Hungarian GP Results

McLaren's Jenson Button won a thrilling Hungarian Grand Prix that was won and lost on tyre strategy as the race was affected by intermittent wet weather.

Button fitted prime tyres at his third stop before the rain fell and he passed team-mate Lewis Hamilton for the lead.

Hamilton pitted six times, including a drive-through penalty, but passed Mark Webber's Red Bull to finish fourth.

Red Bull's championship leader Sebastian Vettel was second with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso third.

Button marked his 200th grand prix by recording his second win of the season at the Hungaroring, where he claimed his very first grand prix victory six years ago.

Remarkably, the 31-year-old Englishman is the only man to win an F1 race at the track in wet conditions - the only two races to have been hit by rain since the inaugural race in 1986.

"This is the first place where I won a grand prix, in 2006, in these sorts of conditions," said Button.

"I'm always lucky with these conditions. You are not always going to make the right call in these conditions but I feel I'm pretty good at making the right call when it comes to tyre choices - but I'm not the only one.

"We had good pace today and I was able to make the soft tyres last.

"The reason why we won today was because we were quick. If it didn't rain it wouldn't have made any difference."

Vettel recovered from some early mistakes to comfortably take second on a three-stop strategy and he now leads the championship by 83 points from team-mate Webber. When you need a man with a cool head, Button is the man with a sixth sense
BBC F1 commentator Martin Brundle


"The start of the race I was struggling on inters and I tried to keep Lewis behind but it was important to move away from the pack behind," said Vettel.

"The second stint overall was a little bit better and the last stint I felt the pace was there, [but] I had some issues with the brakes.

"It was more important to bring the car home but all in all it's fair to say that Ferrari and McLaren on race pace in the last couple of events have made a step forwards."

Hamilton goes into the summer break third in the championship, 88 points behind Vettel, with Alonso one point back in fourth and Button remaining fifth, 100 points adrift.

Button had run behind Hamilton, who had passed Vettel for the lead, in the second phase of the race after jumping Vettel at the first round of stops.

But when Hamilton opted for the soft tyres at his third stop, Button followed the example set by Webber and chose the prime tyres.

That decision was crucial when the rain fell just over 20 laps later and the two McLaren drivers swapped the lead several times before Hamilton dived back to the pits for intermediate tyres and Button sailed off into the distance.

BBC F1 commentator Martin Brundle said: "When you need a man with a cool head, Button is the man with a sixth sense. It was difficult conditions for us but we reach another podium and that is a good target for each weekend
Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso


"Button brilliantly won the Hungarian GP. He was the class of the field but supreme steel was seen this afternoon as the drivers had to cope with extremely difficult conditions."

After a strong start, Hamilton threw his race away with the decision to fit soft tyres at his third stop.

His lead was already in jeopardy before the rain fell as both Red Bulls and Button had chosen the harder tyres and were aiming to get to the end of the race while Hamilton would have had to stop again.

When the rain came Hamilton at times struggled to control his McLaren and he made the decision to stop again for intermediate tyres. It was a decision team chief executive Jonathan Neale later said was down to the 2008 world champion.

As the wet weather faded away, Hamilton's decision proved to be the wrong one and he quickly returned to the pits to finish the race on prime tyres.

A drive-through penalty for rejoining in front of Paul di Resta's Force India after a spin put him behind Webber, but he was able to use his fresh tyres - with a little assistance from the congested midfield pack - to pass the Australian for fourth.

"Jenson was pushing me hard the whole race and the better man won today," said Hamilton.

"I was struggling a lot with the graining on my left front tyres. I don't know whether that was my fault by pushing too hard."

On the decision to change to intermediates tyres, Hamilton added: "It wasn't necessarily the best call, but that's motor racing. We can definitely say the team has done a fantastic job and for us to have been the most competitive cars this weekend means we go into the break in good spirits."

Alonso had chosen a similar strategy to Hamilton, also opting for the soft tyres on the third stop as he attempted to get past Webber, who had been holding him up since the first stops. But he quickly dived back to the pits for hard tyres as the rain fell and took third.

The Spaniard was satisfied with the result after finding himself overhauled by the two Mercedes' off the line and delayed in hunting down the Red Bulls by a slow second stop.

"This is good again for us," said the double world champion. "We expected hotter temperatures and more problems with degradation for our main competitors.

"It was difficult conditions for us but we reach another podium and that is a good target for each weekend." There was a small explosion on the left of the car. I never saw anything like that before
Renault driver Nick Heidfeld


Ferrari's Felipe Massa battled back from a difficult race to finish sixth behind Webber. The Brazilian was followed by Di Resta, who collected his first points for Force India since Malaysia.

Nico Rosberg, who found himself fourth on the opening lap, settled for ninth. His Mercedes team-mate Michael Schumacher retired after spinning off the track.

Toro Rosso celebrated their 100th grand prix with both drivers in the points. Sebastien Buemi finished eighth with Jaime Alguersuari 10th.

There was a dramatic moment when Nick Heidfeld's Renault caught fire coming out of the pit-lane, although the scary incident was not deemed dangerous enough to bring out the safety car.

The German explained: "The pit stop took longer than it should have and something overheated.

"I had a fire in Barcelona as well but this one got quite close and I felt some heat so I had to get out quickly. There was a small explosion on the left [of the car]. I never saw anything like that before."

source: bbc

Great race. Button was brilliant.

My driver of the day? Button or Di Resta

Di Resta is really growing on me. Another great drive from the lad and I have high hopes for him.

Not sure what is happening to Vettel, Red Bull need to sort out the issues.

First time I've watched F1 in years today,really enjoyed the race thought it was great.

Excellent race. Shame Lewis spun and tyre choices (whether its the team or his call). I reckon he'd would have been on the podium had he not spun.

Well done to Button for the win and a great scrap with Lewis.

Im glad Vettel didnt win though he still extended his lead of the championship.

Cant wait until Spa, which is my personal favourite track. Shame its 3 weeks away :-(

So Vettel hasn't won for something like 5 races, but the chasing pack are just about as far behind as they were before. Everyone else it seems to be a case of one good race, one bad race (Button having 2 wins and 2 DNFs since Vettel last won), while SV keeps collecting reasonable to good points.

Of the bits I've seen, it looked like another good race - Heidfeld's car failure was a bit dramatic wasn't it?

What's happened to Renault? They were clearly 'best of the rest' early in the season but seem to have gone backwards relative to Mercedes, FI, even Torro Rosso (in race pace at least - TR are hopeless in quali).

So Hamilton should of won, going onto super softs for the last stint was a shocker by the team (as expected really by whitmarsh and his bunch of amateurs), seeing as button came in 2 laps later and put the softs on!

the thing that annoys me is that button winning just puts another nail in the coffin in terms of this season. the guy can only win in changeable conditions. everyone in formula 1 knows that in dry conditions button cant compete with hamilton, alonso and vettel. Vettel understands he can basically finish 3rd all season with relative ease n pick this title up now. I dont rate vettel at all and finally everyone is coming round to that fact and realising that it is the car which will lead him to his second world title. Webber is a disgrace and anyone who backs this guy is an embarrassment. the guy is sitting in the best car for the last two years and his last win was over a year ago (tht is shocking should be ashamed). basically he needs to step aside n either let lewis sit there or bring back kimi, otherwise next season will be a copy cat

so in evaluation, button winning and webber n hamilton failing has just basically ended any hopes. button is useless, i've even seen qoutes from him this morning stating that his target is to beat vettel on a race by race basis lol!!!!!!!!!!! (get real jenson, seriously)

Nice to see another dignified Hamilton fan.

John wrote:So Hamilton should of won, going onto super softs for the last stint was a shocker by the team (as expected really by whitmarsh and his bunch of amateurs), seeing as button came in 2 laps later and put the softs on!

the thing that annoys me is that button winning just puts another nail in the coffin in terms of this season. the guy can only win in changeable conditions. everyone in formula 1 knows that in dry conditions button cant compete with hamilton, alonso and vettel. Vettel understands he can basically finish 3rd all season with relative ease n pick this title up now. I dont rate vettel at all and finally everyone is coming round to that fact and realising that it is the car which will lead him to his second world title. Webber is a disgrace and anyone who backs this guy is an embarrassment. the guy is sitting in the best car for the last two years and his last win was over a year ago (tht is shocking should be ashamed). basically he needs to step aside n either let lewis sit there or bring back kimi, otherwise next season will be a copy cat

so in evaluation, button winning and webber n hamilton failing has just basically ended any hopes. button is useless, i've even seen qoutes from him this morning stating that his target is to beat vettel on a race by race basis lol!!!!!!!!!!! (get real jenson, seriously)

EJ was questioning whitmarsh about that too. Asking when will button win a dry race lol I agree button winning has taken points from the 2 closest drivers to vettel.

Also, it was only a week before the race that button was saying he's given up on the title - so i read. So thats a complete U turn. IMO the only way button will beat vettel, is if Vettel doesnt finish the rest of the races in the points and the other top drivers, lewis, webber, Alonso dont score either.

A very optimistic thing for him to say,

@John If you were even contemplating that anyone other than Vettel could win the drivers championship before this race then you were wrong.

And don't tell me Button can't win a dry race. Doesn't anyone remember 2009?

2009 2009 oh yeah 2009 when he did have the best car, undeniably. Button does struggle when its dry, you cannot go against that, youve seen it for yourself. Other drivers out perform him in the dry. In the wet, he's no better or worse at driving, but his "apparent" ability to predict the weather pays off for him. I would be interested in knowing who made the call on tyres for both button and lewis. Isnt it odd that Whitmarsh promised button a come back, and look what happened. Odd calls on tyres for lewis and correct one for button, strange.

The WDC is Vettels to lose, end of. It will take a miracle for him not to win it... though stranger things have happened.

Didn't Hamilton ask to come in? or atleast agree with the team whilst Button wanted to stay out.

As it was Button would have won even if it stayed dry because he had the softs on to the finish and Hamilton still had to pit to go onto the primes. Give the guy some credit, Hamiltons better in the dry but not by much and you've gotta admit JB is excellent in difficult conditions. Probably the best out there.

i dunno. True Lewis had to come in again anyway, it would depend if he could get a gap for the pitstop. WHich to be honest was unlikely.

Sorry but Button isnt that close to the likes of Lewis or Alonso in the dry. In the wet Lewis spun ones cos of worn tyes on a slippy kerb. Button went and wide numerous times (turn 2 mainly), so sorry but even his ability to drive in the wet is debatable. As for his strategy calls in changable conditions yeah sure he makes some decisions, which he benefits well from. But that doesnt make him on the same level as other drivers. Plus if it had been lewis or even alonso that made the right call it wouldnt have been mentioned.

One good thing about the F1 moving to Sky, no more BBC licky licky bum bum of Button.

He's not as fast as the big 2 (Hamilton and Alonso) which is the main reason he doesn't do well in the wet. And yes, you can argue that being the fastest driver is the whole point of motor racing but looking after tyres is too which is Button's strength. The day Vettel can overtake more than 2 cars in a race shall be the day Button wins a dry race.

To be fair when does Vettel need to overtake more than two cars? i can barely remember a case this season.

Button and his fans annoy me immensely. Look what happened after a wet Canada. JB qoute 'I'm the man to challenge Vettel'

What happened in the next three races - dry and button got destroyed not only in qualifying but in the races aswell. Ok he has the hydraulic problem in germany but he was over 30 seconds behind. OK he had the poor pitstop error in silverstone but he was like 5th never competing with Hamilton, Vettel or Alonso.

After a win in a wet Hungary - JB qoute 'I'm going to target Sebastian Vettel by a race by race basis' & talking into his radio after the race , 'great win going into the break, lets come back and win them all' LOL!

Everyone knows Spa can be changeable conditions but beyond that race we are entering all the hot humid races. In dry conditions JENSON BUTTON cannot compete and his lack of speed and talent is evident. JB and his fans are totally delusional!

On another note Vettel has this title in the bag but will it go down as really a bodged season like the 09' button season. a dominant car driver wins a load of races, suddenly the rivals catch up or in this case (FIA rule changes harming the red bull) and that dominant driver no longer wins any races but limps over the line. I still to this day cannot believe Vettel is going to become a 2X WDC for doing absolutely no wheel to wheel racing and when he has had to combat other drivers hes failed or crashed

just a load of thoughts there

Button was brilliant in Hungary.

so brilliant that he went off the road twice at turn 2, was put on the correct soft tyres for his last stop, whereas typical mclaren and its amateur strategists decided to put lewis on super softs and completely ruin his race. extremely lucky win from button for people to call him the professor or new prost is ridiculous, actually people should be embarrassed.

Lewis spun. Made a stupid mistake that cost him a drivethrough and chose to go onto inters at the wrong time.

You're as bad as the bbc presenters!

your not focusing in on the vital part of the race which cost lewis before the spin and inter decision. THE VITAL PART OF THE RACE was the third stop to make him go onto super softs compared to his rivals who went onto softs. That my friend is the critical part of the race where mclaren destroyed the race.

At that point it looked like Super Softs would be the way forward. And Lewis probably knew his strategy was to go Inters/Super Softs/Super Softs/Super Softs.

The fact of the matter is that lewis is still way to hard on his tyres

at that point it looked like super softs, funny then that mclaren decided to bring jenson in two laps later for softs. single handely gave jenson the upper hand. i understand lewis later spun but this is due to the fact that mclaren had stuffed his strategy up told lewis to push and try and get himself a big lead (basically get yourself out of the mess we've put you in) and he therefore pushed too much and spun. Jenson didnt drive perfectly wotsoever and lewis clearly deserved to win imo. another point is again lewis gets punished by mcnish BUT how come vettel again doestn get punished for completely missing a turn, gaining 1.5 seconds on a lap. resulting in him setting the fastest time of the particular part of the race. Shocking. He did the exact same thing in Australia if you spotted it like brundle did. stewards are appaling this year.

I also agree lewis is still too hard on his tyres. formula 1 is a conserving your tyres world championship which basically if jenson was writing the rules of f1 in a book, that would be on every page. if we had more durable tyres hamilton and alonso would be lightyears ahead

Vettel should have got punished but he didn't cause another driver to be forced off the road or gain an unfair advantage.

Hamilton did not deserve to win. He drove brilliantly for half a grand prix. The aftermath of the spin could have caused both him and Paul to be out of the race.

ermmm one thing that people seem to forget -

Button may be easier on tyres, BUT that means he also cant get tyres up to temp as good, hence his appalling quali record and general initial lack of pace in races. Bear that in mind.

Vettel should have got a penalty for cutting the corner and setting the fatest lap, once again its total inconsistancy. Lewis maybe earned himself the drive through (for once i agree with the stewards) But at the same time Vettel should have been punished too. ill say it again, no wonder lewis fans thing there are conspiracies again him, they do a good job of making it look like thats the case.

Buttons comments after the race were laughable, lets win the rest. Oh please Jenson, you're inconsistant and not often at the front even if its only a podium finish. Ill also repeat what i said in anotehr thread, its funny how whitmarsh said "we;ll do all we can to help button recover from this slump" and the next race, 2 bad calls on tyres for Lewis giving the lead to Button. lol - you couldnt make it up.
Vettel has indeed got this year wrapped up, it would take one huge fook up for it to turn out otherwise.

finally someone actually understands what goes on in f1 within mclaren. I could go to town on whitmarsh and button and the complete failures of the mclaren outfit this year. Button and his fans are delusional, blinkered and most importantly lack any understanding of the true ability that Alonso and Hamilton have over there JB. Vettel indeed has the title and i fully expect that we will see 09' all over again a limping, wounded championship leader just using his huge lead from early on in the season to wrap up the title. Ferrari i predict will be the big winners in this second half of the season.

i dont understand this whole load of ass lickign the bbc do towards Button, can someone point out what Jenson is or does that Lewis apparently lacks? Is it cos he's had all these "hard seasons at the back" and now he's "earned" his place in a top team and winning car. Where as lewis was groomed by mclaren and straight into one of the best seats/teams. Is it pure jealousy or what?

Button is just above average as a driver and i dont get why all his fans think he's up tehre with LH and FA - he's not! im not saying Button is a bad driver, but he's certaintly not on the higher level of others.

he's like a rat, there waiting to pick up the scraps of another driver goign off, ready to pounce on the crumbs of failure.