FORMULA 1 - 2013

[MIKA27]

Hungarian GP Qualifying: Hamilton delivers stunning lap to steal pole from Vettel

Lewis Hamilton dug deep and delivered a stunning lap to steal pole position from Sebastian Vettel during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, in doing so the Mercedes driver claimed his third successive top spot starting slot for the first time in his career and his 30th F1 pole which moves him one clear of his hero Ayrton Senna in the all-time pole winners list.

All credit to Silver Arrows as they kept their famed one lap pace under wraps until it really mattered – qualifying – as prior to that, during the free practice sessions, they gave little indication of what they had in reserve. But it soon became evident that they had kept the best for last, as Hamilton topped Q1.

But Vettel, whose pace in the Red Bull was well know throughout the first two days, managed his tyres well and arrived in Q3 with two fresh sets to play with. He popped a very impressive 1:19.506 and sauntered back to the pits to bolt on his second set of fresh yellow band Pirelli tyres.

But Hamilton, the 2008 world champio,n had an answer to that as he knuckled down and popped an astounding 1:19.388, all eyes were on Vettel as he took his second shot at the prize but fell short by a mere 0.038. Hamilton will start the Hungarian GP from pole.

Hamilton, who won in Budapest back in his rookie season in 2007 and again last year, appeared surprised that he managed to beat Vettel.

He said afterwards, ”With the [high] temperatures, it pretty tough. I was really surprised when I came across the line and they said I got pole. I didn’t feel like that was a great lap.”

“I thought Sebastian had got it. I’m really surprised, I thought maybe he made a mistake or something. We brought some upgrades this weekend, the guys are working hard and it’s a result of all hard work they’ve put in.”

“Starting on pole definitely helps as it’s difficult to follow here. It’s a long way down to Turn One, but if you can get there first and try and hold position, it’s definitely advantageous. These guys [Vettel and Grosjean] are going to be ridiculously fast so trying to keep in front or holding onto them is going to be the challenge.”

For world championship leader Vettel, who is targeting his fourth world title this season, conceded that Mercedes were faster on the day but would be pleased that his main championship rivals were only fifth and sixth. Nevertheless he appeared to be fuming as he exited his cockpit and stormed into the weigh in area. He cooled quickly after that, perhaps after realising that his plight may not be so bad after all.

“There wasn’t much missing today but Lewis did a good job. I was pretty happy with both laps because I had two sets of new tyres, maybe I wasn’t aggressive enough in the middle,” reflected the Red Bull driver.

“It is stupid to sit and say, we should have done this, and we should have done that. Mercedes have good pace in qualifying so you have to be fair and respect that. I would have loved to have been a little bit faster and on pole but we have a good car and in a good position. We should have a good race tomorrow and I am quite confident,” admitted Vettel.

If Germany was the first phase of the Romain Grosjean renaissance, then Hungary looks to be another step in his redemption. The Frenchman has thus far outclassed his experienced teammate Kimi Raikkonen in Budapest, and will start from third on the grid after giving an impressive performance in qualifying.

Grosjean told reporters, ”I like this circuit, but that’s not important. It’s been a good weekend, we’ve been working hard with the team trying to get best out of the car. The last lap was pretty good. The race is very long and it’ll be very hot but we will see what we can do to get the best result. Option tyres are tight to make work, but the medium tyres are OK on our car. I can try to have a go tomorrow.”

Nico Rosberg had to again play second fiddle to his teammate by 0.332 seconds, and will start fourth on the grid.

Fifth fastest Fernando Alonso will head up the third row of the grid in his Ferrari, with the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen beside him in sixth, and Felipe Massa in seventh heading up the fourth row.

In the ‘battle for the other Red Bull seat’ Daniel Ricciardo did his shares no harm by out-qualifying Toro Rosso teammate (and one time candidate) Jean Eric Vergne. The pair will start 8th and 14th respectively, Ricciardo having made it into Q3 but Vergne failing to do so.

After the three free practice sessions in Hungary it seemed that McLaren had made a step forward, and perhaps they have, but qualifying did them no favours as Jenson Button failed to make it out of Q2 and will start 13th. Sergio Perez,despite crashing heavily a couple of hours earlier, impressed as he made it through to Q3. He will start ninth, and will be the first driver on the grid with the white band medium tyres (the harder of the offerings at Hungaroring) bolted on for the start.

Why always me’ must be ringing through Mark Webbers head as he once again endured a KERS problem on his Red Bull which put him out of the running in Q3. He will start tenth.

Out of the top ten and enduring a surprising drop in competitiveness were the Force India pair, with Adrian Sutil and Paul di Resta starting 11th and 18th. Something is clearly amiss in Hungary with the hitherto impressive and effective VJM06. Either the heat, or the new tyre structure or even a combination of both may have impacted their performance.

Di Resta, who failed to make it beyond Q1, was fuming afterwards when he spoke to BBC, ”You tell me what’s gone wrong – the team is confused. It just didn’t switch on, it just didn’t happen. When team wanted more time, there was no way – that was it. We can’t go much further back. but we need to go forward. We need to find out why that was the way it was. We thought we’d probably cracked it but it showed we didn’t.”

On the other side of the coin Nico Hulkenberg again drove the Sauber as if he had stolen it, thrashing it around the tight and twisty bits to secure 12th place on the grid. By comparison his teammate Esteban Gutierrez was a Q1 victim, and 0.696 slower than his teammate.

The scene is set for what should be a tight contest, but the smart money would have to be on Vettel. Hamilton could well fall victim of Mercedes’ lack of race pace in the heat – and a heatwave is expected – but on the other hand the point and squirt nature of Hungaroring could play in their hands.

From a couple of rows too far down the grid, Vettel’s main title rivals Alonso and Raikkonen have it all to do. For the championship, the reigning world champion only needs to have his Red Bull finish ahead of that Lotus and that Ferrari – winning is not essential provided he can keep those two behind him.

But we all know such a scenario is not part of Vettel’s game plan… ever. It will be win or bust as always for Red Bull’s finest and that’s why we are in for a thriller on Sunday.

[MIKA27]

Grosjean escapes penalty after his Lotus fails post-qualifying floor test

Romain Grosjean has escaped penalty, despite his Lotus E21 failing a post-qualifying front floor deflection test on day two of the Hungarian grand Prix weekend.

Grosjean, who will now retain his third place grid spot, could have been excluded from qualifying and sent to the back of the grid, but after a hearing with representatives from Lotus, the stewards accepted that the test failure was a result of damage to one of the floor stays caused by Grosjean running over the kerbs at Turn 11 during his run in Q2.

A statement from the stewards said: “Based on the telemetry it was apparent that the car suffered an impact during Q2 resulting in a vertical acceleration ranging from -7.3g to +11.1g. Video evidence verified the car bottomed at Turn 11 consistent with the telemetry.

“It is considered reasonable that this impact caused a fracture in the floor stay of car #8. It was confirmed by physical examination that the floor stay on car #8 was identical to that on car #7 which was intact.

“‘Lifing documents’ (which show the history of each part) indicate the car #8 part had been fitted for in excess of 600kms including a full race.

“It is the conclusion of the stewards that the failure of this part was due to the impact in Q2 and subsequently caused the car to fail to meet the requirements of article 3.17.5.

“Accordingly this is deemed to be a case of accidental damage, not a case of non-compliance.”

[MIKA27]

Webber: A pain in the ass, frustrating and we look stupid

Mark Webber has always been known to speak his mind, and now that his career in Formula 1 is coming to an end there is even less reason for the Australian to indulge in ‘corporate speak’ when things go wrong, as they did in the final stages of qualifying costing him a possible top three or four starting berth – instead he lines up tenth on the grid due to technical issues on his Red Bull which had him seething with anger.

Webber stormed out of his pit garage, after being unable to take to the track in the all important Q3 segment of qualifying due to a KERS issue and a problem with shifting gears.

Talking to media afterwards Webber pulled no punches, “KERS! gearbox! You name it. Driving the car around so far off the potential it’s unbelievable. It is massively frustrating. We look stupid, it’s embarrassing. This is a brutal circuit to be out of position on, we should be challenging for the front row which is possible and we’re bloody tenth.”

“A pain in the ass and it’s amazing all the effort you go to and then you have two weekends on the bounce when you get that,” fumed the 37 year old who is contesting his final season in F1.

Teams are bracing themselves for a heatwave on race day in Budapest, which coupled to the tight and twisty nature of ther Hungaroring ciruit makes it one of the toughest races for drivers.

“We’ve got to get car operating at the limit the first thing tomorrow. It’s a long race with not everything functioning correctly,”

explained Webber. “KERS was [functioning at] 50% of it and there were other things. We managed to tick every box in qualifying and made it hard. So we’ve got to get that sorted for tomorrow [the race] but as usual it’s going to be hard to get the result we could have potentially got.”

His teammate Sebastian Vettel had a hassle free day, and was only narrowly beaten to pole position by Lewis Hamilton. Vettel will start second in the sister car.

Team principal Christian Horner sympathised with Webber’s plight, “Mark’s car had two issues, one with the gear shift and also with KERS, which was probably costing him up to 0.8 of a second per lap. He did a very impressive job to get into Q3, but at that stage, with a car that was not able to run at its full potential, we had to take a strategic approach to tomorrow’s race.”

“We therefore elected not to run in Q3, so he has a freedom of choice and fresh tyres for tomorrow’s race. It’s going to be interesting tomorrow and strategy is going to be crucial,” added the world champion team boss.

[MIKA27]

Alonso: To be fifth in qualifying, it was a little miracle

Fernando Alonso described his fifth place on the grid for the Hungarian Grand Prix as a ‘little miracle’ but he also admitted that he and Ferrari had lost their way in recent races.

“Yes, this is definitely a positive result,” he said. “To be fifth today, it was a little miracle,” said the former world champion.

“I think it’s a track that’s not historically good for Ferrari with these low speed corners. To be today a little bit closer to the pole position is good news, especially after being 10th on the grid in Silverstone, eighth in Nurburgring.

“Coming back to the top five is good news. We cannot hide that we have Mercedes in front of us, Red Bull, and Lotus, and when you have the fourth fastest car it’s a bit more difficult.

“We were a little bit lost in Silverstone. In Nurburgring we improved, but we were still not happy. Here, we are happier. We were worried about not being competitive at all here, so this is a good boost in motivation that we can have a winning car soon after the summer.”

Ferrari’s third row grid position is his best since his home Spanish Grand Prix in early May.

Alonso said he still had hopes of beating world champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull and cutting his lead of 34 points in the title race on Sunday.

“He starts second and we start fifth, so the first opportunity will be the first corner,” he said.

[MIKA27]

Button: Balance changed with the tyres

Jenson Button reckons a lack of balance cost him during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Showing signs of improvement throughout the weekend's practice sessions, Button was unable to turn that into a solid qualifying peformance.

While his team-mate Sergio Perez put his car up into ninth place, the Brit failed to make it into Q3.

Button will line-up 13th on the Hungaroring grid, citing a lack of balance as his biggest problem on Saturday.

"On old tyres the car was well balanced," Button told the BBC. "You stick new tyres on and it changes the balance of car.

"We've done a good job of adding downforce to this car but balance is tricky."

He added: "Perez did a good job."

[PaulP]

My guess:

Vettel

Alonso

Raikkonen

[pandyboy]

I really want Lewis to win this one but I'm not sure he can!

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[NaFFe]

i wonder if any over heating will be any issue with all the heat.

vettel

hamilton

webber

[pandyboy]

Great win for Lewis!

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[PaulP]

1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:27.709 1:42:29.445 3 2 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus 1:26.092 10.900 2 3 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 1:26.717 12.400 3 4 Mark Webber Red Bull 1:24.796 18.000 3 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:25.805 31.400 3 6 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:25.763 52.200 4 7 Jenson Button McLaren 1:28.903 53.800 2 8 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:27.786 56.400 3 9 Sergio Perez McLaren 1:28.969 1 lap 2 10 Pastor Maldonado Williams 1:25.597 1 lap 3 11 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber 1:29.247 1 lap 3 12 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:29.009 1 lap 3 13 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 1:28.685 1 lap 2 14 Giedo van der Garde Caterham 1:33.210 2 laps 3 15 Charles Pic Caterham 1:29.526 2 laps 2 16 Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:32.987 3 laps 3 17 Max Chilton Marussia 1:28.555 3 laps 3 R Paul di Resta Force India RETIRED 4 laps 4 R Nico Rosberg Mercedes RETIRED 6 laps 3 R Valtteri Bottas Williams RETIRED 28 laps 2 R Esteban Gutierrez Sauber RETIRED 42 laps 2 R Adrian Sutil Force India RETIRED 51 lap 1

[NaFFe]

hamilton did well. would have liked to seen grosjean do a bit better but not bad from him. good to see vettel push hard and not make it past raikkonen at the end aswell

[MIKA27]

Hey guys, thanks for posting!

Was a brilliant race this time around in Hungary which is not normally an interesting race.

[MIKA27]

Hungarian Grand Prix: Hamilton dominates to take first win with Silver Arrows

It took ten races to come – Lewis Hamilton’s first victory as a Mercedes driver – and when it came it was a famous one, as he dominated the Hungarian Grand Prix in a manner that surprised all, including himself, having declared just 24 hours earlier that a win at the tight and twisty Hungaroring, in blistering hot conditions, would be impossible. He was wrong.

Next best was Kimi Raikkonen who gave another top notch performance to finish second, in a thrilling late race defence of his position from Sebastian Vettel in all out attack mode. The world champion had to settle for third.

Contrary to predictions Hamilton did not falter at the start, the Mercedes did not succumb to the heat; instead the combination lasted effectively and thoroughly trounced the opposition. Such was the manner of victory, including some cruising in ‘save-those-tyres-mode’ during the final ten laps, that the Silver Arrows must now be considered serious championship contenders.

Hamilton managed a great start, and proceeded to fend off Sebastian Vettel’s early attacks before taking control of the race. The only obstacles he encountered were dealt with swiftly and efficiently – first dispensing of Jenson Button after his first stop, and later after his second stop making short work of overtaking Mark Webber.

When inspired Hamilton has few peers, his need to win almost desperate, and his third victory at the track near Budapest was a product of sheer inspiration. You get the impression nothing would have stopped him on the day as he well and truly vindicated his move from McLaren to Mercedes. The relief was palpable, he even kissed his car!

“It’s an incredible feeling and I’d like to thank all the fans. My team did an incredible job, we studied a lot last night and were hoping the tyres would last. We had no idea it would go that well. I was hungry for it today, I was going all out. Usually I get stuck in traffic and today I was going for every move I could,” declared the 2008 world champion on the occasion of his 22nd grand prix win.

Kimi Raikkonen’s relentless points scoring record continued in Hungary, but more than anything the Finn gave a gutsy drive to take second place after starting sixth on the grid and with the 18 points haul overtaking Fernando Alonso in the championship points table.

The Lotus driver was the only one out of the top six to two-stop, and by the end of the race was down on pace, but still had enough to keep a charging Vettel at bay.

“I keep making my life difficult on Saturdays so we pay the price [on Sunday]. I had a good car, we did two stops, it was tight with Seb at the end but we gained some points in the championship. I felt the tyres were good at the end but I didn’t really have any doubts that I could keep Seb behind me, I had good speed throughout. The team worked well, everything worked well, but unfortunately yesterday wasn’t the easiest day otherwise we could have challenged for the win,” reflected Raikkonen afterwards.

Smart money before the race would have been on Vettel and Red Bull to take top honours, but in the end Mercedes and Hamilton were too strong and the Lotus strategy a lap too cunning.

Nevertheless the reigning world champion keeps a healthy points lead, at the top of the championship table, going into the summer break.

Vettel summed up his afternoon, ”It was not the best race. The start was difficult and when Lewis pulled in we thought we could do it on the softs. I damaged my front wing which did not help. I tried to hang in there and tried to fight back with Kimi. I could not get him on the straight. We wanted a little bit more today.”

Any friendship between Vettel and Raikkonen was tested when the Red Bull driver tried to overtake on the outside of Turn 3, but Raikkonen was having none of it by keeping his line and forcing Vettel wide. The champ was not happy and got onto the team radio: ”He didn’t give me enough room.”

The team responded: “We’ll inform Charlie [Whiting].”

Nothing came of it and afterwards Vettel commented on the podium, ”I told Kimi I was not happy but he was laughing. That’s racing.”

That they might be teammates next year? Interesting times lie ahead if that is going to be the case.

Our man of the match award would have to go to Mark Webber who was dogged by bad luck in qualifying which limited him to tenth place on the grid, but in the race he knuckled down and bounced back impressively to take fourth place, almost treating us to a tussle against his Red Bull teammate – but he was about six seconds short.

After starting fifth one would have expected Fernando Alonso to have made it on to the podium, as this has tended to be the trend in recent races. However, in Hungary the Ferrari seemed out of sorts, and the Spaniard had to work hard to bring it home fifth.

Early in the race Romain Grosjean looked set to contend for a podium spot, as he harassed Vettel and looked feisty in what was clearly a good car. But the Frenchman was again a tad too enthusiastic in his overtaking moves including banging wheels with Jenson Button and going off track to overtake Felipe Massa.

Although the Frenchman never really looked overtly dangerous, his off track excursion versus Massa got him a drive through penalty which ended any hopes of a podium. Sixth was the reward for his toil.

Seventh place went to Button who at least was battling on the right side of the top ten. He proved hard to pass for Vettel, and in the end McLaren would have been happy to have both drivers score points on the day – Button was seventh and Sergio Perez ninth.

Splitting the McLaren pair on the results sheet in eighth place was Felipe Massa who was in the wars, His Ferrari appeared bullet proof as it survived some hard knocks during the course of the race.

Pastor Maldonado rounded out the top ten and thus scored the first point of the season for the Williams team – cue relief all around.

While Hamilton enjoyed the spoils of victory, teammate Nico Rosberg rued a DNF after the engine in his Mercedes blew up as he powered down to Turn 2 on lap 66. A bittersweet day for the three pointed star.

Last word to winner Hamilton: ”This is probably one of the most important grand prix wins of my career having moved to a new team. I could not be happier. I hope there is plenty more to come. We have to work hard but if we can make the tyres last here we can do it anywhere.”

Now for the holidays….

[MIKA27]

No tyre war unless rules change says Hembery

Pirelli motorsport boss Paul Hembery has played down reports that his company might have to go wheel-to-wheel with Michelin in Formula 1 next year.

There are rumours that Michelin, apparently supported by FIA top man Jean Todt, is planning a Formula 1-related announcement for the middle of this week. The French marque was last seen on the grid as the Bridgestone ‘tyre war’ ended in 2006,

Michelin is believed to favour a competitive situation for a return to Formula 1, while Pirelli is more content with the current one-supplier rules, designed to keep costs down.

Asked if the Michelin reports have him worried, Pirelli’s motor sport director Hembery replied: “We have a contract with the teams, but the rules do not allow competition between tyre manufacturers.

“We are doing our job,” he told Formula 1news.ru, as Pirelli pushes for a new multi-year contract to be the sport’s sole supplier of tyres beyond 2013.

Hembery concluded: “If the rules change, we will be told about it.”

[MIKA27]

Ecclestone admits that 2014 Indian GP could be dropped

Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has confirmed reports that a question mark hangs above India’s Grand Prix.

We reported on Friday that, with teams keen to limit the calendar to 20 races, Formula 1′s chief executive had identified India and Korea as the most likely to go.

“I think there is a consensus about doing 20 races,” Mercedes’ Toto Wolff said in Hungary, following meetings with his fellow F1 chiefs.

“Anything more and you need to ramp up the organisation. So let’s stick to 20.”

The main problem in India is a tax issue, with the government insisting teams and drivers should be taxed at a full rate on their high incomes.

“Is India going to happen next year? Probably not,” Ecclestone admitted, according to Reuters news agency.

He confirmed that the problem is “political”.

The Indian broadcaster NDTV quoted a spokesman for Indian race promoter Jaypee as saying its contract with F1 is until 2015, and that it wants to continue to host the race.

[MIKA27]

Alonso 'very happy' at Ferrari

Fernando Alonso insists he is "very happy" at Ferrari despite speculation linking him to move to Red Bull next season.

Having joined Ferrari at the start of the 2010 campaign much was expected of the new partnership but it has yet to deliver a World title with Alonso finishing runner-up in 2010 and again in 2012.

This season it again appears as if the former World Champion will miss out on a third Drivers' title as he dropped even more points to Sebastian Vettel in Hungary. Ten races into this campaign, Alonso trails the Red Bull racer by 39 points.

Throw into the mix the fact that Alonso's manager Luis Garcia Abad met with Red Bull team boss Christian Horner in Budapest and there is plenty of speculation that the Spaniard has grown tired of being beaten by the Bulls.

Alonso, however, insists he is still happy at Ferrari, he just wants more from the car.

"I'm very happy," said the 31-year-old. "Of course we need to improve the car if we are going to have chances to win the World Championship.

"Always with four weeks with no Formula One it's a very dangerous period for [the media] so hopefully we will have a quiet summer."

Meanwhile, Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali says he's not worried about losing the double World Champion to Red Bull

Asked about the situation, the Italian said: "No."

"First of all we have a contract with him. For sure, Fernando is an asset to the team.

"We need him to work very closely with everyone because after all this is a difficult moment in the season.

"It's about team work. We have to deliver a job. Full stop. This is the same for everyone, not only for him."

[MIKA27]

Massa defends under-fire Grosjean

While most were lambasting Romain Grosjean in the wake of the Hungarian GP, Felipe Massa has come to the Lotus driver's defence.

Grosjean was penalised not once but twice on Sunday, the first time being during the grand prix and again after it.

During the 70-lap race he was hit with a drive-through penalty for overtaking Massa outside the track limits.

The Brazilian, though, reckons that was "completely" wrong and undeserving.

"If he took the penalty because of what he did with me, that's completely wrong," the Ferrari driver told Autosport.

"He didn't go four wheels outside, he went with two wheels. Two wheels is possible."

Grosjean's second punishment was a 20-second post-race penalty for his part in his collision with Jenson Button that damaged the McLaren driver's car.

That part Button says was just. "I couldn't go any more left," he said.

"That's it, really. Unless I'm on the grass, which is not where I want to be when I'm braking for a corner, he had no way of not hitting me. I obviously didn't realise how narrow the circuit was at that corner...

"It could have been a lot worse than it was. It could have ended both of our races. I was quite lucky. I think our cars are robust."

[MIKA27]

Maldonado hopes Hungary is the start

Ten races into this year's Championship and Williams broke their duck as Pastor Maldonado brought his car home in tenth place in Hungary.

It's been a trying campaign for Williams who in the past would often mix it up for race victories and World titles.

This season, though, they've been struggling just to score points.

And although the team entered Sunday's Hungarian GP as the only established outfit without a point to their name, they changed that when Maldonado crossed the line in 10th place.

"I had a really good start from P15 and made a few overtaking manoeuvres during the race which were on the limit, which is especially pleasing as, at this track, it is very hard to overtake," the Venezuelan said.

"he car felt consistent, maybe not as fast in the second and third stints, but very consistent."

Maldonado is now hoping that having done it once, more top-ten results will follow then F1 returns from its summer break.

"I really want to keep scoring points now, and be even stronger during the second part of the season," he concluded.

[MIKA27]

Fine for Ferrari after DRS issue

Ferrari have been fined after the DRS on Fernando Alonso's car was activated illegally during the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Spaniard finished fifth at Budapest, but stewards released a report after the race stating that his DRS was activated on three occasions outside the designated one second window.

A statement from technical delegate Jo Bauer read: "After the race DRS activation data from car #3 was analysed. It was found that the driver has activated the adjustable bodywork in three occasions when he was more than one second behind another car.

"As this is not in conformity with article 27.5b of the 2013 Formula 1 sporting regulations I am referring this matter to the stewards for their consideration."

However, a setting error by the team was to blame and the Italian outfit were hit with a €15,000 fine.

"The DRS enabling system was not changed by the team from the pre-race to the race setting," a statement from the stewards said.

"The driver therefore incorrectly received 'DRS enabled' messages and reacted to them (when not entitled to) on three occasions.

"As soon as the team became aware of the problem they informed the driver to only use DRS when told to do so by the team.

"Whilst a small sporting advantage (less than one second over the entire race) was gained, the team argued #3 also suffered a disadvantage by being unable to use DRS on every legitimate occasion.

"However, the team is ultimately responsible for ensuring the system conforms to the regulations."

Meanwhile, Lotus driver Romain Grosjean, who finished P6, was handed a 20s retrospective penalty.

The Frenchman was punished for making contact with Jenson Button while trying to overtake the McLaren driver on lap 24.

[MIKA27]

Mercedes are now contenders and keen to take the fight to Red Bull

Mercedes believe they can put their tyre woes behind them and mount a genuine Formula 1 title challenge in the wake of Lewis Hamilton’s Hungarian Grand Prix win on Sunday.

The 2008 world champion might have greeted his first victory for Mercedes since his move from McLaren at the end of last season as something of a ‘miracle’ but others saw it differently.

Mercedes go into the August break, which marks the midpoint of the season, in second place overall after winning three of the last five races and taking seven pole positions in the 10 rounds so far.

The team is 69 points adrift of Red Bull in the constructors’ standings, a tidy amount, while Hamilton has 48 to make up in the drivers’ battle, with nine races left.

Asked whether he felt there was a momentum building at Mercedes, even if Red Bull scored two points more than them at the Hungaroring by getting both cars into the points, team principal Ross Brawn gave qualified assent.

“It’s so fragile,” he said. “The team had a very strong weekend and if we replicate that there’s no reason why not. If we don’t replicate it then we won’t.

“We’ve got to get both cars to the finish, we didn’t do that today. A very strong performance with Lewis, Nico [Rosberg] had some problems – not of his own making but you’ve got to have both cars right up there.

“I think it’s still open myself and certainly we won’t be giving up,” added the Briton.

Red Bull principal Christian Horner, whose team have won the last three drivers’ and constructors titles and are well on the way to making it four in a row, agreed that there was a long way to go yet.

“I don’t think it has ever been off,” he said when asked whether the championship was ‘on’. “Mercedes since the second race have been very quick and that is still the case here.

“I think we are set for a really intense second half of the year. But we just have to maintain our consistency no matter who the opponent is.”

Hamilton said it was still to early to talk of the championship but Sunday’s win showed “[that] anything is possible”.

“I just hope that it’s not the last time my tyres work for me,” he said.

The tyres have been Mercedes’ big problem, with Rosberg and Hamilton sweeping the front row in Spain in May but then sinking in the race.

Mercedes took part in a controversial ‘secret’ tyre test at the Barcelona circuit in May and were punished by being barred from a young driver test at Silverstone this month.

That test was expanded to regular drivers after a spate of tyre blowouts at the British Grand Prix threw the sport into crisis, with Pirelli changing the tyres for Hungary to marry the tougher 2012 structure with 2013 compounds.

Brawn recognised that the switch may have helped the team but said that mastering the tyres was still very much a moving target.

“I think the Nurburgring (venue ofthe German GP, just before Hungary) was another piece of the jigsaw. In our post-race analysis of the Nurburgring we understood a bit more,” he said.

“The tyres changed again here and we’ve slightly focused on a few different things in terms of trying to judge where we were in terms of tyre performance and what we have to do to achieve a good long-run result.

“I still don’t have any idea, quite frankly, whether this tyre is the one that suits us more or less than anyone else. It’s certainly changed the order a little bit because some teams who are doing exceptionally well like Force India have struggled with it.”

Brawn said that the situation was sure to change further, with rivals coming to terms with the change soon enough.

“We got it on the button this weekend, it doesn’t mean we’ll get it right at Spa because every situation is different,” he said, referring to the next race in Belgium on Aug. 25. “You just build up your understanding of it to use it properly.”

[MIKA27]

Organiser confirms no Indian GP in 2014

Indian Grand Prix organisers on Tuesday confirmed that the race at Buddh International Circuit will not take place in 2014.

Earlier, Formula 1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone – under pressure to limit the calendar to a maximum of 20 grands prix – admitted that the race outside New Delhi is the first to go.

With Russia, Austria and New Jersey all scheduled to join the already 19-strong race calendar, former Indian Formula 1 driver Karun Chandhok admitted: “Bernie is spoiled for choice.”

“I think F1 is in demand,” added the former HRT driver, whose father Vicky is the Indian motor sport federation boss.

Ecclestone has admitted the government’s tax policy is a problem, but the official line is that a scheduling issue has triggered the need for a one-year race sabbatical.

[Having a 2014 race in October and another early in 2015] was too close,” he told the Indo-Asian News Service. ”Therefore, after speaking to promoters, we think it is best not to have a race in 2014 and [rather] have one in 2015.”

Race organiser Jaypee is now confirming Ecclestone’s news.

“If Formula 1 Management wants us to hold our race in March 2015, we don’t have any problem with that,” said managing director Sameer Gaur.

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Ferrari tells Alonso to put the interests of the team above his own

Ferrari dealt Fernando Alonso a rare public rebuke on his birthday on Monday for critical comments after Sunday’s Hungarian Formula One Grand Prix.

“All the great champions who have driven for Ferrari have always been asked to put the interests of the team above their own,” the team website quoted president Luca di Montezemolo as telling the Spaniard in a telephone conversation to wish him a happy 32nd birthday.

“This is the moment to stay calm, avoid polemics and show humility and determination in making one’s own contribution, standing alongside the team and its people both at the track and outside it,” he added.

Alonso finished fifth at the Hungaroring and slipped to third in the championship, 39 points adrift of Red Bull’s triple champion Sebastian Vettel with nine races left.

Asked afterwards what kind of car he wanted for his birthday, the double world champion told Italian reporters: “The one the others have”.

Asked also what he planned to do over the August break, with the season now at its midpoint, the Spaniard had retorted: “I will pray”.

In a blunt assessment, the Ferrari website said Alonso’s comments “did not go down well with Montezemolo, nor with anyone in the team” and said the president had “tweaked” the driver’s ear in their conversation.

The polemic came after Alonso’s manager was seen entering the Red Bull motorhome in Hungary, triggering paddock speculation that the champions could be considering the Ferrari driver as a possible team mate for Vettel.

Alonso has a contract with Ferrari to the end of 2016 and is the team’s undisputed number one driver, with Montezemolo usually unstinting in his praise.

Ferrari had earlier announced a reshuffle in their engineering department with James Allison arriving from Lotus as technical director on Sept. 1.

Pat Fry will assume a new position as director of engineering and both men will report to team principal Stefano Domenicali.

Allison, who worked closely with German driver Michael Schumacher in a previous stint with Ferrari, left his last job as Lotus technical director in May.

Ferrari said that Allison’s arrival was proof of Montezemolo’s determination to ensure the team had all the support and resources it needed.

“There is a need to close ranks, without giving in to rash outbursts that, while understandable in the immediate aftermath of a bad result, are no use to anyone,” the website said.

It added that the president had made his displeasure with the team’s current performance clear.

“Montezemolo did not mince his words when it came to asking the team to step up a gear,” the website declared.

“Each one of the engineers present received a ‘gift’ of a knife, along with an invitation – metaphorical up to a point – to put it between their teeth when thinking how to tackle the second half of the season.”

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Korean GP also likely to be axed in near future

The Korean Grand Prix looks set to join India in being axed from the Formula 1 calendar, as Bernie Ecclestone trims the 2014 calendar to a maximum of 20 races.

It has been reported that Austria, Russia and New Jersey are to be added to the current 19-race schedule.

However, slated to be the second American race on the 2014 calendar, and punted as “set amid the Manhattan skyline”, New Jersey now appears unlikely.

Mercedes chairman Niki Lauda said a few days ago that New Jersey “didn’t happen this year because of a lack of money”.

“As far as I know,” the Formula 1 legend told Austrian broadcaster ORF, “it’s already gone from the calendar”.

And amid reports that Ecclestone will drop the Indian Grand Prix over a tax issue, Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport claims thatthe other race unlikely to survive beyond 2013 is Korea.

“Apparently,” said correspondent Tobias Gruner, “the organisers have run out of money”.

“Ecclestone is well known for having little patience if his fees are not paid.”

The AFP news agency also reports that Korea is in doubt, saying the organiser “has lost money since it first hosted Formula 1 in 2010, and local authorities are unwilling to cover losses”.

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Ferrari offers Raikkonen 2014 contract for more money than Red Bull deal

The 2014 driver silly season has upped another gear and taken yet another shock twist, with Bildnewspaper claiming that Kimi Raikkonen, already wanted by Lotus next year and also in the running to switch to Red Bull, is now also a contender to drive a Ferrari in 2014.

Raikkonen, who drove for the great Italian marque for three years and even won the title in 2007, left Ferrari one year early at the end of 2009 when the team replaced him with Fernando Alonso.

Alonso, however, although under contract through 2016, has been linked with a shock move to Red Bull, while Brazilian Felipe Massa’s deal ends at the end of the current season.

Bild correspondents Nicola Pohl and Helmut Uhl report that Ferrari “has made the Finn an offer”.

They claim the offer, “more lucrative” than what is being promised by Red Bull, was made to the 33-year-old on the Thursday before the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Bild says that Red Bull’s offer is a $15 million retainer, performance bonuses, and sponsorship of his motocross team.

The Raikkonen rumour could tie in with reports of a developing rift between Alonso and Ferrari, after president Luca di Montezemolo “tweaked his ear” just after the Spaniard made disparaging comments in Hungary. A spokesman has denied talk of a rift.

“The president is 100 per cent with Alonso,” a Ferrari spokesman told Manuel Franco, the correspondent for Spanish sports newspaper AS.

“Montezemolo is the first one to support the call of our driver to improve, as soon as possible, the competitiveness of the car,” he added.

In the wake of reports linking Raikkonen to Ferrari, a team spokesman told news agency DPA the team “has no interest in the driver market right now”.

“For all those who may have a short memory: just a year ago everyone came with a list of drivers who could replace Felipe [Massa],” the spokesman added.

Raikkonen’s decision, whichever way it pans out, will impact the ‘silly season’ which already has Nico Hulkenberg moving to Lotus, and teenager Sergey Sirotkin earmarked for a Sauber seat in 2014.

Daniel Ricciardo is then most likely to be promoted to Red Bull and Antonio Felix da Costa most likely to get his grand prix debut with Toro Rosso next year, with Carlos Sainz Junior waiting in the wings.

The final word (for now) on the saga goes to world champion Vettel, who must surely have at least some input as to who his teammate will be.

When asked to pick between Raikkonen or Alonso by the BBC he replied;

“I’d prefer Kimi. I need to be careful now, … nothing against Fernando, I really respect him a lot as a driver. But I respect Kimi on track, off track, because he has always been very straight with me. From that point of view it would be a bit easier.”

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Tost: It would be better if Ricciardo stays another year with Toro Rosso

Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost has admitted that he would be happy if Daniel Ricciardo spends another year with the Red Bull ‘junior team’.

Australian Ricciardo has earned a place in contention for the departing Mark Webber’s 2014 seat at Red Bull. But also in the running is Kimi Raikkonen, amid F1′s hottest rumour that Fernando Alonso also might want to be Sebastian Vettel’s teammate next year.

However Toro Rosso team boss Tost told Speed Week that he sees “no reason” why Red Bull shouldn’t choose 23-year-old Ricciardo over his title-winning rivals.

“Personally,” he admitted, “I would rather see him get another year in the maturing process at Toro Rosso. I mean, we are talking here about Red Bull Racing, the champion team of the last three years.”

“Daniel has never been on a Formula 1 podium, he has not won a race – because our car was not good enough. That’s the only negative I see for him. Otherwise, I think he will have great successes in F1.”

On the other hand, Tost insisted that a young Sebastian Vettel was not so different to Ricciardo when the reigning triple world champion stepped up from Toro Rosso.

“The biggest difference between Vettel and Ricciardo was that Vettel went to Red Bull when it was not a winning team. They grew up together.”

“But Ricciardo must immediately be on the podium and fighting for wins. Perhaps the chance has come a year too early,” added Tost.