Then the nightmare followed – being stuck in the mud at the Hungaroring. Kimi tried to close the gap and it looked very promising before the first pit stops however both he and Alonso pitted together and Alonso only just kept infront of Kimi, by the width of a hair it seemed. Then the same story continued – Kimi was struggling for clear air with a car that’s already been struggling with it’s owner. The time came around again that Kimi came close behind Alonso but then all that effort was ruined by a slow Torro Rosso who held up Kimi signifcantly and the ground was lost yet again. Everyone will say Kimi wasn’t bothered again as usual, even our special guest ITV commentator for this weekend Damon Hill was adamant that Kimi was a classic case of giving too little too late. Kimi’s issue is in qualifying, not the race. But because of the added difficulty of overtaking, qualifying problems do carry though into the races. And at Hungary, what can you do? There were no overtakings in today’s race apart from the start lap. Someone please remind me if there was any overtaking further down the field (apart from guys coming out the pitlane). Alonso and Piquet did a really good job for Renault, special thanks to Alonso for keeping Kimi up! Grrr!

No one expected McLaren to have difficulty this weekend, even I assumed today would have been a walk in the park for the Silver team. I couldn’t have been more wrong! Poor Hamilton had yet another tyre related issue and had his race ruined. Otherwise, he was doing well and kept up with Massa, though it has to be said that this Ferrari was quicker. You can’t help but feel for Massa, especially after letting Lewis past in Hockenheim two weeks ago, and that he was really eager and determined to turn his championship around. Obviously we Kimi fans can sympathise with Massa, because we all know too well that kind of disappointment. It really isn’t nice at all. It was a relief for McLaren that Kovalainen remained intact and in the right position to inherit the win, but you’ve got to admit…Heikki is better than inheriting his first win from another’s misfortune. Congratulations to him anyway!

Timo Glock! What a drive, he’s quickly becoming a favourite of mine. He’s really lifting up his game from a not so good start to the season, and Toyota are finally showing where their investments are going. Glock looked like another relieved man, having a super fast and racey world champion getting off his back. I was so desperate for Kimi to pass Glock though – can you blame me?! Kimi was literally flying, I couldn’t believe how fast he looked from the cameras. That was definately the fastest I’ve seen anyone go in the Hungarian track all day. Not surprising it was Kimi, but it does leave you and even probably the man himself wondering "What the hell?" Ferrari, please, do something. Even Kimi doesn’t know that’s the real issue, as he mentioned in the interview posted yesterday. Maybe it’s a cry of help, but ever since Spain Kimi hasn’t been comfortable. And that can’t be because he isn’t bothered. He isn’t going to come out and say to the team or media "Er, who’s the world champion in here? so where’s the goods?". But the truth is, the goods aren’t working for Kimi and they’re working for Felipe. I guess it’s a kind of karma that Felipe suffered something since he inherited Kimi’s dominant win from France. Kimi’s ahead of Felipe in the championship now and is only 5 away from Lewis.

We’ll go through more things tomorrow in the Post GP Stats and Analysis post as usual but that’s all for now. I have to express how stupid ITV are, they didn’t even bother showing the press conference at all, despite it being Hamilton’s ‘helpers’ first race win. Pathetic. You can read the press conference here though or watch it’s video. I hope everyone enjoyed the race though, and a special shout out goes to those who were in Hungary today to cheer on our Iceman. He did eventually give something back for us to cheer about and I can’t express how happy I was to see him on the podium again, smiling with Heikki etc, hence the kiss mark on Kimi’s face in the photo above! I hardly had any time to follow the weekend but today gave me something to smile about and no doubt there’s a sense of relief in Kimi’s camp. Enjoy the holidays Kimi – I bet he can’t wait to get home and be back with his wife for their anniversary. Keep Flying Kimi!

| Race Quotes, Kimi: "Must improve qualifying for better results"

"I think we could have done the race a little bit better but we were
stuck behind Alonso," said Raikkonen. "I was stuck behind him until the
second stop so it was a bit late by that point. I had a good car and I
was able to catch Timo but I had to back off in one moment.

"We were a bit lucky with some of the other guys. We have the speed
but if we cannot get qualifying then we will have the same problems. We
have to sort it out.

"If we can be in front we can fight for wins. The guys did a good
job but we need to fix the problems and for sure we can be back in the
hunt for wins."

"Unfortunately we needed to back off (with Timo Glock). We were much faster, like with
Alonso but it is so difficult. It is very difficult to get past, you
need something special in one corner. Unfortunately I could not pass
him. Third place in the end, after a difficult weekend for me, was a
good result."

Ferrari Team Quotes

Felipe Massa – DNF: "It happened completely without
warning, without giving the slightest indication. I was managing the
race, because I had a good advantage over second place after Hamilton
was delayed with a problem and I was taking no risks whatsoever.

"I am very frustrated at the moment, because today we had a great
car and we had done everything perfectly until just a few kilometres
from the finish. Unfortunately, racing can be a cruel sport. We had
given it our all, but these things can happen. Now we must not give up,
but instead we must react quickly. There are seven races to go and 70
points up for grabs, which means there is plenty of time to make up
ground. Our rivals are strong but we have shown we are at their level."

Kimi Raikkonen – 3rd: "I am sorry for Felipe and
for the team as it is horrible to lose a race in this way. It was tough
for me because, when you spend a long time behind a slower car it
becomes frustrating and boring. When I was finally able to push, the
car was behaving very well, but by then it was too late. I came up
behind Glock but in the end, I had to slow as I had a mechanical
problem with the rear end and the team told me to be very careful to
ensure I brought the car home.

"It’s true that I’m the one who has won the most points out of the
top three in the classification, which shows this championship is
really unpredictable, with ups and downs for everyone. It was a
disappointing weekend for me but, at least I managed to come away with
a decent result. We must try and fix the problems we have in qualifying
to start at the front, so as to exploit the potential of the car. If we
can do that, then we can get back to fighting for the win." (More Kimi quotes can be read in the press conference here.)

Stefano Domenicali: "Today we showed the worth of
our team and our drivers, but we lacked the total reliability which is
absolutely vital. Felipe drove possibly the best race of his career and
we are very disappointed about what happened to him just a handful of
kilometres from the end. He made an amazing start, attacking at the
right moment and then he was comfortably managing his race in the final
stages heading for a well-deserved victory.

"Kimi’s race was compromised by his poor qualifying result
yesterday: when you start further back it’s hard to climb up the order.
He was stuck behind Alonso for much of the race, but when he finally
had a clear track ahead of him, he showed all his and the F2008’s
potential. We have to react to this negative moment in our usual way:
with grit, determination and with everyone playing their part. We have
three weeks of hard work ahead of us to be as well prepared as possible
for the European Grand Prix."

Luca Baldisserri: "It hurts to see a car stop with
a failure just a few laps from the end when you are solidly in the
lead. It’s a real shame, because Felipe drove an extraordinary race: a
perfect start, always a fast pace and a great management of the
situation in the final stages. Kimi was behind Alonso for two thirds of
the race and only when he had a free track ahead of him was he able to
show what he can do.