Today was my last day in the F1 paddock this year, after what has undoubtedly been the best and most valuable two weeks of my life.
What a race to finish on before the summer break, with a thrilling and action-packed Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring.
Like the previous few days, my morning kicked off at 6:00am to get ready to leave for the circuit. We arrived at the track at around 8:00am, before setting up and heading to Ferrari (again) for breakfast.
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Sunday mornings are fairly relaxed in the Formula 1 paddock, so I was able to complete a few pieces (including preparing pre-race posts) while watching the second GP3 race - which I reported on for RumbleStripNews - and a fantastic GP2 sprint race.
About an hour before the start of the Hungarian Grand Prix, a brief but heavy rain shower swept over the circuit. Several installation laps were completed by the drivers to get to grips with the slippery conditions and decide what tyres to use for the first stint before heading to the grid.
The track was very wet at the first corner, but the rest of the lap wasn't as bad. The whole field opted for intermediates, with Kevin Magnussen, Lewis Hamilton (after his Q1 fire) and Daniil Kvyat - who failed to leave the grid on the formation lap - starting from the pit lane.
With the nerves building, the lights went out and the race got under way. Nico Rosberg had a clean start, with Valtteri Bottas moving up to second and Sebastian Vettel dropping to third.
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It was a relatively clean first lap with plenty of movement up and down the field in the difficult conditions. The only real story from the start was Hamilton's turn two spin, which he put down to cold tyres and brakes.
It was great to see the cars sliding through the corners and the drivers really wrestling to keep the cars on the track.
The safety car was deployed on lap seven after a big shunt for Marcus Ericsson at turn three. He lost control of his car at the exit of the corner, sliding into the wall. The impact registered at 20G but fortunately he was okay.
The majority of the field pitted during the safety car period, with several close calls as drivers exited their pit boxes. Jenson Button and Magnussen re-joined the circuit on a new set of intermediates and despite initially having the advantage, the rest of the pack soon caught up on slicks.
McLaren's decision proved to be the wrong one, with both drivers pitting for dry tyres a little while later, once the race had resumed. Nico Hulkenberg's run of consecutive top 10 finishes came to an end after a rather clumsy move on his team-mate at the final corner.
The two made contact, with Hulkenberg retiring on the spot. Sergio Perez would exit the race a little while later after another big crash, this time at turn 14 after running wide and onto the wet kerb on the exit. He spun across the track and hit the wall, but fortunately he walked away without any injuries.
The media centre is located above the garages, just alongside the start/finish line. The TV monitors showing the race are slightly delayed, so it was quite strange to hear the tyre squeals and crash into the barrier before seeing it on the screen.
The Mercedes AMG SLS made another appearance, with the race restarting shortly after. The drivers at the front of the field pitted for the second time a little while later, with Hamilton dropping to fifth place after benefiting from the earlier safety car periods.
Daniel Ricciardo took over the top spot but he pitted for the third and final time on lap 54, dropping to fourth. He put in a storming drive in the final part of the race to quickly displace Rosberg, Fernando Alonso and Hamilton to take the lead and win the race.
It was a fantastic and popular result for the Aussie, and it was thoroughly deserved. The battle for the podium positions was brilliant and one of my highlights of the race. Alonso just managed to hold on to second with Hamilton recovering from his pit lane start to finish third, just ahead of Rosberg.
Felipe Massa had a quiet run to fifth, with Kimi Raikkonen registering his best finish of the year with sixth. Vettel and Bottas dropped to seventh and eighth, with the former losing time after a spin at the final corner - it was very similar to Perez's mistake, but the four-time champion only lightly hit the wall and was able to continue.
Jean-Eric Vergne and Button completed the top 10 after a thrilling and exciting race. It was a great one to report on, as there was always something going on. In fact, all three races I have reported on from the track have been good, although I would say the Hungarian Grand Prix was definitely the best.
After completing my report and adding the results, I then wrote a few story pieces before then heading off to hear from Raikkonen. Like Friday, there are very few press sessions for print and online media after the race, so it wasn't as frantic as Thursday afternoon or Saturday.
There was still plenty to do though, with lots of driver reaction to get written up and posted, as well as the image gallery. To check out all of my pieces for Richland F1 today, click here.
It was a great final day in the F1 paddock and I very much look forward to returning. The last two months or so have been really valuable and I have learned so much. I feel I am now heading into the summer break as a much better journalist and feel much more comfortable working at the tracks.
I have also really enjoyed the last two weeks on the road for the back-to-back races in Germany and Hungary. Craig and Leanne Boon (from Octane Photographic) and Luke Smith (NBCSN and my boss at Richland F1) have been great company and I have had an awesome time travelling across Europe.
I must say that I have also really enjoyed staying in Budapest. It is a stunning city with some beautiful buildings and a great atmosphere. I would definitely like to visit it again sometime in the near future.
Hopefully you have all enjoyed following my F1 adventures on this blog. Normal service will resume shortly, once I have got home and had a few days to relax and recharge my batteries. It has been a fantastic experience and I can't wait to get back in the paddock.
A big thanks to Luke for giving me the chance to achieve the goals that I have been working towards for three years, hopefully my media passes will be joined by many more in the future!
Other Hungarian Grand Prix blogs:
Thursday - http://bit.ly/1nYqN82
Friday - http://bit.ly/1kfvGPr
Saturday - http://bit.ly/1usddTZ
Like the previous few days, my morning kicked off at 6:00am to get ready to leave for the circuit. We arrived at the track at around 8:00am, before setting up and heading to Ferrari (again) for breakfast.
Sunday mornings are fairly relaxed in the Formula 1 paddock, so I was able to complete a few pieces (including preparing pre-race posts) while watching the second GP3 race - which I reported on for RumbleStripNews - and a fantastic GP2 sprint race.
About an hour before the start of the Hungarian Grand Prix, a brief but heavy rain shower swept over the circuit. Several installation laps were completed by the drivers to get to grips with the slippery conditions and decide what tyres to use for the first stint before heading to the grid.
The track was very wet at the first corner, but the rest of the lap wasn't as bad. The whole field opted for intermediates, with Kevin Magnussen, Lewis Hamilton (after his Q1 fire) and Daniil Kvyat - who failed to leave the grid on the formation lap - starting from the pit lane.
With the nerves building, the lights went out and the race got under way. Nico Rosberg had a clean start, with Valtteri Bottas moving up to second and Sebastian Vettel dropping to third.
It was a relatively clean first lap with plenty of movement up and down the field in the difficult conditions. The only real story from the start was Hamilton's turn two spin, which he put down to cold tyres and brakes.
It was great to see the cars sliding through the corners and the drivers really wrestling to keep the cars on the track.
The safety car was deployed on lap seven after a big shunt for Marcus Ericsson at turn three. He lost control of his car at the exit of the corner, sliding into the wall. The impact registered at 20G but fortunately he was okay.
The majority of the field pitted during the safety car period, with several close calls as drivers exited their pit boxes. Jenson Button and Magnussen re-joined the circuit on a new set of intermediates and despite initially having the advantage, the rest of the pack soon caught up on slicks.
McLaren's decision proved to be the wrong one, with both drivers pitting for dry tyres a little while later, once the race had resumed. Nico Hulkenberg's run of consecutive top 10 finishes came to an end after a rather clumsy move on his team-mate at the final corner.
The two made contact, with Hulkenberg retiring on the spot. Sergio Perez would exit the race a little while later after another big crash, this time at turn 14 after running wide and onto the wet kerb on the exit. He spun across the track and hit the wall, but fortunately he walked away without any injuries.
The media centre is located above the garages, just alongside the start/finish line. The TV monitors showing the race are slightly delayed, so it was quite strange to hear the tyre squeals and crash into the barrier before seeing it on the screen.
The Mercedes AMG SLS made another appearance, with the race restarting shortly after. The drivers at the front of the field pitted for the second time a little while later, with Hamilton dropping to fifth place after benefiting from the earlier safety car periods.
Daniel Ricciardo took over the top spot but he pitted for the third and final time on lap 54, dropping to fourth. He put in a storming drive in the final part of the race to quickly displace Rosberg, Fernando Alonso and Hamilton to take the lead and win the race.
It was a fantastic and popular result for the Aussie, and it was thoroughly deserved. The battle for the podium positions was brilliant and one of my highlights of the race. Alonso just managed to hold on to second with Hamilton recovering from his pit lane start to finish third, just ahead of Rosberg.
Felipe Massa had a quiet run to fifth, with Kimi Raikkonen registering his best finish of the year with sixth. Vettel and Bottas dropped to seventh and eighth, with the former losing time after a spin at the final corner - it was very similar to Perez's mistake, but the four-time champion only lightly hit the wall and was able to continue.
Jean-Eric Vergne and Button completed the top 10 after a thrilling and exciting race. It was a great one to report on, as there was always something going on. In fact, all three races I have reported on from the track have been good, although I would say the Hungarian Grand Prix was definitely the best.
After completing my report and adding the results, I then wrote a few story pieces before then heading off to hear from Raikkonen. Like Friday, there are very few press sessions for print and online media after the race, so it wasn't as frantic as Thursday afternoon or Saturday.
There was still plenty to do though, with lots of driver reaction to get written up and posted, as well as the image gallery. To check out all of my pieces for Richland F1 today, click here.
It was a great final day in the F1 paddock and I very much look forward to returning. The last two months or so have been really valuable and I have learned so much. I feel I am now heading into the summer break as a much better journalist and feel much more comfortable working at the tracks.
I have also really enjoyed the last two weeks on the road for the back-to-back races in Germany and Hungary. Craig and Leanne Boon (from Octane Photographic) and Luke Smith (NBCSN and my boss at Richland F1) have been great company and I have had an awesome time travelling across Europe.
I must say that I have also really enjoyed staying in Budapest. It is a stunning city with some beautiful buildings and a great atmosphere. I would definitely like to visit it again sometime in the near future.
Hopefully you have all enjoyed following my F1 adventures on this blog. Normal service will resume shortly, once I have got home and had a few days to relax and recharge my batteries. It has been a fantastic experience and I can't wait to get back in the paddock.
A big thanks to Luke for giving me the chance to achieve the goals that I have been working towards for three years, hopefully my media passes will be joined by many more in the future!
Other Hungarian Grand Prix blogs:
Thursday - http://bit.ly/1nYqN82
Friday - http://bit.ly/1kfvGPr
Saturday - http://bit.ly/1usddTZ
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