Hungary 2009
THIS RACE WAS DOMINATED BY QUALIFYING EVEN MORE THAN IT USUALLY IS. FRONT ROW IS VITAL BEARING IN MIND THE DIFFICULTY OF OVERTAKING ON THIS TIGHT, TWISTY TRACK THAT IS VERY SIMILAR IN CHARACTER TO MONACO - JUST SET IN THE COUNTRYSIDE.
BUT THIS YEAR, FELIPE MASSA WAS HIT ON THE FOREHEAD BY A HEAVY SPRING WHEN HE WAS TRAVELLING AT HIGH SPEED DURING Q2. IT HAD BROKEN OFF RUBENS BARRICHELLO'S BRAWN CAR AND WAS BOUNCING ALONG THE TRACK ON THE RACING LINE. FELIPE'S FERRARI WENT STRAIGHT ON INTO THE TYRE WALL AND. ALTHOUGH ALL THE USUAL SAFETY FEATURES ENSURED THAT HE WAS OTHERWISE UNSCATHED, HE WAS FLOWN TO THE LOCAL HOSPITAL WHERE IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT HIS SKULL WAS FRACTURED IN TWO PLACES.
HE WAS OPERATED ON AND REMAINS IN INTENSIVE CARE UNDER HEAVY SEDATION BUT, THANKFULLY, THE FIRST POST-OPERATIVE BRAIN SCAN CONFIRMED THAT ALL THE SIGNS ARE POSITIVE. A FREAK ACCIDENT, PARTICULARLY COMING AFTER THE PREVIOUS WEEKEND'S FATAL ACCIDENT WHEN HENRY SURTEES, SON OF FORMER F1 CHAMPION, JOHN SURTEES, WAS KILLED IN A F2 RACE AT BRANDS HATCH AFTER A LOOSE WHEEL FROM AN UNRELATED ACCIDENT KNOCKED HIM UNCONSCIOUS LEADING TO THE CAR GOING STRAIGHT ON INTO THE BARRIERS.
INVESTIGATIONS INTO BOTH INCIDENTS ARE CONTINUING BUT, IN HUNGARY, THE RACE FOR POLE POSITION WENT AHEAD. AS IF THE WHOLE THING WAS TOO MUCH TO BEAR, THE COMPUTER TIMING SCREEN FAILED AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE FINAL SESSION. THIS LEAD TO THE CHAOTIC SITUATION OF ALL THE DRIVERS IN PARC FERMÉ CHECKING WITH EACH OTHER'S TIMES DISPLAYED ON THEIR STEERING WHEELS. EVENTUALLY, IT WAS CONFIRMED THAT FERNANDO ALONSO HAD POLE POSITION.
THE RACE ITSELF SAW FERNANDO TAKE THE LEAD, ONLY TO RETIRE AFTER HIS FIRST PIT-STOP WHEN THE FRONT, RIGHT WHEEL CAME ADRIFT. THE WHEEL SPINNER HAD ALSO DETACHED ITSELF AND ENDED UP ON THE TRACK. RENAULT HAVE BEEN EXCLUDED FROM THE NEXT RACE AS A RESULT, ALTHOUGH THEY ARE APPEALING. HOWEVER, I SUSPECT THAT, AFTER THE ABOVE INCIDENTS, THE FIA WILL NOT BE DISPOSED TO ALLOW THEIR APPEAL.
IN A WELCOME RETURN TO FORM FOR BOTH MARQUES, THE RACE THEN DEVELOPED INTO A BATTLE BETWEEN MCLAREN AND FERRARI WITH LEWIS HAMILTON TAKING THE HONOURS FROM KIMI RAIKKONEN WITH MARK WEBBER THIRD FOR RED BULL. SEBASTIAN VETTEL RETIRED WITH BROKEN SUSPENSION FROM A BRUSH WITH KIMI IN THE USUAL TURN 1 MAYHEM AT THE START.
JENSON BUTTON AND BRAWN ARE SUFFERING FROM LACK OF GRIP EVEN AFTER UPDATED AERO PARTS AND DESPITE WARMER AMBIENT TEMPERATURES. HOWEVER, THE LOCAL TEMPERATURES WERE STILL LOW COMPARED TO MOST OTHER YEARS - THE EVENT HAS GRADUALLY MOVED EARLIER IN THE CALENDAR OVER RECENT YEARS (FROM LATE AUGUST TO LATE JULY IN 2009). CONNECTION?
WE AWAIT FELIPE'S RECOVERY DURING THE 4-WEEK F1 BREAK BEFORE THE NEXT GRAND PRIX BUT WHETHER HE WILL BE FIT ENOUGH TO DRIVE IS PROBABLY DOUBTFUL.
STARTING GRID
| | | |
| 1.
|
Fernando Alonso
|
| 2.
|
Sebastian Vettel
|
| 3.
|
Mark Webber
|
| 4.
|
Lewis Hamilton
|
| 5.
|
Nico Rosberg
|
| 6.
|
Heikki Kovalainen
|
| 7.
|
Kimi Raikkonen
|
| 8.
|
Jenson Button
|
| 9.
|
Kazuki Nakajima
|
| 10.
|
Sebastien Buemi
|
| 11.
|
Jarno Trulli
|
| 12.
|
Rubens Barrichello
|
| 13.
|
Timo Glock
|
| 14.
|
Nelson Piquet
|
| 15.
|
Nick Heidfeld
|
| 16.
|
Giancarlo Fisichella
|
| 17.
|
Aidrian Sutil
|
| 18.
|
Robert Kubica
|
| 19.
|
Jaime Alguersari
|
RESULT
| |
| 1.
|
Lewis Hamilton
|
| 2.
|
Kimi Raikkonen
|
| 3.
|
Mark Webber
|
| 4.
|
Nico Rosberg
|
| 5.
|
Heikki Kovalainen
|
| 6.
|
Timo Glock
|
| 7.
|
Jenson Button
|
| 8.
|
Jarno Trulli
|
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Drivers :
| |
| Jenson Button
|
70
|
| Mark Webber
|
51.5
|
| Sebastian Vettel
|
47
|
| Rubens Barrichello
|
44
|
| Nico Rosberg
|
25.5
|
| Jarno Trulli
|
22.5
|
| Felipe Massa
|
22
|
| Lewis Hamilton
|
19
|
Constructors :
|
| Brawn GP
|
114
|
| Red Bull Racing
|
98.5
|
| Ferrari
|
40
|
| Toyota
|
38.5
|
| McLaren
|
28
|
| Williams
|
25.5
|
| Renault
|
13
|
| BMW
|
8
|
| Scuderia Toro Rosso
|
5
|
| Force India
|
0
|
Race Results posted by
David Little
27th July 2009
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