Ricciardo passes Alonso in closing stages to win Hungarian GP
Daniel Ricciardo has won his second GP of the year.
Fernando Alonso, Daniel Ricciardo and Lewis Hamilton on the podium
XPB Images
Daniel Ricciardo has won for the second time this year as he continues to be the only driver besides Hamilton and Rosberg to win a GP this year.
The fight
It came down to a three-way fight for the win between three titans of the sport. Alonso led in the Ferrari, Hamilton ran second in the Mercedes, and Ricciardo stalked closely in the Red Bull from 3rd. Hamilton tried attacking the Ferrari, but to no avail.
Ricciardo went to the outside of Hamilton and with the tires locked up, made it stick and moved into the runner-up position. He quickly found himself on the gearbox of Alonso, passing him fairly easily and going onto winning the race.
The battle continued for runner-up honors as Alonso, Hamilton, and Rosberg fought amongst themselves. On the final lap, Rosberg attempted to pass Hamilton the same way Ricciardo did. Lewis was having none of it, forcing his teammate off the track and hanging onto the final spot on the podium. This was all despite having to start the proceedings from the pit lane and reporting that he had difficulty getting his brakes up to temperature on his car in the early stages.
Team orders
Hamilton was also told by the team via his radio to let his team mate, Nico Rosberg through at one point, and Hamilton didn't feel like obliging as you can imgaine. Rosberg told reporters afterwards that they will 'talk about the issue internally.'
Rosberg would finish fourth and Felipe Massa fifth. Alonso’s team mate, Kimi Raikkonen seemed to keep out of the limelight for the majority of the race and quietly climb his way up the field. The Finnish driver completed the 70 lap marathon in sixth place.
Ricciardo’s team mate, Sebastian Vettel finished the race a few places further down the grid to the race winner. The reigning World Champion secured seventh place for himself as the action came to a close. Vettel had a near miss on lap 33, which nearly saw the German driver bow out of the action as he narrowly avoided crashing into the pit wall on the start-finish straight.
Massa’s team mate, Valtteri Bottas was not able to maintain his recent run of podium finishes to claim his fourth consecutive one today, ending the race in eighth.
Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne picked up some Championship points for himself and the team as the Frenchman crossed the finish line in ninth place.
McLaren’s Jenson Button showed good form in the race and was the leading man for a short while, but was not able to maintain this pace all the way to the chequered flag. The 2009 World Champion took the tenth and final point scoring position as a result.
A rough day at the Hungaroring
Beyond the top 10, the remaining drivers in the race were left to battle over 11th to 16 place. Vergne’s team mate, Daniil Kvyat was among those who failed to secure a point scoring position. The Russian rookie driver suffered a loss of power before the formation lap got underway prior to the race start, but Kvyat managed to get going in the end and he started from the pit lane.
During the race, Lotus Renault’s Pastor Maldonado and Marussia’s Jules Bianchi got a little too close for comfort and had contact on lap 18. The pair were forced to visit the pits following the incident, and both missed out on a place in the points.
Caterham’s Marcus Ericsson became the first of the six drivers who failed to reach the finish line in the race. The Swedish driver crashed out of the action on lap eight, which led to the appearance of the safety car to allow the marshals to clear his car and the debris from the track.
The safety car was due to return to the pits on lap 11, once the track was in a fit state to race in normal conditions. Maldonado’s team mate, Romain Grosjean bowed out of the race on lap 11 and crashed like Ericsson. The French man’s accident led the safety car to remain on the track until lap 13 before the race properly got underway again.
Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg was the first of the team’s two drivers to retire from the race. The German driver went off the circuit at the final corner and crashed into the barriers after he and team mate, Sergio Perez got a little too close for comfort.
Perez then accompanied Hulkenberg on lap 23 and made it a double retirement for the team from today’s race. The Mexican driver crashed into the pit wall on the start-finish straight, which led to the second safety car period until lap 26.
Ericsson’s team mate, Kamui Kobayashi also crashed out of the proceedings on lap 26, making it a double retirement for the Caterham team as well.
Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez became the sixth and final retiree from the race on lap 33. The Mexican driver returned to the pits in his car and reportedly made an early exit due to a KERS failure on his car.
Where we stand
Rosberg's advantage over Hamilton in the championship has been reduced to just eleven points.
The drivers and teams now have the summer break and time away from the action on the track, until they get back to business as usual when the Belgian Grand Prix takes place on 24th August.
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