Sunday, July 26, 2009

2009 Hungarian GP: McLaren and Hamilton back to winning ways

Lewis Hamilton and McLaren were back to their winning ways and for the first time this season a non Brawn or a Red Bull car have won a race and a car with a KERS a system which had a development cost between 50 to 100 million won a race. Kimi came 2nd in his Ferrari again a car with the KERS but the main story is about Massa’s crash in the qualifying and his subsequent withdrawal from the race. He has a cracked scull thanks to a part which flew from Barrichello’s car which ended him crashing. Though he is said to be stable, he is still in the ICU and he is in an induced coma. We all hope that he will recover and will be back for the European GP.

Hamilton may have won in style but luck did play a part with Alonso’s pit crew just throwing away the race due to a faulty tire change which resulted in the tire coming of his car and Alonso finally ended up retiring at the end of it. Though Alonso was on a 3 stop strategy, he still could have pushed Hamilton and so could have Kimi if not for a horrible engine stall during his 2nd pit stop which did stall him for a while and cost him precious time but then he did well to come ahead of an inspired Webber and Rosberg who ended up with a late surge.

Red Bull should be disappointed as they had a car which was the best on the track but the first corner where the cars with KERS Kimi’s and Hamilton’s overtaking Vettel just ruined the race for the young German and he finally ended up retiring. This was a track where he could have closed in on Button’s huge lead but instead his teammate Webber suddenly has emerged as a very dangerous rival for Button and if Brawn does not get their cars up to speed, they could well be in big trouble towards the end of the season to sustain the lead they have knocked up in the first half of the season.

Nico Rosberg was just brilliant and he is among the top 5 drivers this year as with a Brawn or a Red Bull, he surely would have won a few races this season and it is not surprising that he is negotiation with big teams like McLaren and BMW for a 2010 drive and don’t be too surprised if he is announced as Hamilton’s teammate for the next season. Kazuki Nakajima should be disappointed to have not finished among points as he fought hard throughout the race and he did deserve a point for his drive in Hungary.

Toyota continue to baffle everybody with their strategy as though they actually have a car which may not be as good as a Brawn or a Red Bull at the early part of the season, but they always had a very consistent car which was 2nd or 3rd fastest throughout the season so far and they continue to somehow miss podium places. The time has come for the team to score a few podium places and even win a race or else they may be out of F1 very soon.

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