AQSA'S PODIUM

Pick my top 3 drivers of the Grand Prix? Easy! This one requires little to no thought for me so read through my choices and comment/ tweet me with whether or not you agree with who I've picked or the order I've put them in.

3. Bruno Senna

The Williams driver has been under some pressure lately but I can't really understand why. He may not have a race win or podium like his teammate Maldonado but he is able to drive clean races and his less aggressive driving style means he has now finished in the points more times than Pastor and has even outscored him on more occasions.

2. Lewis Hamilton

I told you in my 'Setting the Scene' post why this weekend was all about Lewis. That's why I've put him in at number 2. And now for the real winner in Hungary...

1. Kimi Raikkonen

Kimi didn't have a great Qualifying meaning he started the race from 5th on the grid compared to his teammate's front row start. He had to look after his tyres much better than others during the race if he was to improve on his Qualifying performance and with a car that we've become used to being kind to its tyres Kimi did just that. He was able to stay out longer than others during the second stint and built up a lead big enough to beat Grosjean and Vettel who were running in second and third at that time. This race was a really impressive one on Kimi's part and further underlines the fact that he can win a race this season. It's just a matter of when...

So Kimi is my driver of the day for the Hungarian Grand Prix and if that doesn't give him something to smile about, I don't know what will!

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

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F1 MOMENTS #4

I won't lie to you, the Grand Prix in Hungary could have been a lot more exciting and certainly needed to be to live up to the level we've become used to in 2012. Even Valencia provided a thrilling race when many had written it off and called for its removal from the calendar. Therefore, it's a bit difficult for me to think of just one moment that really stood out for me.

However, I gave it some thought and there was one stand-out moment. When Kimi Raikkonen came out of the pit lane after his second pit stop he emerged only slightly ahead of his Lotus teammate Romain Grosjean. It became apparent later on that Grosjean's engineer told him to really push on that lap when they knew Kimi would be coming out of the pit lane. Teams have lots of data to work on when planning their strategy to give them a rough idea of where their driver will emerge when they pit. How Lotus overlooked this is beyond me...

The two then came very, very close and race-ending contact between the pair could easily have occurred. That battle for second place was particularly tense but it was the 2007 world champion that won it and therefore took that podium place. All wasn't lost for Grosjean, except for what may have been a nice boost to his ego, as he took third to give Lotus another double podium; the first came in Bahrain.

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

SETTING THE SCENE.

The weekend in Hungary was all about one man; the man who won pole on the Saturday and then took the victory on Sunday. At a track where overtaking is very difficult anyway Lewis didn't have much of a challenge on race day. However, he had to manage his tyres and stay calm whilst under pressure from the two Lotus boys. Don't forget either that, not including last weekend's race, the pole sitter has only won once out of the last seven races so Lewis does deserve a bit more credit for a rather plain-sailing victory. 

So that's why this picture is my pick: 

Lewis seems to be back to winning ways, obviously considering he won, but the fact that he has his family and support system around him suggests that this new, calmer, more relaxed Lewis we've become accustomed to seeing could be here to stay.

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

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LEW TAKES TWO IN HUNGARY

I'll begin by telling you that the race in Hungary today did not really live up to the high level of excitement we have come to expect in 2012. There were no overtakes during the race, even with the use of DRS, and the only way places were going to be gained were through pit lane action and strategy. In my opinion, it wasn't the best way for Formula 1 to go into the summer break and it was a shame to see fast cars and drivers unable to capitalise on their pace and strategies because passing was seemingly impossible. We saw Vettel stuck behind Button, Button behind Senna, Webber behind several people, Kimi and Grosjean behind Lewis and the list goes on... We can, however, discuss what did happen during the race and what this means going into the summer break.

Lewis used his stunning domination of yesterday's Qualifying session to convert pole into a race win. He may not have been faster than the Lotus pair but a great start and the difficult overtaking conditions meant that, no matter how close other drivers got, Hamilton was able to retain his lead. This means Lewis took his second win of the season; a feat only accomplished by Alonso and Webber so far and puts him firmly back in the hunt for the title. There was some overtaking this weekend as Lewis was able to leapfrog Raikkonen in the championship standings. The problem now is that Alonso is gaining consistent points finishes, he's not far off Schumacher's record of consecutive races finished in the points and I believe he needs two more to break it, whilst other drivers are taking points and wins away from each other. All he needs to do is focus on gaining points at every race and as long as no driver keeps winning, which is unlikely this season, it may be the case that no one gains the points needed to close the gap.

Lewis' teammate Jenson had a great start as he gained a place on Sebastian Vettel. The German had tried to move past Romain Grosjean but was squeezed off the track and Jenson just accelerated past him. What followed was endless laps of Sebastian trailing Jenson and it seemed that the podium would go on to be Hamilton, Grosjean, Button. Then McLaren, after much deliberation over team radio, switched to 'Plan B' and it was clear that Jenson would most likely be pitting three times, not two! Sebastian clearly had more pace than Button so when McLaren tried to perform an undercut at the end of the second stint it did not work for them. Vettel emerged ahead of him and the position was lost. their 3-stop strategy didn't work and they had hoped that it would benefit them towards the end of the race when others' tyres began to fall away. That wasn't to be and Jenson eventually finished sixth. He will probably be very disappointed to go into the break after a race like that and after his great performance in Germany but some time away after a fairly difficulty 2012 so far could also be exactly what Jenson needs.

Red Bull were fast today; Sebastian was much faster than Jenson and at the end of the race he consistently set fastest lap after fastest lap following his third pit stop. It was clear that he was getting extremely frustrated throughout the race because he knew his car had the pace to challenge at the front and win but the nature of the track meant that he couldn't even climb to third. He was heard telling his team to try something different with strategy but there was little the team could do with limited data and tight margins. Their strategy did eventually pay off in overtaking Jenson but there was nothing they could do about Romain Grosjean at the end. Grosjean was on a two-stopper and so Vettel had a lot of time to make up if he were to pass him. He cut a lot of that time down and amazingly finished just over a second behind Grosjean. Fourth is definitely not the position they would have expected coming into this weekend at a track where Red Bull were meant to be particularly strong but they can be confident that they have a strong car and package and a bit of development can deliver them more race wins.

There was a lot of talk that the weather will benefit Lotus and that could mean they take their first win of the 2012 season. With Romain Grosjean starting on the front row it all started to become a very real possibility. However, the benefit the track gave them weather and traction wise was negated by the fact that overtaking was fairly impossible. Both of their drivers were fast, both got close to Lewis Hamilton, both were stuck behind him. Nevertheless, a double podium for the Enstone boys, Kimi 2nd and Grosjean 3rd, isn't to be sniffed at. It is their second of the season and it is remarkable to think Red Bull only have one. The team are also now ahead of Ferrari in the Constructors' and so they are doing a great job of officially breaking into the top 3 teams and getting in on the fun at the front. Their aims over the summer break are clear; improve Qualifying performances!

I have already mentioned that Alonso doesn't necessarily need race wins to wrap up this championship. He had a fairly poor race but, crucially, a better one than his nearest rival Mark Webber. That means he extends his lead at the top of the standings and heads into the summer with the knowledge that it will take some doing to beat him now. Alonso finished in 5th and his teammate Massa finished 9th meaning Ferrari have taken a beating in the Constructors' and are now fourth; this just underlines how much things can still change as Ferrari were trying to chase down Red Bull just last week.

Pastor Maldonado had another incident with another driver today and this time it was a case of forcing someone else off the track when completing an overtake; Paul Di Resta was the Venezuelan's victim this time round. The stewards chose to give Maldonado a drive-through penalty; I do think this penalty was a bit too harsh and I believed, at the time, that the incident could just be classed as a 'racing incident'. However, it is no secret that Maldonado had form for getting involved in racing incidents and I'm sure there would have been pressure on the stewards to show that Maldonado won't be able to get away with his aggressive driving. Had they given him a reprimand it would have resulted in a 10-place grid penalty because he has two reprimands already and that grid-drop would definitely have been too harsh. He eventually finished 13th meaning that's another race out of the points. His teammate Bruno Senna has had a great weekend from FP2 onwards. A top 10 qualifying was followed up with a seventh-place finish; ahead of Mark Webber's Red Bull.

The Hungaroring may have slightly disappointed but it certainly livened things up in the championship. We can now say that Alonso, Webber, Vettel, Hamilton and Raikkonen (the top 5) are now all in the hunt and we also see the Constructors' getting exciting and we realise that Red Bull aren't yet invincible. The first half of this season has been truly amazing and so great for fans and spectators. I will be doing a post on which of the races has been my favourite so far and I have other posts and opinion pieces planned for the summer break. I know 35 (approximately) days away from our favourite sport will be tough but stick with me and keep coming back regularly to see what's up on the blog.

I wish all the drivers, mechanics and team personnel a good break away from the F1 circus and hope that they can relax and refresh themselves to deliver us even better racing at the amazing tracks that await us! I hope you enjoy time away from F1 as well, if you are going away etc.


Now to find something else to do with my weekends...


Aqsa, @aqsasformula

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ANYONE HUNGARY FOR A GRAND PRIX?

Sorry but a hungry/ Hungary play on words had to be done but now it's out of the way we can focus on what we come here to do! Talk about F1 of course...

It feels a bit strange to be doing a preview to a race just as I've finished all my coverage and features on the German Grand Prix but that's exactly what I find myself doing because we have back-to-back Grands Prix before F1 goes on its summer break. (I don't even want to think about what a painful 4 weeks await us.)

Last time out, Fernando Alonso took another win; his third of the season and this weekend he will be looking to take his 31st career win on his 31st birthday. It would, of course, be a special milestone for the Spaniard and I can't think of a better time to reach it... It all seems a little too perfect, doesn't it? Lately the odds have seemed to be in Fernando's favour and I am yet to see him get any bad luck this season. The only real moment he would regret is losing the lead of the British Grand Prix to Mark Webber so close towards the end but that was due to Ferrari strategy as opposed to bad luck. I can think of a few people on the grid who will be hoping things don't go Alonso's way but if they do he puts himself in an extremely covetable position at the top of the standings. Ferrari have said that they will not relax yet as they don't have the fastest car on the grid but they don't have the distractions Red Bull currently have, I'll come to that in a while, and so they can remain focused on their goal and on reaching their targets. With back-to-back races it is difficult to make significant advancements from the last race but I'm sure a more confident and stress-free environment won't harm Ferrari's chances.

Sebastian Vettel probably feels that no luck went his way last weekend at his home Grand Prix; the weekend ended with him being awarded a 20-second time penalty meaning he lost his 2nd place finish and was demoted to 5th. He knows what he needs from this weekend and I'm sure he won't be happy with anything short of a win. With the pressure of possibly losing or at least making it very hard to win his third championship, the young German knows what is expected of him. He had a weekend to forget last week but it must be a case of onwards and upwards if he is to keep the pressure on Ferrari's Fernando Alonso. Of course, he still needs to catch up to teammate Mark Webber in the standings. Both of the Red Bull boys need strong finishes and, if they achieve this, Red Bull will be very comfortable with, and quietly confident about, their Constructors' title hopes. Sebastian Vettel is also the only world champion, out of the six on the grid, to have never won at Hungary; if things weren't already difficult enough!

Red Bull's engine mapping was a major talking point last Sunday. The RB8 had been deemed legal to race by the stewards but they conceded that their own rules weren't very clear on the subject and will need tightening. They therefore made clarifications to the rule and Red Bull have had to change/ revert back to an older engine mapping for this weekend. The team has downplayed the effects this will have and don't seem to think having to change the mapping will affect their performance significantly. When Red Bull had to change their floor, it was speculated that it would hurt their performance but it did no such thing. I am therefore confident that Red Bull will still come out fighting in Hungary.

McLaren are probably feeling the pressure more than the other top teams. They showed a promising return to form in Germany with Jenson Button finishing 2nd but they also had a DNF for Lewis Hamilton. For the Constructors' title to be secured a team needs both drivers to consistently gain strong points finishes; something McLaren have not been capable of on a regular basis this season. Both drivers really like the Hungaroring circuit and, safe with the knowledge that their car has been significantly developed, will be feeling confident going into this weekend.

It is thought that Lotus will be strong this weekend because the hot weather conditions tend to favour their E20. However, there is no guarantee of clear skies and warm weather; particularly for the race itself. So, from that, I can conclude that Lotus may or may not be competitive this weekend... We all know that both of the Lotus drivers are looking strong, despite Grosjean's lacklustre race in Germany, and we've all said that a race win is imminent, well I have! I still stand by that belief but I am doubtful of whether they can achieve that this weekend. The team know that Qualifying is what they need to focus on so with the summer break looming they can start working on that and I'm sure we will see stronger performances from them when we return.

I can't believe that we have already reached that horrible period when the thought of the summer break is very nearly a reality. However, we do have a Grand Prix to enjoy before that and, as always, it promises to be a great one! There'll be important repercussions for both titles, I'm sure, and many drivers will be looking to prove a point or two. And the best thing about this weekend? We get to enjoy all this action just one week after the German Grand Prix; God, how I love back-to-backs!

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

AQSA'S PODIUM

Ladies and gents, the moment you have all been waiting for has finally arrived; I am about to announce my top 3 drivers for the German Grand Prix.

3. Fernando Alonso

Hold the front page, I've put the race winner third! Alonso did have a great race after starting from pole; wet conditions seem to favour the Ferrari in Qualifying. He also had to defend during the race against Vettel and Button (and even Hamilton) as they tried to take his lead with no avail.

2. Jenson Button

I don't want to jinx him but... JENSON'S BACK (for now). Let's all hope that the McLaren driver's worries are over because Germany proved how enjoyable it can be to see him challenging at the front.

1. Sergio Perez

Perez had a poor Qualifying that was worsened by a 5-place grid penalty. But he wasn't going to let that stop him... He eventually finished in sixth from seventeenth on the grid and enjoyed some great overtakes to get there. He may have finished behind his teammate Kamui Kobayashi but the young Mexican was still my driver of the day.

Do you agree with my choices? Comment below or tweet me with who your top 3 drivers were...

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

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F1 MOMENTS #3

My chosen image for Setting the Scene; Germany could easily double as my pick for the best moment of the Grand Prix as well but it isn't. My choice does, however, involve both Vettel and Button.

In my opinion, that tense moment of the race when you near the edge of your seat, clench your fists and wait anxiously to find out what the outcome of a particular move will be had to be after Sebastian Vettel went into the pit lane for his second stop of the day. Jenson Button had already been closing in on him, Lewis had held him up whilst trying unlap himself and McLaren delivered a lightning-fast pit stop. Vettel came out of the pit lane and he and Jenson were neck and neck but Button had the momentum and he had gotten his tyres working so he was able to pass Vettel before they went into the next corner. That moment was crucial in the outcome of the race. These two would certainly have a battle for second and Alonso was able to pull away and go on to win the race. 

Depending on who you support your reaction to this moment would have been either jumping for joy and punching the air or squealing with anxiety at what may be lost. 

This has just been a short and sweet post as the moment of the race, for me, lasted almost a split second! Do you agree with my choice? What would yours be? You know what to do...

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

SETTING THE SCENE.

This is the feature where I choose one picture to sum up the weekend's race so when I go about choosing I try to think about what stands out to me/ what immediately comes to mind when I think about the Grand Prix. Well there is one word that jumps out when I think of Germany; penalties! There were several after Qualifying and then one rather prominent one during the race.

Sebastian's overtake on Jenson and the subsequent penalty given to him were the biggest talking points after the race and I'm sure we'll still be talking about it when we get to Hungary.

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

ALONSO ÜBER ALLES

Fernando Alonso followed up his pole position from Saturday to win the German Grand Prix; making it his third victory of the season and, critically, extending his lead in the world championship. I said before the race that this weekend would be crucial in the way the championship eventually plays out and Alonso made sure that his was the name we would all be choosing as the firm favourite. He now holds a 34-point lead over Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel is a further 10 behind.

Running the same strategy as his rivals this weekend, as opposed to Silverstone when Ferrari went a different way and Alonso lost the lead in the closing stages of the race, meant that he had a better chance of taking the win. His lead was threatened at times by Vettel and Jenson Button. Button challenging the leader; there's something we haven't seen in a while! Despite the attempts at snatching his lead, Alonso defended well and no one was able to pass him; not even with the use of DRS and around the hairpin, a place Jenson had already completed several overtakes to get himself up to 3rd. Alonso's experience in F1 is showing; he knows who his main rivals are and focuses strategy and his race around beating them! He has a comfortable lead in the standings, he has a car capable of pole and race wins, he's feeling confident; can anyone stop Alonso now?

The battle for the remaining two podium spots was full of drama! During the middle stint Jenson has been closing in on Vettel but didn't seem to be able to get close enough to make a pass or overtake. Their tyres were degrading at a similar rate and they were evenly matched in terms of speed. Jenson's lapped teammate then joined in with the fun as he tried to unlap himself by passing Vettel. Sebastian allowed him to do with relative ease around the hairpin but as he tried to make his way past the back marker, which Lewis was then, Hamilton drove defensively thus holding Vettel up and allowing Jenson to get very close. The McLaren driver then headed into the pits where his team completed a stunning 2.4 second pit stop... Something that certainly helped their chances of taking 2nd. When Vettel emerged from the pits a lap later, after an average 3.4 second stop, Jenson was able to cruise past the German and claim second place. He was undoubtedly helped by his teammate and everyone will have different opinions on whether what Lewis did was right or wrong. All I'll say is if that was a HRT/Caterham/Marussia or even Sebastian doing that move on Lewis I'm sure a few people's opinions would change...

Then on lap 66, the penultimate lap, Sebastian had closed Jenson's lead and was in the DRS zone. As he tried to overtake around the hairpin, where else?, Vettel ran wide and accelerated on the paint to pass Jenson and take the position. Again, there are differing opinions on this. The stewards were of the opinion that Vettel gained an unfair advantage and had this happened earlier in the race Vettel would have been given a drive-through penalty. They, therefore, added 20 seconds to his final time demoting him from 2nd to 5th. There is no doubt in my mind that this penalty was too harsh. A drive-through would have cost Vettel approximately 12 seconds which would have left him in 3rd place. Make of that what you will.

Sebastian's penalty not only helped Alonso, but also Raikkonen. He took the final podium spot as a result, and didn't have to go to the press conference which would make the Iceman happier, and is now sitting 4th in the championship, ahead of Lewis Hamilton, despite not yet winning a race this season. Kimi is looking stronger as the season progresses and it clearly hasn't taken him long to readjust to F1. A win is imminent in my opinion and even though many fans believe Romain Grosjean will be the first Lotus driver to take a win, Kimi is the more consistent one. He and the team should now focus on their single lap pace. If they can qualify higher up the grid Kimi can and will win a race!

Sauber had a great Sunday, even though their Qualifying wasn't very strong, and Kobayashi and Perez finished 4th, thanks to Vettel's penalty, and 6th respectively. Another high points finish for the team indicates that they are capable of taking a few more podiums this season and are set to beat Force India and Toro Rosso this year. Out of these three teams they have made the best progress that showed in Malaysia and Valencia when they took podium spots. For Kobayashi 4th is his best ever finish in F1 so he must be hoping that he can go at least one better at some point this season.

Nico Rosberg also did well to finish in the points after a poor Qualifying followed by a 5-place grid penalty for a gearbox change meant he started from 21st. He finished in 10th just behind his compatriot Nico Hulkenberg. Rosberg's teammate Schumacher finished in a disappointing seventh after starting from third and having a shot at Sebastian Vettel at the start of the race. That means we had four German drivers in the top 10 at the German Grand Prix and both Mercedes' were in the top 10 too. Mercedes are falling behind in the Constructors now whilst Lotus are taking massive strides to battle with the top 3 teams. They would have started this season as contenders for many podiums and race wins but have failed to live up to these expectations. We are only halfway through the season now so they still have time to develop and catch up to the other teams in terms of performance.

Elsewhere, Maldonado had a fairly clean race and didn't end anyone else's race. He was involved in a few overtakes, admittedly he was the one being overtaken, but there were no crashes or penalties. He could be happy with that but finishing 15th will be a disappointment after a strong Qualifying in the wet. He still beat teammate Senna who was 17th so perhaps it was just the car that wasn't up to the challenge in Hockenheim.

F1 has now reached its halfway point in the 2012 season and some consistency has taken hold of the results. We will no longer see a run of 7 consecutive winners but there is still the opportunity to see some first-time winners in Raikkonen and Grosjean and the other podium spots will also be hotly contested. The season will remain competitive and Alonso has even said that his growing lead in the championship "means nothing". I would probably disagree... Sure, a lot can happen in the next 10 races but with the way Alonso has been driving this season, his consistency, he has now finished in the points for 22 consecutive races, and his maturity I cannot see him making many mistakes. It will take a string of great results from the two Red Bull drivers and some bad luck to be thrown Alonso's way for his lead to be threatened. All we can do is merely sit back and enjoy as F1 2012 charges into the final 10 rounds. I have no doubt that they will be as thrilling as the 10 before them...

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

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ÜBUNG MACHT DEN MEISTER.

So, my title is apparently the German version of 'practice makes perfect' which is what I usually call my review of Friday's practice session; in case you were wondering!

You've probably seen the headlines about Jenson Button setting the fastest time in FP1 by now but because the track was constantly changing; there were short bouts of rain and the track was wet and then dry etc, the time isn't really an indication as to where he and McLaren will be this weekend with respect to their main competitors. McLaren have brought a major upgrade package to Hockenheim and have made significant aerodynamic changes to the sidepod in a bid to increase downforce. The upgrades were desperately needed at McLaren and they will be hoping that they are now matched with Red Bull, and even Ferrari, in terms of performance. They need to put Silverstone behind them as a weekend to forget but also learn from. Qualifying conditions tomorrow may be similar to what they were like in Silverstone and we all know that McLaren were below par in those conditions. I do find it strange that McLaren choose to bring major upgrades to races all at once and are then happy to leave the car for a few more races. It would make a lot more sense to constantly evolve the car and add upgrade by upgrade, which is what Red Bull do. Nevertheless, the upgrades are finally here but we will still have to wait and see whether their developments mean they can put their woes behind them. Jenson's time was good but set at a time when the track was dry and no-one else really benefited from that. He does, however, seem to have some of that balance back!

FP2 have us a better indication of teams' abilities but again conditions were changing and the time you set your lap was crucial. The start of the session was hampered by rain and so no running took place; Jenson Button even took the opportunity to have a cup of tea! Then brave Bruno Senna went out on the wet tyres and others followed suit. As the track dried up, the intermediate tyres came on and the lap times flew. The order was constantly changing as drivers got tyres at their optimum and the track continued to dry. Enjoying stints at the top were; Button, Vettel, Rosberg, Grosjean, Hamilton and more... Maldonado then set the fastest lap just as the rain returned. Before that there was even some talk about switching on to the slicks but that was merely a passing thought and the weather had other plans.

Michael Schumacher then brought the session to an end as he crashed his Mercedes by the Mercedes grandstand with approximately 4 minutes to go. It wasn't a big disruption as not much running was taking place and teams weren't that concerned with data collection at that point.

There's not really a lot to learn from these practice sessions but we do know that Qualifying tomorrow and the race on Sunday won't fail to deliver some more exciting racing. There seem to be several contenders for pole as Red Bull, Ferrari, Lotus, McLaren and Williams all have fast cars that we know are capable of bringing a challenge. We don't yet know what the conditions will be like for the Qualifying sessions and timing and tyres will be crucial in setting the fastest time, not necessarily who has the fastest car!

I am missing the session, but will be recording and watching late in the evening, meaning I won't be able to post a review. So, enjoy the session and I will see you back here on Sunday, which feels like a lifetime away at the moment, to discuss all things German Grand Prix-related!

Bis Sonntag,

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

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