FIA Formula 1 World Championship 2017 – Round 11 – 2017 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix

Hungarian Grand Prix – Budapest 30 July

Posted: 30.07.2017 / Source: Ferrari

Maurizio Arrivabene: ” A great race and a result obtained in far from easy circumstances. Once again it demonstrated the strength of character at Ferrari. Congratulations to the guys here and back in Maranello, working together in what is the mark of a great team. Seb drove a magnificent race, managing to keep the lead despite the problem with the steering wheel. He was helped by a great performance from Kimi who demonstrated, not only that he is a champion, but also that he is a true team-player. Next week, here in Hungary, prior to the FIA mandatory shutdown, we continue our development work, in preparation for the Grands Prix in Spa and Monza.”

Sebastian Vettel: “Everybody inside the team can be very happy and proud of what we have done today! Afterwards, I said to Kimi that I was sorry, because I was slow and struggling during the race. For Kimi it was not good to be there in the middle of a sandwich. It was a tough race that, in the end, kept a good shape. I developed a problem with the steering wheel and I don’t know why yet. We need to avoid it happening again of course, but during the race I didn’t have an option. It’s not like parking the car, check if everything’s all right and then fix the problem. It was quite annoying because it was a strange feeling. But then, at some point, I forgot about it and just tried to get used to it, which was tricky because it just kept changing and getting worse. However, in the end the pace was still there. More generally, I don’t like the short term view that some people have, that after a good race everything is great and you are the hero, but after a bad race it is a disaster. It is not fair because people work hard spending a lot of time, working all together on the car. In my opinion, we have the best car and downforce which, hasn’t been the case for many years. In the end we can make a difference and we have done that so far. We have our testing days here next week and we have a lot of work to do. After that there will be the Belgian GP. Our car has been good there and I think we have some improvements, so it should be fine.”

Kimi Raikkonen: “Today my car was amazing, the handling was perfect and I was always feeling comfortable; even following Seb from very close behind, the behaviour was fantastic. I had no worries that Mercedes could get me. I had a pretty good start and a good run in the first corner; then I took it quite easy. In places like this it’s tricky to try and overtake and I did not want to force things too much with my team mate. When you end up between two cars is not the easiest situation. When they called me for the pit stop I wanted to stay on track a bit longer because I felt I had the speed, but the team has the big picture and I trust them. I ended up following Seb through the whole race and I was never able to use my full speed. Today I knew I had all the tools to finish in a better position, but I should have done a better qualifying. I’m happy for the result that we achieved as a team and this is the main thing. I’m here to win races, but If you take the big picture it was a great weekend, we got the maximum out of it.”

Hungarian Grand Prix – Ferrari one-two in Hungary

Posted: 30.07.2017 / Source: Ferrari

Seb, Kimi and all the team celebrate a really hard fought win

Mogyorod, 30 July – Scuderia Ferrari recorded its fourth win and second one-two finish of the year, which are the 228th and 83rd respectively in the team’s history. This was Seb Vettel’s seventh win in red and the 46th of his career. For all those back in Maranello, this result was the crowning glory for the huge effort they have put in, which came at the end of a race that was anything but easy, even if both cars started from the front row.

The two SF70H cars maintained those positions off the line, with Kimi tucked in behind Seb, while battle raged behind them and Ricciardo was already out following a collision. As Daniel was stuck on track, the Safety Car was called out for quite a while – five laps in fact – as oil had to be cleaned up off the track surface. The Ferraris made a second good getaway when the race restarted and they were followed by Bottas, Verstappen, who would have to take a 10” penalty for hitting his team-mate, and then Hamilton. In this phase of the race, the Reds were the quickest cars on track, the only ones lapping under the 1’23”.

At one third distance, nothing had changed, except that the two leading cars were backing off to spare their equipment. Then Seb came on the radio saying there was something wrong with the steering, which was pulling to the left down the straight. Kimi closed in until the gap closed to just over a second. The number 5 Ferrari pitted at the end of lap 32, after his closest pursuers had already changed tyres. The Supersofts made way for the Softs. Next time round, Kimi came in and emerged back on track just behind his team-mate. The lap times went up and down, partly because of the need to pass backmarkers. On lap 43, the Ferrari duo was back out in front, after a very late stop from Verstappen. Behind them the two Mercedes changed places without a fight. With 15 laps remaining, the top three cars were covered by just two seconds. Seb then pulled out a bit more on lap 58, his fastest of the race. Kimi did likewise to ensure Hamilton could not get into the DRS range.
The final laps were nerve wracking, as Seb could not take the lines he would have liked through the corners but he held firm, as did Kimi right behind him. What a great way to finish, delivering a wonderful reward to a team that knows that it can never give up.

Hungarian Grand Prix – “Today has been a great day”

Posted: 29.07.2017 / Source: Ferrari

Seb, Kimi lock the first row of the grid for Scuderia Ferrari

Mogyorod, July 29 – It’s another one-two in qualifying for Scuderia Ferrari as Seb Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen lock out the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s race. Remarkably, in all of the three weekends in which a Ferrari driver has qualified on pole position (Russia, Monaco and Hungary), his team-mate has started the race alongside him. This shows the quality and intensity of team work and that was especially the case over the past two days , when all the guys in the garage and at Maranello did their best to improve the handling and performance of the two SF70H cars.

“Today has been a great day” said a radiant Sebastian Vettel, after scoring his second pole this year. “The car and the whole session were fantastic! I am really happy. We brought some new parts here and we tested them yesterday. Then obviously, we talked about it a lot and I think we got the car in better shape this morning. We are working very hard to get everything right. The guys have worked so hard and they love what they do. So, it is good to get back into the car and do our job. We love racing and this weekend has been very good so far. We know we have a strong car, no matter where we go, and that’s the great thing about this year. Now we have to move forward and focus. Qualifying is done, so we now concentrate on the race. There’s a lot of hard work to do and we need to take it one step at a time. Now, we’ll see what happens tomorrow. Thank you all!”

“First and second position is a very good result for team”, Kimi added. “We kind of expected that this circuit would fit us better for certain reasons, but of course you cannot ever take it for granted. Today I really felt I had the speed, but I made a rather stupid mistake at the chicane, I put the left wheels on the kerb under braking, got sideways and lost time. I’m a bit disappointed with what I did, because I had the chance to be one place up, but I ‘m happy because I still managed to take second place. It’s been quite close between three teams so far, so tomorrow it all will depend on what happens in the first ten laps; it’s not going to be an easy race for anyone. There’s no way to plan things for the first two corners. The one who makes the best start has the better chances. Tomorrow we’ll have a long way to go to replicate today’s result!”

Hungarian Grand Prix – An all-Ferrari front row in Hungary

Posted: 29.07.2017 / Source: Ferrari

Seb on pole ahead of Kimi in qualifying

Mogyorod, 29 July – It was a Ferrari one-two in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel took pole position with a lap in 1’16”276 while Kimi Raikkonen was next fastest behind his team-mate with a 1’16”44, at the end of a very closely contested session. This is Scuderia Ferrari’s 211th pole and the last one in Hungary came back in 2005. This afternoon, track temperatures reached 54 degrees.

Hungarian Grand Prix – Free practice over, Ferrari out in front

Posted: 29.07.2017 / Source: Ferrari

Sebastian fastest ahead of Kimi: Qualifying at 2pm

Mogyorod, 29 July – Saturday action in Hungary began with the final free practice session, which ended with the two SF70Hs topping the time sheet. Sebastian Vettel was fastest in 1’17”017, followed by team-mate Kimi Raikkonen (1’17” 492.) Sebastian started out on Medium tyres before joining Kimi on a programme running the Supersofts. Qualifying starts at 14h00 local time.

Hungarian Grand Prix – “Up to us to go fast”

Posted: 28.07.2017 / Source: Ferrari

Seb and Kimi wrap up first day: “We seem to all be very close”

Mogyorod, July 28 – At the end of the first day of practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix,, Scuderia Ferrari drivers take stock of a day which saw steady improvement in the performance of the updated SF70Hs. “This morning I wasn’t that happy”, Seb Vettel says “but in the afternoon I started getting the rhythm. So, I think we were not that bad, but it’s difficult to read the session. Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull are very close to each other. It should be good fun tomorrow. We need to find the best settings for tomorrow and work a little bit more on the tires and on the driving. Then it should be better.  I had a bit of damage on the car, after running over a kerb, so that we had to go back to the garage, but in the end it was fine. We saw some cars going off track today, especially at the exits to Turns 4 and 11, which are quite tough. I was a bit too aggressive this morning. But everything seems to work, so we should be in a better place tomorrow. Two years ago here the race was not bad – we won – and we had some other good races here. However, you always hope that the best race is yet to come. We have another chance on Sunday and we are looking forward to it”. Team-mate Kimi Raikkonen’s day was the complete opposite, as he was faster in the first session: “It was a normal day’s work. We started pretty well in the morning, while the afternoon was a bit more tricky and less straightforward. When I stopped on the track it was because I had lost the throttle control for a minute, but then it recovered and I could continue. It was not a major thing, sometimes such issues can happen. The conditions were not the easiest and for sure, due to the red flags, we did not get as much running as we would have liked. Nevertheless it was not too bad. Today the lap times were very close, but you can expect that on this kind of track and many things can change from tomorrow on. We have to do our best and hopefully that’s enough to push us to the front; then it will be up to us to drive as fast as we can”.

Hungarian Grand Prix – Programme completed

Posted: 28.07.2017 / Source: Ferrari

Seb second fastest, Kimi fourth

Mogyorod, 28 July –Today’s F1 action at the Hungaroring has now come to a close. Soft and Supersoft were the tyre compounds used by both Scuderia Ferrari drivers, who ended the second free practice session with the second and fourth fastest times. Sebastian posted a 1’18”638, while Kimi Raikkonen’s best lap was a 1’18”755. Despite a couple of stoppages when the red flags came out, the team got through its programme, ending the day doing long runs.

Hungarian Grand Prix – Free Practice 1: Ferrari 2nd and 6th

Posted: 28.07.2017 / Source: Ferrari

Raikkonen ahead of Vettel at the Hungaroring

Mogyorod, 28 July – It’s the last Formula 1 race weekend prior to the summer break. At the end of the first free practice sesson, the Scuderia Ferrari drivers were in second and sixth places on the time sheet: Kimi Raikkonen’s best lap was a 1’18”720 and Sebastian Vettel posted a 1’19”563. Both drivers started off on one set of the Medium tyres, before switching to the Supersofts. Both SF70H cars were put through a series of aerodynamic tests.

Hungarian Grand Prix – “This circuit should be better for us”

Posted: 27.07.2017 / Source: Ferrari

Seb and Kimi confident ahead of Hungarian Grand Prix: “We’re the most improved team this year”

Hungaroring – The skies over Budapest cleared after the morning rain and the outlook for the Hungarian Grand Prix weather is that it will stay hot and dry. Scuderia Ferrari drivers Seb Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen are ready for the challenge, after not having got what they deserved in terms of results at the last event in Silverstone.

Seb is well aware of this: “So far this year, we’ve had excellent races and others that were more difficult. If you ask which team has improved most this year, the answer is Ferrari. The last race was not ideal, but it is normal sometimes to have some races that go better than others. Overall, I think we are on the right path. This year has been very good so far, but we are not completely happy because we want to win. That’s the reason why we have been competitive this year, because we have worked very hard. We have to keep going down this way. I think the worst race was the last one in the UK. The races in Australia, Bahrain and Monaco were great. However, we could have won in Austria, in China and so on. Maybe this year the safety car hasn’t worked out well for us, but that’s how it goes. There are many races ahead and we have to stay positive, because we have been good so far. We are not yet where we want to be, but we want to make sure there won’t be many chances left to the others”. Another ‘hot topic’ of discussion in Hungary is, of course, the introduction of the Halo protection system in 2018: “It’s not that nice looking” Sebastian says “but its purpose is what counts: it was made for driver safety so if it can save lives, then we will use it”.

Kimi has a slightly different view on his season: “If you look purely at the results, this has not been a very good year so far for me. We have been quite happy in some places and not so happy in others and that shows in the results. If we consider the last race, for sure it was not the best: we were not on the pace, but I think it had a lot to do with the layout of the circuit. Lately and especially towards the end of the weekend, I had felt pretty good in the car and driving was fun. I hope we have the same feeling here. This circuit should be better for us, I might be wrong but hopefully not. I think that here we can be a lot stronger against our competitors. We are going to give our best as always and hopefully we’ll be fighting at the front”.

Hungarian Grand Prix – Heading East

Posted: 25.07.2017 / Source: Ferrari

Not much overtaking in Hungary, with high downforce and high temperatures: the scene of 5 “magic” wins for Scuderia Ferrari

Remember the first time Formula 1 came to Hungary in 1986? The Soviet Union was still in existence and the host nation was part of what was known as the Eastern Bloc. The Hungaroring circuit was slow and twisty, with overtaking all but impossible and the facilities were Spartan. Today it’s been modernised, with the long staircase to the top paddock now a thing of the past. However, the track has retained its characteristics, despite a few modifications over the years. At the Hungaroring, just a few kilometres from the wonderful city of Budapest, qualifying counts a lot more than at many other circuits. Having said that, Scuderia Ferrari’s first win on Magyar soil came from the sixth row of the grid. That’s where Nigel Mansell qualified in 1989, over two seconds off the pole time! He staged an amazing climb up the order, including a famous passing move on Ayrton Senna, who hesitated momentarily before lapping Stefan Johansson.

Different times of course and yet, all the wins for the Reds at this track had something magic about them: after Mansell’s came Michael Schumacher’s “strategic” win in ’98, with the memorable radio chat between the driver and the pitwall crew: “do you think you can go from a two stop to a three?” Indeed he did and how. Then came victories for Michael and Rubens Barrichello in 2001 and 2002, which delivered the championship title; the 2004 hat trick of pole, the win and race fastest lap, again courtesy of Schumi. And lastly, Seb Vettel’s lightning start two years ago, before running a solitary race all the way to the highest step of the podium.

The Hungarian track is one of the shortest and most demanding when it comes to levels of aerodynamic downforce. The heat and tyre degradation (here we will have the Medium, Soft and Supersoft) are other factors to take into consideration. The chance of rain over the weekend is very low, which is good for the fans who will be able to enjoy the great view on offer here.