Google+ Jack Leslie F1: 2015 Hungarian Grand Prix Weekend Report

24 July 2015

2015 Hungarian Grand Prix Weekend Report

The 10th round of the 2015 Formula 1 season took place at the Hungaroring in Mogyoród, Hungary.
© Octane Photographic
It was a difficult and emotional weekend, with Jules Bianchi in the thoughts of the entire F1 community after he sadly passed away on the 18 July.

The 2015 Hungarian Grand Prix was the 30th running of the event, which debuted on the calendar in 1986. Located near the capital city of Budapest, the twisty circuit hosted the final race before the summer break.

FP1
The opening practice session of the weekend got off to a busy start in warm and dry conditions, with Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas and Will Stevens first to take to the track. Nico Rosberg kicked off the timed laps with a 1:29.215. 
© Octane Photographic

After a change of headrest, Lewis Hamilton returned to the Hungaroring and moved to the front. Running at Lotus was delayed after its Pirelli tyres were held overnight due to a late payment. With 30 minutes to go, Sergio Perez suffered rear suspension failure at the exit of Turn 11. 

He lost control and hit the wall, with the car rolling upside down. The Mexican was okay but the session was red flagged. It got going again, but was stopped once again in the closing stages after Kimi Raikkonen's front wing failed as he exited the slow Turn 12. 

Hamilton remained fastest with a 1:25.141, with Rosberg one tenth further back. Raikkonen was third, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat. Sebastian Vettel, Carlos Sainz Jr, Perez, Bottas and Max Verstappen completed the top 10. Jolyon Palmer, who replaced Romain Grosjean at Lotus, failed to set a timed lap.

FP2
Just 18 drivers took part in second practice on Friday afternoon. Perez and Nico Hulkenberg both failed to run as Force India investigated a suspension problem, which caused the former's scary crash in the opening session.
© Octane Photographic

Stevens was the first driver to take to the track. Romain Grosjean and Roberto Merhi returned to their cars after being replaced by reserve drivers in FP1. Raikkonen and Sainz Jr briefly set the pace before Hamilton moved to the front.

After 30 minutes, the field switch to the soft tyre for qualifying simulations. Hamilton once again emerged quickest with a 1:23.949, ahead of Kvyat and Ricciardo. The Australian caused a red flag with 21 minutes to go after an engine failure.

When the session resumed, drivers continued with their longer runs, meaning Hamilton remained fastest. Rosberg was behind the two Red Bulls in fourth, ahead of Raikkonen, Sainz Jr, Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Bottas and Felipe Massa.  

FP3
The third and final practice session got off to a quiet start on Saturday morning, with the Ferrari duo of Vettel and Raikkonen first to emerge from the pit lane and take to the Hungaroring.
© Octane Photographic

Force India identified the cause of Perez's FP1 crash overnight and both drivers returned to action in practice three. Hulkenberg set the opening lap time with a 1:27.421. His team-mate suffered a spin at Turn 1, as Raikkonen hit the front.

The Mercedes drivers moved to the top of the timesheets, before Hulkenberg switched to the soft tyre and went quickest. The order changed dramatically in the final stages, with Hamilton putting in a 1:22.997 to end the session fastest, beating Rosberg by 0.098 seconds.

Vettel was third, ahead of Kvyat, Sainz Jr, Hulkenberg and Verstappen. Alonso, Ricciardo and Romain Grosjean completed the top 10. Massa and Bottas were 12th and 14th, while Raikkonen failed to complete a low-fuel run and was 16th.  

Qualifying
Q1
The slowest five drivers were eliminated from the first segment of qualifying. Rosberg was the first out on track, followed by his team-mate Hamilton and Toro Rosso's Verstappen.
© Octane Photographic

A mix of medium and soft tyres were used by the 2015 field in the early stages. Rosberg put in the opening benchmark with a scruffy 1:25.262, but was quickly displaced by Hamilton.

The Englishman led the way at the half-way mark, before drivers pitted for a fresh set of Pirelli tyres. The entire field, bar Ricciardo, fitted the option compound for the final runs, changing the order dramatically. 

Hamilton exited the pit lane with two and a half minutes to go. With the chequered flag out, the championship leader went quickest with a 1:22.890. Rosberg was second, with Vettel, Kvyat, Raikkonen, Bottas and Maldonado next up.

Massa, Verstappen and Hulkenberg completed the top 10. Button had no ERS deployment on the pit straight and was eliminated in Q1, missing out by one tenth. Ericsson and Nasr found time but failed to improve, with Merhi out-qualifying Stevens in 19th.

Q2
The second segment of qualifying decided the positions from 11th to 15th on the Hungarian Grand Prix grid. It was - as usual - a quiet start to the session, with no running in the opening few minutes.
© Octane Photographic

Vettel and Bottas were the first drivers to leave the pit lane, with Raikkonen following them out. F1's four-time world champion put in the opening timed lap - a 1:23.168 on the soft tyre. 

The red flags emerged after Alonso stopped his car just prior to the pit lane entrance. He had previously reported an engine issue earlier in the lap. When the session resumed, Hamilton went fastest with a 1:22.285.

Rosberg was half a second further back in second place, with Vettel, Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Bottas and Kvyat next up. Massa, Verstappen and Grosjean completed the top 10. Hulkenberg, Sainz Jr, Perez, Maldonado and Alonso - who failed to set a time - were eliminated.

Q3
The final segment of qualifying decided the top 10 on the grid for round 11 of the 2015 season. Rosberg and Hamilton were the first out on track in Q3, followed by Vettel.
© Octane Photographic

Rosberg also put in the opening timed lap with a 1:22.766. However, Hamilton was three tenths faster and took provisional pole. Vettel and Raikkonen were third and fourth, before being split by Ricciardo.

Drivers then pitted for new tyres, before starting their final runs. Rosberg improved on his last lap but failed to improve, having to settle for second on the grid. Hamilton went almost four tenths faster than his previous benchmark to secure Hungarian Grand Prix pole.

Vettel, Ricciardo and Raikkonen remained third, fourth and fifth. Bottas, Kvyat and Massa were next up. Verstappen could only manage ninth, with Grosjean rounding out the top 10.

The Race
Prior to the race start, a minute's took place for Jules Bianchi on the grid, with his family and the 2015 field standing together in a circle. It was a touching and beautiful tribute to the talented and popular Frenchman.
© Octane Photographic

Hamilton qualified on pole position for round 11 of the season, with Rosberg completing the front row. Could the German challenge his team-mate, or would the championship leader taking a record-breaking fifth win in Hungary? 

The first start was aborted, due to Massa being out of position, with drivers completing a second formation lap before lining up on the grid once again. The revs rose, the lights went out and the 2015 Hungarian Grand Prix got underway. 

Off the line, Hamilton had a slow start and fell to fourth, with Vettel storming into the lead and Raikkonen displacing Rosberg for second. The reigning champion's shocking opening lap went from bad to worse when he went off at the chicane, falling to 10th. 

Vettel quickly established a comfortable lead over Raikkonen, with the gap being 1.6 seconds by the start of lap four. Meanwhile Ricciardo looked to recover from a poor opening tour, after contact at the exit of the first corner. He battled with team-mate Kvyat for sixth.

As Rosberg dropped back from the leading Ferraris. Hamilton struggled to find a way past Massa - who was handed a five-second time penalty for causing the aborted start. Up the road, Ricciardo moved ahead of Kvyat, after the Russian was instructed to not hold up last year's race winner.

Ricciardo quickly caught Hulkenberg and moved up to fifth place at Turn 1 on lap nine. Hamilton passed Massa around the outside at the same corner just moments later. He displaced Perez for eighth a few laps later, but was already half a minute behind the race leader.
© Octane Photographic

Bottas, who had just been passed by Ricciardo, pitted at the end of lap 13 for another set of soft Pirelli compound. Kvyat also stopped early for fresh tyres. The pit lane got very busy over the next few laps, with the majority of the midfield pack changing tyres.

The yellow flags briefly emerged at the exit of the first corner after contact between Perez and Maldonado. Hamilton pitted at the end of lap 19 and emerged in fifth place, with Rosberg stopping on the following tour. Vettel and Ricciardo pitted on lap 21, briefly promoting Raikkonen to first place.

Out front, Vettel and Raikkonen were separated by seven seconds by lap 29, with Rosberg dropping back - on the medium tyre - and Hamilton moving ahead of Ricciardo. On different Pirelli compounds, the gap between the two Mercedes drivers rapidly decreased. Further back, Alonso was forced to complete an unscheduled stop due to a puncture.

Raikkonen started to lose power with an MGU-K problem on lap 42, losing time to his team-mate. A front wing failure caused Hulkenberg to hit the wall heavily at Turn 1, initially bringing out the Virtual Safety Car. Rosberg and Hamilton pitted, with both emerging on the prime tyre, and the two Ferrari drivers stopped one lap later.
© Octane Photographic

The Safety Car was then deployed to allow the marshals to clear debris on the main straight, bunching up the field. The race resumed at the end of lap 48, with Rosberg quickly moving ahead of Raikkonen. Hamilton fell behind Ricciardo, with the two making contact. Kvyat also passed the Mercedes driver as he struggled with damage to his front wing.

With poor straight-line speed, Raikkonen also fell behind the two Red Bull drivers. Hamilton stopped for a front wing change and returned to the circuit on the soft tyre in 13th place. His day went from bad to worse when he was given a drive-through, while Raikkonen pitted and his car was re-fired up.

At the front, Ricciardo quickly caught up to Vettel and Rosberg, as they battled for the lead. Kvyat joined the party a little while later, as the chequered flag approached. Ricciardo tried to move up to second place at Turn 1 but he tagged Rosberg at the exit, with the Mercedes suffering a puncture. He pitted and emerged in 10th, behind his team-mate.

Out front, Vettel cruised to a clear victory after a trouble-free afternoon in Hungary. It was a faultless display by the German, as others hit problems and made mistakes. Vettel scored his second victory for Ferrari and dedicated it to Bianchi. Kvyat and Ricciardo completed the podium for Red Bull, despite the former being handed a 10-second time penalty.

Verstappen kept out of trouble and put in some bold moves to finish a fine fourth, ahead of Alonso and the recovering Hamilton, who had a difficult afternoon and made some uncharacteristic errors. Grosjean was seventh, with Rosberg in eighth after his late puncture. Button made it a double points finish for McLaren with ninth. Ericsson completed the top 10.

Full race results can be found here.

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