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Grand Prix of Hungary
| Place | Grid | Race | ||
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| 1 2 3 |
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Kimi Räikkönen Felipe Massa Rubens Barrichello |
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Jenson Button Pedro de la Rosa Nick Heidfeld |
| 4 5 6 7 8 |
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Pedro de la Rosa (Q=5) Mark Webber (Q=6) Ralf Schumacher (Q=7) Giancarlo Fisichella (Q=8) Jarno Trulli (Q=9) |
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Rubens Barrichello David Coulthard Ralf Schumacher Felipe Massa Michael Schumacher |
| 9 10 |
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Robert Kubica (Q=10) Nick Heidfeld (Q=11) |
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Tiago Monteiro Christijan Albers |
| 11 12 13 14 15 16 |
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Michael Schumacher (Q=12) David Coulthard (Q=13) Christian Klien (Q=14) Jenson Button (Q=4) Fernando Alonso Tiago Monteiro |
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Scott Speed Jarno Trulli Takuma Sato Fernando Alonso Kimi Räikkönen Vitantonio Liuzzi |
| 17 18 19 20 21 22 |
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Vitantonio Liuzzi Nico Rosberg Takuma Sato Scott Speed (Q=19) Sakon Yamamoto (Q=22) Christijan Albers (Q=21) |
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Nico Rosberg Giancarlo Fisichella Christian Klien Mark Webber Sakon Yamamoto Robert Kubica (P7 finish) |
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 Pole: 1'19"599 |
Best Lap: 1'23"516 |
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Motor change penalty | |
did not finish | |
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Disciplinary penalty | |
disqualified | |
| (Q=) | original qualifying place | |
car failure | |
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spin or accident | |||
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final 15' session (race fuel+tires) | |
Podium | |
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second 15' session (low fuel load) | |
Points | |
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first 15' session (low fuel load) | |
- no points - (from 8th down) | |
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See this GP's history & stats at Wikipedia. The development of the unrestricted 2.4 liter V8 engines having made them quicker along the Season, the FIA argued that it was fair that Toro Rosso (the only team running rev-limited V10 engines) be then granted a boost. So, an extra 300 rpm was allowed for their performance-limited V10 engines, on Saturday. 
This boost to Toro Rosso's power-restricted V10 units has likewise been allowed for the remaining qualifying sessions of the 2006 Season–i.e., qualifying sessions, though not free practice sessions, nor the race, itself. Evidently, none of the V8-powered teams were pleased by the FIA decision, MF1 reportedly vowing to fight against it, as the FIA measure re-ignited the old equivalency controversies regarding Toro Rosso's special dispensation to use the V10s. The dispensation at stake had originally been granted under-funded Minardi, Red Bull owned Toro Rosso benefiting from it, since they purchased the Minardi team–see F1 Quotes # 1 & F1 Quotes # 5. The FIA's Court of Appeal will not be meeting until August 22, to rule over the outlawing of the mass dampers. But, following the German GP, FIA's Charlie Whiting had reportedly sent a document to all the teams, stating that, even if the banning were to be upheld, there will be no retroactive punishment. The mass dampers's chief advantage is the reduction of tire vibration; in other words the banned system literally offers a smoother ride. The race in Hungary being known to be particularly hard on tires, it then seems obvious, after their disappointing performance in the German GP, why Renault would have announced that they would return to using the banned mass damping system, in Hungary, now that they had the guarantee of Charlie Whiting's letter (see right above). The system had initially been banned by the FIA on July 20, shortly after the race in France. But at the German GP weekend, Renault managed to get the race stewards actually to allow the use of the mass dampers, a maneuver perhaps evoking echoes of former Minardi's boss (Australian Paul Stoddart), which was promptly responded to by the FIA with the threat that anyone using the mass damping system could come to lose their points, as the FIA was going to appeal against the ruling of their own stewards, in Germany. Charlie Whiting's above-mentioned document seemed to have temporarily brought on the scene a mid-way measure that undoubtedly favors the Renault Team. Whether or not Ferrari, their closest competitors, would attempt to engender whatever counter-measure is of course yet to be seen. The entire issue has grown around the FIA's ban on movable parts related to aerodynamic performance⁄gains (the flexible wings issue constituting another related controversy), based on which ban, the FIA then outlawed the mass damping system. It appears that, in Germany, Renault managed to convince the stewards that the banned mass dampers had no aerodynamic effect at all, and therefore the stewards' going against the FIA's previous ruling and allowing the use the outlawed mass damping system, a situation that motivated the FIA to appeal against that local ruling. See related quote (Renault's Pat Symonds, on F1 Quotes-6 page). But when we get to the bottom of it all, it is rather a matter of interpretation... Even if the mass dampers are not a direct aerodynamic component, the fact that they allow a smoother ride attributes them a direct aerodynamic effect that possibly interacts with the functioning of the other aerodynamic components in a car. So where does one draw the line?... Shall the definition of aerodynamic effect be strict or broad?... The FIA could well profit from hiring a linguist, so as to avoid the many small issues that have consumed time, energy, and money, since the old rules started being altered. What is crucial regarding the current issue (not to mention lamentable) is that the August 22 meeting may actually have a deciding role on 2006's championships–both drivers' and constructors'... For, as it has become evident in Germany, Renault is the team to bear the heaviest loss, should the initial ban on the system be confirmed. This would evidently make Ferrari's catching up job quite a lot simpler...and possibly take away some of the charm of this year's championship... The announced August 22 meeting, by the way, has been scheduled just ahead of the Grand Prix in Turkey. Can the Renault cars now take a much needed step forward–as they had, in fact advanced would be the case, before the race in Germany–and fight back, recovering some of their lost advantage? Will they be using, in Hungary, the banned mass dampers, as initially announced? Robert Kubica will be the first Pole ever to line up on a Formula One grid: the young Pole has been announced as Jacques Villeneuve's replacement in Hungary. According to the Sauber-BMW Team, Villeneuve declared himself not yet ready to race, after his crash in Germany. (See the F1 Quotes-6 page for Villeneuve's own words on this issue.) No less surprisingly, to the announcement the Team added that we have not yet made a decision on who will drive the car either in the remaining races of the season or next year. The news is a real stunner, since Villeneuve did not appear to have been hurt at all, in that crash, even though he did described it as a big crash. Incidentally, on Villeneuve's Web site, there is no clear reference to his being physically unfit for racing–there's simply a reproduction of BMW's laconic note on his not racing in Hungary.
Could it be that the Canadian's disastrous race in Germany, along with his lack of points since the Canadian GP (his last point was obtained in England) has motivated the Sauber-BMW Team to replace Jacques Villeneuve in Hungary, a GP which Villeneuve had already indicated (in the team's Race Preview) that neither he felt very confident (or enthusiastic) about, nor the public should expect too much from him at this weekend's Hungarian GP–this last part, in italics, omitted from the team's official Race Preview, but published on Villeneuve's site. In other words, Villeneuve's own race preview sounds rather glum, a fact that may well have had its say on the announcement made by the Team, just some 24 hours or so later... There has additionally been some questioning, in the international media, regarding whether or not the last we have seen of Villeneuve's F1 racing could have been in Germany... Could it be that the Sauber-BMW Team have decided to verify, in Hungary, how the promising Robert Kubica actually performs over an entire racing weekend, before making a final announcement?... If true, it would be very sad to see Jacques Villeneuve, one of the three World Champions currently in action in F1 racing, be dumped for a second time (the first was by the former B•A•R team, now Honda, in favor of Takuma Sato). Time will of course tell whether or not any of the above remarks turn out to be actual, the same going for the suspicion that has now surfaced in the international media. What is fact is that the Sauber-BMW's laconic announcement, and in special the unnecessary–but added–remark that we have not yet made a decision on who will drive the car either in the remaining races of the season or next year certainly add fuel to whatever suspicions and rumor mills. Before the Hungary GP, the Williams Team has announced that Alexander Wurz will partner Nico Rosberg in 2006. The news means that Mark Webber must find a new team. Evidently if reliability is not an issue, the Williams team could surprise in Hungary, with a better result than they have been managing lately, for not only have they upped their game, but also high downforce tracks seem to suit their cars. Will Ferrari continue demonstrating their late top form, and continue clawing away on both championships' points? How about the other teams, most of which did show progress in Germany? This coming Grand Prix in Hungary has every ingredient to turn into a very exciting racing weekend. On Friday, Christijan Albers's motor again had to be replaced–the Dutch driver had just had a motor change penalty in Germany. Also on Friday, Fernando Alonso was given a double-disciplinary time penalty, the final outcome of which will be equivalent to a grid demotion, since in each of the three qualifying sessions, two seconds are to be added to Alonso's time: one second for dangerous driving, the other for ignoring yellow flags–both incidents in Friday's second practice session. The defending Champion appears not to be coping too well with the current championship pressure. Alonso's penalties were due to [1] breaking the yellow-flag rule and overtaking, and [2] unsporting and dangerous behavior towards Robert Doornbos, from angry gesticulation to veering and finally test-braking the young Dutch driver–see 
clip. Unnecessary, unacceptable and dangerous were the words used by the FIA Stewards to describe [2], just above. This penalty has certainly meant a real blow to Alonso's hopes of victory in Hungary, given that a good grid position is of paramount importance in Hungary, a track where overtaking is extremely difficult–the Hungaroring is second only to Monaco in this aspect. The Saturday morning practice session was red-flagged when fire started coming out of Jenson Button's Honda, and the British driver stopped on track, flames gushing from the sidepod. Once the fire was put out, the practice session was restarted and proceeded without further incidents. Unfortunately for Button, this incident means an engine change and its accompanying grid demotion penalty. At the end of this third practice session, though, Michael Schumacher was summoned by the Stewards, for someone (?) had reportedly witnessed him pass Robert Kubica and Fernando Alonso (!), after the race had been red-flagged due to the fire just mentioned–Kubica was right behind Alonso's gearbox, at the time of the overtaking. 
The quotes are transcriptions of interviews over this incident: M.Schumacher's, Alonso's, and Bernie Ecclestone's (who clearly expresses disapproval of Alonso's conduct, whereas he is curiously thankful that M.Schumacher's overtaking under a red flag helped justify Alonso's penalty and, at the same time, helped prevent the race from being spoiled). The clip, in turn, reveals some other details, including grounds for suspicion that Alonso could have actually slowed down deliberately, and if so, possibly intending that M.Schumacher might then break the red flag rule, as the German, in fact, did. It is of course impossible to know Alonso's intention for a fact, just as it was impossible to know for a fact M.Schumacher's in his Monaco incident, in May. Though what we see as evidences usually point at a logical conclusion that corresponds to facts, there are times, in life, in which evidences are misleading, however conclusive they seem to be. So, not wishing to be unfair, we must not conclude what Alonso may or not have intended. What appears clearly evident on the clip is that Alonso does slow down suddenly as he is taking a corner, just as if break-testing Kubica, who is between the Spaniard and M.Schumacher, and then suddenly speeds up again, as soon as M.Schumacher has moved ahead of the two, then following M.Schumacher's car at approximately the same speed as the German. Whatever the reason, Kubica curiously stated that he didn't think Alonso slowed down and sped up again, when asked about the incident. Nonetheless, the video evidence (see clip) clearly reveals the young Pole having to break hard behind Alonso, as it likewise shows Alonso pulling away from Kubica, once M.Schumacher had passed the two–the change in speed between the Spaniard and the Pole clearly taking the latter once more by surprise. Could the current young F1 Champion have really had the nerve suddenly to slow down intentionally, ahead of another car–this time, a car driven by the most inexperienced F1 racer on track, on that day–shortly after Alonso had been handed a harsh penalty precisely for suddenly slowing down intentionally, in front of a car (Doornbos's)?!... It is a little hard to believe. So, see the clip and derive your own impression. Whatever the case, let us hope that, from Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso has inherited his merited World Crown, but none of the 'antics' that have at times made F1 racing seem so unattractive. Independently of the different opinions that this red flag incident might motivate, the outcome of the issue was that the Stewards handed Michael Schumacher the very same penalty that Fernando Alonso had been given the previous day. The Ferrari Team appeared simply mystified at the FIA Stewards' deeming the German's mistake equivalently hazardous to the Spaniard's both ignoring yellow flags and intentionally making a dangerous move on a Robert Doornbos, who was forced to make evasive maneuvers in order to avoid a possible accident. Ferrari's bewilderment was in fact such, that they all refrained from commenting on the Stewards' decision, merely telling people to judge the fairness of it all by themselves. The Stewards harsh words on Alonso's behavior on track (above transcribed in italics) did not appear to have been used in Michael Schumacher's case; nonetheless, the German was handed a two-second penalty for his infraction, whereas the Spaniard was handed a one-second penalty for each of his two infractions. Fair? Unfair? It is always hard to compare inequalities... Overtaking under yellow flags (which mean attention, slow down) is a lot less serious that overtaking under red flags (which mean stop); but how about tampering with security in order to let off one's temper? Too bad for Michael Schumacher–not to mention, once more, the 2006 Championship, itself–the Stewards' mood seemed to be growing glum, as the increase in the severity of the penalties seems to suggest. Fernando Alonso, in turn, must have obviously enjoyed having Michael Schumacher's company, as far as penalties go. In the context of disciplinary penalties, it is worth recalling that, in Monaco, where Michael Schumacher was punished for what was deemed (by the Stewards) an intentional move, the German was demoted from P1 to P22! The race had not even started, and the number of drivers collecting various penalties was already higher than in any other Grand Prix weekend this Season. Scott Speed was the next to join the penalty-festival: the young American had three of his qualifying times deleted for having hampered Sakon Yamamoto during qualifying. This meant that Scott Speed would then start from P20, instead of his original P19. On a positive note, Robert Kubica remarkably made it through to Q1 and Q2 at his first qualifying attempt, actually qualifying higher than experienced team-mate Nick Heidfeld! Finally, the young Pole ended up climbing one grid position, starting from P9, due to Jenson Button's engine change and consequent grid demotion. Christian Klien had a last minute switch to the spare car, due to a technical problem, shortly before the cars were to align on the grid. As there would obviously not be time to place Klien's race car engine in the spare car (so as to avoid a motor switch grid demotion), the team simply got him started from the pit lane. After six and a half years and 114 GPs, Jenson Button at last climbed the top step on the podium, to the delight also of the entire Honda Team! With his maiden win (likewise Honda's maiden win, since they have returned to F1 as a team), Jenson Button adds his name to Richie Ginther (US) and John Surtees (GB), as the three winners, thus far, for Honda as a team. A double-podium finish would have been an absolutely dream result for Honda. Team-mate Rubens Barrichello had a faultless race, hampered by a wrong tire choice, however, thus just missing out on a podium finish, at the end. But this was to be Jenson Button's day, at Honda, who became F1's 96th Grand Prix winner! See related quotes (on F1 Quotes-6 page). The weather made the Hungarian Grand Prix a most unusual and exciting one. It was an incident-packed race, in which there were lots of overtaking and place changes, including a number of sudden ones. Who would imagine that we were to see, in Hungary, more overtaking than in any other GP thus far, this Season–precisely in Hungary, a track that is famous for its overtaking difficulties, second only to Monaco, as already remarked. But the highly unusual cool, rainy weather made the magic in the Hungarian GP, and also enabled a hard fighting Jenson Button finally to get his maiden victory! The Hungarian podium, in fact, was one of the jolliest seen for a long time: for Jenson Button celebrated his maiden win and Honda's first since their F1 return as a team, 2nd place Pedro de la Rosa celebrated his maiden podium (his best race finish, to date, having been 5th place), whereas 3rd place Nick Heidfeld celebrated the Sauber-BMW Team's maiden podium in only their 13th race! The title contenders, however, had an awful weekend, starting with the above-mentioned penalties. An unfortunate pitstop mistake of Renault, in tire changing, cost Fernando Alonso his race, whereas pretty much the same could be said of Ferrari's and Michael Schumacher's decision to gamble on intermediary tires toward the closing of the race–whereas Felipe Massa, who changed to dry weather tires, set the fastest race lap. Three-time World Champion Niki Lauda has in fact been quite critical of Michael Schumacher's trying to gamble for a podium finish, in 'a vain battle with Pedro de la Rosa,' which ruined his intermediary tires and allowed him to be caught and overtaken by Nick Heidfeld, instead of favoring a sure P4 finish which, the Austrian Champion stressed, M.Schumacher had plenty of time to achieve, after a switch to slick tires. To this critical remark, Lauda added that 'anyone wishing to be champion cannot do anything as stupid as this'... What seems clear is that both Renault and Ferrari seem to have been shaken out of their usual efficiency and wits, possibly by the penalty scenario that both teams faced with their top drivers, thus failing to capitalize on the many chances that they had in the race. Still Ferrari went home with a slight advantage over Renault, the latter going home pointless, while the former managed 3 championship points (2 with Felipe Massa, 1 with Michael Schumacher), thus closing the drivers' championship gap to 10 points and the constructors' to just 7 points. Following the race, Robert Kubica's car was disqualified for being 2 Kg underweight. What a shame, for the young Pole had impressively finished in seventh place, in only his first F1 race. Ferrari benefited from Kubica's lost points, as Felipe Massa moved from 8th to 7th and Michael Schumacher, who had had to pull out with only three laps to go, suddenly found himself in the points, moving from 9th to 8th. It should be finally noted that Sakon Yamamoto's two GPs so far have both been over shortly after the start. Will Super Aguri's new Japanese driver at last be able to drive a full race distance in Turkey? Also noteworthy is that this was the fifth double DNF for Williams and the eighth race in which neither of their drivers collects any point. A sad and worrying note, this weekend, has been of Cristiano da Matta's accident, in Champ Car's official Thursday practice. Da Matta raced for Toyota, in F1 2003 and 2004, after having won the 2002 Champ Car title in a Toyota-powered car, and had just recently moved to the RuSPORT Team (his current team-mate, Justin Wilson, having also raced in F1, in 2003). The Brazilian's car collided with a running deer suddenly crossing the track, the deer reportedly impacting against da Matta's helmet. Although the helmet did not break, the driver was immediately knocked unconscious, at the impact, but apparently continued accelerating, finally crashing into a tire wall, at high speed. He was immediately airlifted to the Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah, Wisconsin, where a brain tomography showed that da Matta had suffered a subdural hematoma. Da Matta was then rushed to surgery, for the removal of the hematoma, and put into an induced coma for 48 hours, in principle, but with the possibility of it being extended. All medical procedures have reportedly been very successful, and now we all wait for da Matta's regaining consciousness, while sending him our best prayers. The entire Champ Car community is shocked and concerned, da Matta having always been much appreciated among them. Up to when da Matta's family could reach the hospital (father, mother, and two younger brothers, all traveling from Brazil), there were constantly a couple of drivers at the hospital, in da Matta's support, in addition to visits from many other drivers and race personnel. Everyone sends his⁄her best thoughts and wishes, as we all hope that da Matta's great physical form will prove a helpful asset in his full recovery. The latest news is that the swelling in da Matta's brain is decreasing, which is most certainly good news. The situation, however, is still very delicate and very concerning. Once the brain has no more swelling, there are some tests that can already be done, but certainty of no damage, as everyone hopes for, can only be fully obtained once the Brazilian is awoken from his currently induced coma. In simple terms, a subdural hematoma is a sort of 'bruising in the brain,' which a heavy impact on the head can produce–it may result from a hard fall, in which the head gets hit, a car accident (especially in racing, where sudden deceleration is involved), or it can result simply from shock waves as caused by an explosion (in which the head may not even have been hit, if the shock waves are sufficiently powerful). Popularly, this type of injury may sometimes be referred to just as a 'brain concussion,' though a brain concussion is not necessarily accompanied by a subdural hematoma (the reverse, however, usually being true). What causes a subdural hematoma is that the brain is 'shaken' inside the skull and gets bruised as a consequence, the blood spill resulting under the membrane that involves the brain–called dura–the skull does not have to have broken or even cracked. (As a token of illustration, a classical guitar, inside its hard case, was once through a fairly strong explosion. The guitar case, like da Matta's helmet, above-mentioned, was unbroken; the guitar, inside, had a good number of cracks alongside its body, however, all caused by the power of the shock waves.) When the blood clot(s) that form(s) is(are) not removed (or for as long as a clot has not dissolved), the person suffering the subdural hematoma usually has double-vision, dizziness, nausea, and bad headaches, which can actually be truly excruciating (especially in the case that the person is not made to rest completely, immediately and sufficiently–the time needed for recovery of course varying according to the gravity of each case of subdural hematoma). This can additionally be accompanied by temporary confusion and loss of memory (amnesia), partial or even total. In acute cases, the person may be in coma for some time. One is of course never free from the risk that oxygenation in some area(s) of the brain might have been impaired (by pressure from the clot or even the accompanying edema–swelling–in the brain), this including a further risk of permanent damage. Surgical removal of Matta's subdural hematoma having been found necessary, at the hospital, this suggests that the Brazilian's injury must have indeed been a pretty acute case. On the other hand, he was assisted immediately, a fact that is definitely a plus. Let us continue sending da Matta our best wishes, trusting that he will be able to recover fully. Once at the hospital, da Matta's family has issued the following note: 
The RuSPORT Team and the Champ Car World Series have received so much fan support that they have issued a statement requesting that those who would be sending more flowers and gifts please express their support for da Matta during his recovery, instead, by making a donation in his name to Hole in the Wall Camps, an official charity of the Champ Car World Series (started by actor and car racing enthusiast Paul Newman). Donation information can be obtained at www.holeinthewallcamps.org, or via the phone number (+1) 203-562-1203. 
Mon Aug-07-2006 update: Cristiano da Matta is slowly being taken out of the deep sedation which he has been in, and has been reacting positively, according to local reports. His health has constantly been improving, and the swelling in the brain nearly all gone, reports also tell. Though the situation is still very delicate and concerning, this is all encouraging news, while we wait for da Matta to be fully awake, when it can hopefully be found out that he will carry no permanent damage from this scary accident that he suffered last Thursday, Aug-03-2006 . Tue Aug-08-2006 update: More encouraging news! Cristiano da Matta is reported to continue making slow, steady progress in intensive care in Wisconsin. Reflex and other tests are being progressively done, as da Matta is slowly taken out of induced coma, and reports are that the driver has so far responded positively to all the tests. It may be a few days, before there is more substantial news. In the meantime, let us continue sending da Matta our best wishes for a full and speedy recovery. Wed Aug-09-2006 & Thu Aug-10-2006 updates: News continue encouraging!