Hungarian Grand Prix Review

That Ferrari inevitably stitched up their sixth consecutive constructors' title, and that Michael Schumacher took his record-shattering 12th victory of the season, and an unprecedented 7th win in a row for one season, was of trivial consequence to most. The fact remained that, of the cars that crossed the line from 1st to 10th at the end of lap 1, their respective final results were 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, retired, retired, 6th, 8th and 7th. That said it all, really.

Two years ago, when the Canadian GP was held in the middle of the soccer World Cup, we suggested that F1 knew its place by producing an uneventful race. On a weekend in which the ultimate sporting showcase, the Olympics, got under way with the lighting of The Giant Cigar in the just-in-time Athens stadium, and in which we might add the 2004-05 English Premier League also kicked off, Formula One did the submissive thing and hardly registered a blip on the sporting radar.

Which is not necessarily fatal to F1 as the prophets of doom might say - a few good Grands Prix with enough news-grabbing overtaking will keep the masses coming back for more - but it certainly didn't help market F1 to the world. The proposed rule changes for 2005 and beyond can't come soon enough. So too the banishment of the Hungaroring from the calendar, but F1 Rejects' annual campaign to have the Hungarian GP ostracised has fallen on deaf ears - especially when, at the moment, fag dollars still talk too loudly.

The official line was that Zonta was being evaluated as a contender for the Toyota race seat next year alongside Ralf Schumacher, whilst another statement also said that the incumbent Olivier Panis was not totally out of the frame. All this whilst rumours were strengthening that a deal with Jarno Trulli was all but signed, sealed and delivered. Keeping in mind Zonta's distinctly average F1 career for BAR and Jordan, and Panis' mediocre form this year, that Toyota would be considering either of them is astounding.

And it was not only da Matta being shown the door at Cologne; long-time technical staff members Ange Pasquali and Norbert Kreyer were also being moved from their positions, Pasquali threatening legal action and clearly displeased that his loyalty to the company, through their rally, sports car and F1 programs, had been repaid in this way. For all the talk of streamlining responsibilities, what is clear, though, is that there is a none-too-subtle changing of the guard, centred around new tech chief Mike Gascoyne.

Gone are the old Toyota Team Europe stagers - Pasquali, Kreyer, and before them the diminishing of Ove Andersson's role. Toyota clearly regards Gascoyne as their messiah, and they appear to be moulding a new team around him, consisting of people he wants to work with. He has a high regard for Ralf and Trulli; no surprises if that indeed ends up being their pairing for 2005. This seems like a 'starting afresh' moment for Toyota. If so, then one can't help but feel as though these first few years have been partially wasted.

Button's signing, however, had completely evaded the rumour mills over the last few months. But suddenly, instead of a weakish driver line-up for next season consisting of an unproven potential megastar (Webber) matched with a steady but unexciting German (Heidfeld), or a mercurial talk-more-than-walk ex-champion (Villeneuve), or one of their unconvincing test drivers (Gene or Pizzonia), a Webber-Button pairing had the look of two no-nonsense, smooth, determined operators - just what Williams need.

But if it's a great coup for Williams, it's not-as-great news for Webber. Whatever he says about having a competitive team-mate, and however good it is for him to have someone as a team-mate that he can't automatically thrash, Button has experience and perhaps even some emotional roots with Williams, plus Jenson has in 2004 had a vital year's worth of experience when it comes to running under pressure up the front. In other words, there's an interloper in the dream Williams-Webber marriage.

At first glance it did not seem to be a genius move on Button's part either. BAR are well ahead of Williams this year, and BAR had seemed to become Jenson's team. David Richards' huffing and puffing public reaction seemed to confirm that BAR was very much building its future around Button. But there are two sides to every story, and as has been well documented now, it looks like Jenson had some issues with BAR and was actively thinking about a return to Williams.

If Button does go as expected, then it's catastrophic news for BAR, just as they were starting to become real contenders. For stability they may need to keep Takuma Sato, although he has not shown what it takes to become a consistent points-gathering lead driver. The obvious other choice is to promote Anthony Davidson, but his recent lack of racing is a big factor against him. Could David Coulthard really be a viable stop-gap measure? Either way, now it's BAR left to choose from second-best instead of Williams.

If all the above sounds like padding because there wasn't much to talk about with regards to the Hungarian GP itself, then you'd be absolutely right. This was the most dominant performance by Ferrari and Bridgestone for a very long time, certainly as a team effort more dominant than even Australia this year, and on par with anything they dished up in 2002. The pity was that there was nothing even happening behind them to make the race - sorry, the procession - even slightly interesting.

Michael was simply peerless, to be able to go faster than Rubens Barrichello despite the Brazilian having the softer tyres. The team was equally commendable, able to deal with the problem with Rubens' fuel rig in a completely unflustered manner. Considering that Barrichello was equally trouncing the rest of the field, one could not ask much more of him. You can only stand back and marvel at Michael's sheer brilliance. The key, though, was that the Bridgestones were the more consistent tyres to have in Hungary.

For all the good impressions they have made since their return to F1 in 2001, there are still some incredible gaps in their armoury. Their wet weather tyres remain below par. Their normal grooved tyre has proven unable to generate enough heat and grip when the weather is anything less than stifling. And even when it is hot, the Michelins are constantly more susceptible to graining. In a race where their lack of progress in the past year was writ large, we award the 'Reject of the Race' award to Michelin.

Fernando Alonso drove a steady race to 3rd for Renault, the French team still making demon starts and understanding more than anyone else how important that aspect of the race is. Trulli though, has not scored a point since the French GP - and since he fell out with Flavio Briatore. His car has also become mysteriously more troubled since then. The worst fears about Trulli's season petering out, and the Italian being given the raw end of the stick by Renault, are sadly becoming reality.

This may jeopardise Renault's bid for 2nd in the constructors' title, with BAR closing the gap by one point down to just 8. 5th and 6th for Button and Sato having started 4th and 3rd respectively would obviously be somewhat disappointing, but on a day when no one seemed to be able to do much about anyone else, at least the positive thing was that the team is obviously still working professionally with Jenson, in contrast to the situation with Renault and Trulli. It will be interesting to see how long that lasts, though.

A weekend to forget for McLaren, just as the MP4/19B was really starting to come good. The wrong tyre choice and another DNF for Kimi Raikkonen relegated the team back into the realms of pointless also-rans, with DC managing no better than 9th. Spa will be a better indicator of the steps forward that the silver arrows have made with the 19B, which incidentally was the only car in Hungary not to run with some kind of mid-wing on the engine cover. Ironic that, since McLaren originally pioneered this eyesore in 1995.

It was a case of promise unfulfilled for Sauber, which seemed to get a disproportionate amount of coverage. On a weekend when perhaps Giancarlo Fisichella could have really benefited with their traditional heavy-fuel strategy on the consistent Bridgestones, they went for a short-fuel orthodox three-stopper instead. It was a missed opportunity for Fisi, who could have finished higher than 8th, especially when a two-stopper would have given him track position on a circuit where defending one's position is easy.

Felipe Massa's rearguard action after his engine change was always going to be difficult around this place, but he did make a hash of trying to get past Giorgio Pantano's Jordan in the early stages of the race. Though his position at Sauber has strengthened with Fisichella off to Renault next year, he is still yet to convince in 2004. That the team pulled him in early when he developed brake problems was a wise move; on such a twisty layout as the Hungaroring, brake trouble is the last thing one would want.

REJECT OF THE RACE
Michelin
What a difference a year makes: champs to chumps

A slightly out-of-sync pit strategy put the Jordans in the thick of things, but over the course of the weekend they continued to show little, although it appeared to be a gutsy effort from Nick Heidfeld, who must surely be wondering if his hard work will ever be rewarded by a top drive. Just think: had Eddie Jordan released him before the German GP, he may be in the Williams now, and doing enough for Williams to keep him for 2005 even though Button suddenly became available as well.

It was the home race for Zsolt Baumgartner, who impressed somewhat by out-qualifying Gianmaria Bruni, but again the Minardis languished, having arrived in Budapest without their former title sponsor Wilux. Minardi had become frustrated with the lack of cashflow from Wilux, whilst Wilux had become royally peeved by Minardi's gesture in memory of the late John Walton at the British GP. How sad that of all teams to encounter sponsor trouble, that it has to be Minardi.

Some on-board shots from Baumgartner's car late in the race showed the difficulties he and Bruni face. The car's technology is relatively prehistoric, and it was riding the bumps with the elegance of a bucking bronco. There is not much that can be done with such an unsophisticated package, but still, for a team that operates on a tenth of Ferrari's budget to still get within 4-5 seconds with two not-so-wonderful drivers on board, there is much to admire about them. Now will Toyota please give them some cheap engines for 2005?