Formula 1 returned to the Hungaroring for the 11th round of the 2016 season, becoming the 31st Hungarian Grand Prix to take place.
The race, another double-header for F1 teams to contend with, marked the series entering the second half of the season.
FP1
Lewis Hamilton led the way for Mercedes in the first 90-minute practice session of the weekend, putting in a 1m21.347 to finish two tenths ahead of his team-mate Nico Rosberg.
The two Mercedes cars were 1.5 seconds clear of their nearest challenger. Rosberg and Mercedes confirmed a new two-year deal for the 2017 and 2018 seasons prior to the start of FP1.
Sebastian Vettel was third quickest for Ferrari, with Kimi Raikkonen, Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen and the McLarens of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button next up.
Overnight rain meant the session began in damp conditions. It soon dried out but the new track surface meant there were several spins and off-track excursions.
FP2
Rosberg moved to the front in second practice, dominating the session after Hamilton crashed out at Turn 11.
The British driver lost the rear of his car 20 minutes into FP2 and hit the wall, bringing out the red flag. He crawled back to the pits but was out for the rest of practice.
Rosberg moved to the front with a 1m20.435 on the super-soft tyre, finishing half a second clear of Ricciardo. Vettel and Verstappen were next up.
Hamilton fell to fifth with his one timed lap on the soft tyre, with Raikkonen next up. Alonso and Button showed McLaren's encouraging speed in seventh and eighth.
Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez completed the top 10. The new track surface meant conditions remained tricky, with a few spins and several cars stopping on track - including Felipe Nasr and Carlos Sainz Jr.
FP3
Rosberg finished just ahead of Verstappen in final practice for the Hungarian GP, with the two drivers separated by just 0.002 seconds.
The Mercedes driver set the pace with a 1m20.261, with Verstappen making a late improvement to move up to second place. Ricciardo and Hamilton were next up, the latter running wide on his best lap.
Raikkonen and Vettel were fifth and sixth, with Alonso, Bottas, Perez and the Renault of Jolyon Palmer completing the top 10.
Drivers remained wary of the sensors at Turn 4 and Turn 11, with the FIA adopting a zero tolerance policy. Felipe Massa, Kevin Magnussen and Button were 11th, 12th and 13th.
There were several off-track excursions as drivers continued to get to grips with the new Hungaroring track surface. Esteban Gutierrez and Romain Grosjean were next up.
Qualifying
Rosberg stormed to pole position for the Hungarian GP, snatching it away from team-mate Hamilton in the closing moments of Q3.
Qualifying was heavily delayed and disrupted in the first session after a heavy rain shower, but conditions improved enough for dry tyres in Q2 and Q3.
Hamilton had held provisional pole but a spin for Alonso caused the Brit to back off in the second sector. The track was clear when Rosberg got to the section and went fastest with a 1m19.965.
Rosberg claimed pole and Hamilton took second, with Ricciardo, Verstappen and Vettel next up. Sainz, Alonso, Button, Hulkenberg and Bottas completed the top 10.
Conditions improved enough for dry tyres late in Q2. Times tumbled in the dramatic final moments, with Grosjean and Kvyat dropping out. They joined Perez, Raikkonen, Gutierrez and Nasr.
In the heavily delayed and disrupted first segment of qualifying, Palmer was the first driver to be eliminated, followed by Massa – who crashed out at Turn 4 – and Magnussen.
Marcus Ericsson and Rio Haryanto also found the wall, causing red flags. They were 20th and 22nd, separated by Pascal Wehrlein. A few drivers lost out on putting in an improved lap due to Haryanto’s late crash.
Race
Rosberg entered the Hungarian GP one point ahead of Hamilton in the championship, would the order in the drivers' standings remain unchanged after the 11th round of the season?
The revs rose, the lights went out and the Hungarian GP got underway. Off the line, the two leading Mercedes cars had equal starts, but Hamilton had the inside line and moved into the lead.
Rosberg initially lost a place to Ricciardo but he claimed second back around the outside of Turn 2. Verstappen tried to make a move on his team-mate but had to keep an eye on Vettel behind, while Alonso moved ahead of Sainz for P6.
Raikkonen started to make up ground, passing Perez on lap three and Gutierrez a few laps later. Button slowed suddenly on the fifth tour of the Hungaroring, with his McLaren race engineer reporting hydraulic problem.
The Brit dropped down the order but after limping around the track, he was told to stay out. Hamilton's lead over Rosberg was 1.5 seconds by lap eight, with the pace of the top four proving to be equal in the opening stages.
Button pitted at the end of the lap for a set of soft tyres, despite his earlier scare. Raikkonen's charge briefly stalled as he attempted to find a way past Grosjean. Meanwhile Button's nightmare race continued when he was handed a drive-through for an unauthorised radio message.
Vettel was the first frontrunner to pit, moving onto the soft tyre on lap 15. He emerged ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Raikkonen, who was released from behind Grosjean after the Haas driver pitted. Red Bull reacted and stopped Ricciardo on the next tour.
The Australian emerged behind Bottas and was stuck behind the Williams, which brought Vettel into the fray. Hamilton and Verstappen pitted on lap 17. Unsurprisingly Mercedes boxed Rosberg for softs next time round, gaining a few tenths on Hamilton in the fight for the lead.
Hamilton reported he was struggling for pace on lap 19 and Rosberg closed to within one second of him. Several drivers stayed out on alternative strategies but Magnussen, Massa and Palmer all stopped around the lap 24-27 mark for new tyres. In fact, Massa mixed things up by going onto the mediums.
Raikkonen continued to stay out and hold up Verstappen, causing the Red Bull to drop back from the fighting Ricciardo and Vettel. Ferrari finally pitted Raikkonen on lap 30 for a set of super-soft tyres, returning to the circuit in seventh and quickly moving ahead of Alonso.
Ricciardo was the first of the leaders to stop for a second time, diving into the pits on lap 35. Hamilton was told over team radio Rosberg may be pitted first due to the threat from those behind but Mercedes didn't immediately react to Red Bull's strategy.
Fast work by Renault meant Palmer jumped Hulkenberg at their second stops. The gap between the Mercedes drivers started to level out before Hamilton pitted from the lead on lap 42. Vettel followed his rival in and Rosberg switched to another set of softs one tour later.
The second cycle of stops continued, with Perez pitting to move from mediums to softs. But Force India weren't ready for him and the Mexican lost several seconds. Rosberg remained just 1.7 seconds behind Hamilton by lap 49, as they moved through traffic. Palmer lost several places with a spin at Turn 4.
Raikkonen made his second stop on lap 50, falling down to sixth place after a long super-soft stint. Hamilton got caught in traffic behind Gutierrez and that brought Rosberg right into the mix, cutting the gap to the leader to just six tenths of a second.
Verstappen soon found himself falling into the clutches of Raikkonen in the closing stages but the two made contact on the run to Turn 2 on lap 57. The Ferrari driver picked up front wing damage but both were able to continue. Button became the first retirement on lap 62.
More traffic issues caused Rosberg to close on Hamilton in the fight for P1 but he couldn't find a way through. Raikkonen also struggled to move ahead of Verstappen, the Finn taking too much out of his super-soft tyres.
Hamilton held off Rosberg to claim his fifth win at the Hungaroring, fifth victory of the season and take the lead in the drivers' championship. Rosberg finished two seconds further back, with Ricciardo holding off Vettel to claim the final podium.
Verstappen was fifth and a frustrated Raikkonen had to settle for sixth. Alonso and Sainz were next up, ahead of Bottas and Hulkenberg. Perez, Palmer, Gutierrez and Grosjean finished just outside the top 10. Button was the only DNF.
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| © Octane Photographic |
FP1
Lewis Hamilton led the way for Mercedes in the first 90-minute practice session of the weekend, putting in a 1m21.347 to finish two tenths ahead of his team-mate Nico Rosberg.
 |
| © Octane Photographic |
The two Mercedes cars were 1.5 seconds clear of their nearest challenger. Rosberg and Mercedes confirmed a new two-year deal for the 2017 and 2018 seasons prior to the start of FP1.
Sebastian Vettel was third quickest for Ferrari, with Kimi Raikkonen, Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen and the McLarens of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button next up.
Overnight rain meant the session began in damp conditions. It soon dried out but the new track surface meant there were several spins and off-track excursions.
FP2
Rosberg moved to the front in second practice, dominating the session after Hamilton crashed out at Turn 11.
 |
| © Octane Photographic |
The British driver lost the rear of his car 20 minutes into FP2 and hit the wall, bringing out the red flag. He crawled back to the pits but was out for the rest of practice.
Rosberg moved to the front with a 1m20.435 on the super-soft tyre, finishing half a second clear of Ricciardo. Vettel and Verstappen were next up.
Hamilton fell to fifth with his one timed lap on the soft tyre, with Raikkonen next up. Alonso and Button showed McLaren's encouraging speed in seventh and eighth.
Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez completed the top 10. The new track surface meant conditions remained tricky, with a few spins and several cars stopping on track - including Felipe Nasr and Carlos Sainz Jr.
FP3
Rosberg finished just ahead of Verstappen in final practice for the Hungarian GP, with the two drivers separated by just 0.002 seconds.
 |
| © Octane Photographic |
The Mercedes driver set the pace with a 1m20.261, with Verstappen making a late improvement to move up to second place. Ricciardo and Hamilton were next up, the latter running wide on his best lap.
Raikkonen and Vettel were fifth and sixth, with Alonso, Bottas, Perez and the Renault of Jolyon Palmer completing the top 10.
Drivers remained wary of the sensors at Turn 4 and Turn 11, with the FIA adopting a zero tolerance policy. Felipe Massa, Kevin Magnussen and Button were 11th, 12th and 13th.
There were several off-track excursions as drivers continued to get to grips with the new Hungaroring track surface. Esteban Gutierrez and Romain Grosjean were next up.
Qualifying
Rosberg stormed to pole position for the Hungarian GP, snatching it away from team-mate Hamilton in the closing moments of Q3.
 |
| © Octane Photographic |
Qualifying was heavily delayed and disrupted in the first session after a heavy rain shower, but conditions improved enough for dry tyres in Q2 and Q3.
Hamilton had held provisional pole but a spin for Alonso caused the Brit to back off in the second sector. The track was clear when Rosberg got to the section and went fastest with a 1m19.965.
Rosberg claimed pole and Hamilton took second, with Ricciardo, Verstappen and Vettel next up. Sainz, Alonso, Button, Hulkenberg and Bottas completed the top 10.
Conditions improved enough for dry tyres late in Q2. Times tumbled in the dramatic final moments, with Grosjean and Kvyat dropping out. They joined Perez, Raikkonen, Gutierrez and Nasr.
In the heavily delayed and disrupted first segment of qualifying, Palmer was the first driver to be eliminated, followed by Massa – who crashed out at Turn 4 – and Magnussen.
Marcus Ericsson and Rio Haryanto also found the wall, causing red flags. They were 20th and 22nd, separated by Pascal Wehrlein. A few drivers lost out on putting in an improved lap due to Haryanto’s late crash.
Race
Rosberg entered the Hungarian GP one point ahead of Hamilton in the championship, would the order in the drivers' standings remain unchanged after the 11th round of the season?
 |
| © Octane Photographic |
The revs rose, the lights went out and the Hungarian GP got underway. Off the line, the two leading Mercedes cars had equal starts, but Hamilton had the inside line and moved into the lead.
Rosberg initially lost a place to Ricciardo but he claimed second back around the outside of Turn 2. Verstappen tried to make a move on his team-mate but had to keep an eye on Vettel behind, while Alonso moved ahead of Sainz for P6.
Raikkonen started to make up ground, passing Perez on lap three and Gutierrez a few laps later. Button slowed suddenly on the fifth tour of the Hungaroring, with his McLaren race engineer reporting hydraulic problem.
The Brit dropped down the order but after limping around the track, he was told to stay out. Hamilton's lead over Rosberg was 1.5 seconds by lap eight, with the pace of the top four proving to be equal in the opening stages.
Button pitted at the end of the lap for a set of soft tyres, despite his earlier scare. Raikkonen's charge briefly stalled as he attempted to find a way past Grosjean. Meanwhile Button's nightmare race continued when he was handed a drive-through for an unauthorised radio message.
 |
| © Octane Photographic |
Vettel was the first frontrunner to pit, moving onto the soft tyre on lap 15. He emerged ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Raikkonen, who was released from behind Grosjean after the Haas driver pitted. Red Bull reacted and stopped Ricciardo on the next tour.
The Australian emerged behind Bottas and was stuck behind the Williams, which brought Vettel into the fray. Hamilton and Verstappen pitted on lap 17. Unsurprisingly Mercedes boxed Rosberg for softs next time round, gaining a few tenths on Hamilton in the fight for the lead.
Hamilton reported he was struggling for pace on lap 19 and Rosberg closed to within one second of him. Several drivers stayed out on alternative strategies but Magnussen, Massa and Palmer all stopped around the lap 24-27 mark for new tyres. In fact, Massa mixed things up by going onto the mediums.
Raikkonen continued to stay out and hold up Verstappen, causing the Red Bull to drop back from the fighting Ricciardo and Vettel. Ferrari finally pitted Raikkonen on lap 30 for a set of super-soft tyres, returning to the circuit in seventh and quickly moving ahead of Alonso.
Ricciardo was the first of the leaders to stop for a second time, diving into the pits on lap 35. Hamilton was told over team radio Rosberg may be pitted first due to the threat from those behind but Mercedes didn't immediately react to Red Bull's strategy.
 |
| © Octane Photographic |
Fast work by Renault meant Palmer jumped Hulkenberg at their second stops. The gap between the Mercedes drivers started to level out before Hamilton pitted from the lead on lap 42. Vettel followed his rival in and Rosberg switched to another set of softs one tour later.
The second cycle of stops continued, with Perez pitting to move from mediums to softs. But Force India weren't ready for him and the Mexican lost several seconds. Rosberg remained just 1.7 seconds behind Hamilton by lap 49, as they moved through traffic. Palmer lost several places with a spin at Turn 4.
Raikkonen made his second stop on lap 50, falling down to sixth place after a long super-soft stint. Hamilton got caught in traffic behind Gutierrez and that brought Rosberg right into the mix, cutting the gap to the leader to just six tenths of a second.
Verstappen soon found himself falling into the clutches of Raikkonen in the closing stages but the two made contact on the run to Turn 2 on lap 57. The Ferrari driver picked up front wing damage but both were able to continue. Button became the first retirement on lap 62.
 |
| © Octane Photographic |
More traffic issues caused Rosberg to close on Hamilton in the fight for P1 but he couldn't find a way through. Raikkonen also struggled to move ahead of Verstappen, the Finn taking too much out of his super-soft tyres.
Hamilton held off Rosberg to claim his fifth win at the Hungaroring, fifth victory of the season and take the lead in the drivers' championship. Rosberg finished two seconds further back, with Ricciardo holding off Vettel to claim the final podium.
Verstappen was fifth and a frustrated Raikkonen had to settle for sixth. Alonso and Sainz were next up, ahead of Bottas and Hulkenberg. Perez, Palmer, Gutierrez and Grosjean finished just outside the top 10. Button was the only DNF.
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