Hungarian GP – Race: Button beats Vettel and benefits from Hamilton’s mistakes

The race started on a soaked track which forced the drivers to start on intermediate tires without the safety car.

At the start, the two Mercedes return to 4th and 5th place, before Fernando Alonso slots in ahead of Michael Schumacher, as Felipe Massa and Mark Webber missed their start. The Spanish driver puts pressure on Nico Rosberg for fourth place, while Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton begin to break away. Both drivers are in a high-flying battle.

The DRS is activatable from the 3rd lap as the track begins to dry on the fourth lap. Sebastian Vettel makes a mistake by looking in his mirrors, and Lewis Hamilton takes the opportunity to overtake him and pull away. In the same place, Fernando Alonso was caught by surprise a few minutes earlier and Nico Rosberg took advantage. Michael Schumacher, for his part, lost several places and finds himself 8th. Felipe Massa spins off in a corner, at the spot where his teammate made his mistake, and lightly taps the rear.

Mark Webber is the first driver to choose slick tires, the super-softs, followed by Felipe Massa, Vitaly Petrov, and Rubens Barrichello. This move is soon imitated by many drivers, including Jenson Button and Paul di Resta. The top 3 leaders do the same, with drivers on slick tires appearing much faster! Michael Schumacher takes advantage and leads the Grand Prix, a rare occurrence for a long time, before stopping. Jenson Button manages to overtake Sebastian Vettel, while Mark Webber overtakes Fernando Alonso, the extra lap on soft tires allowing them to reach a better operating temperature. On the twentieth lap, Jarno Trulli retires with his Team Lotus while Felipe Massa is stuck behind Michael Schumacher.

After a second pit stop, Nick Heidfeld leaves with a huge cloud of smoke in the pits before stopping his car, which is in flames at the pit exit, while an explosion is seen a few seconds later, likely the KERS battery of the LRGP.

Many drivers take the opportunity to stop, while the car continues to burn. A marshal was apparently injured during the explosion. After a spin, Michael Schumacher abandons his car on the side, while Sebastian Vettel is hindered at the pit exit, as Nick Heidfeld’s car is brought back to the pits via the pit exit lane.

Penalty for Sergio Perez, the Mexican driver made an overtaking move under yellow flag.

Fernando Alonso attempts an unsuccessful overtaking maneuver on Mark Webber while Felipe Massa finally manages to get past Kamui Kobayashi using DRS. However, the Brazilian driver is more than 30 seconds behind his teammate.

Fernando Alonso, stuck behind Mark Webber, decides to pit for new tires, while the Australian follows suit the next lap, suffering from graining. Lewis Hamilton follows them, with the Brit and the Spaniard opting for super-soft tires, while the Red Bull driver chooses the soft ones, likely in an attempt to finish the race. His teammate also makes a pit stop and also goes out on soft tires! The Red Bull drivers want to try to go the distance, and Jenson Button makes the same gamble. And the drivers on soft tires are faster than those on super-softs, with Sebastian Vettel making a very nice overtake on Fernando Alonso, who is struggling with his tires. The German is very fast, catching up at full speed with the two McLarens.

And it’s raining again at the Hungaroring circuit! Jenson Button manages to overtake Lewis Hamilton who just made a mistake, and Sebastian Vettel is closing in to less than two seconds from the leader.

Fernando Alonso takes advantage to switch to soft tires, a risky choice as the rain approaches. The third sector becomes tricky, with rain falling quickly there. Jenson Button makes a small mistake which causes Vitaly Petrov, a lap behind, to follow, and Sebastian Vettel makes an error. The two McLaren drivers exchange places, before swapping again twice in the first sector. Mark Webber stops, like many other drivers, while Jérome d’Ambrosio spins in the pits. Lewis Hamilton comes into the pits on the 53rd lap, to switch to intermediate tires, like Mark Webber, Heikki Kovalainen, and Nico Rosberg.

Unfortunately for them, the rain stops shortly after, and Fernando Alonso manages to overtake the British world champion easily, a strategy error at McLaren! Mark Webber and then Lewis Hamilton pit again to switch to soft tires, with 15 laps remaining. However, the McLaren driver is penalized for pushing Paul di Resta off the track. He comes out behind Felipe Massa and Mark Webber, who are battling for fourth place.

The Australian overtakes the Ferrari driver, who then comes under pressure from Lewis Hamilton, before quickly losing this duel at the circuit’s chicane.

Fernando Alonso is a victim of a spin, only Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel seem to be in the fight for victory, with both within seven seconds. Heikki Kovalainen also retires in the second Team Lotus, a bad weekend for the green and yellow team.

With five cars behind him, Kamui Kobayashi is overtaken by Sebastien Buemi and doesn’t see Jaime Alguersuari, which causes him to spin, pushing him to the back of this small train. Nico Rosberg manages to overtake all these cars in a single lap.

As Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber catch up with backmarkers, the Brit takes the opportunity to pass them quickly. The two drivers remain close in the final laps, while Sebastian Vettel no longer attacks, just like Jenson Button. Only Fernando Alonso is still attacking very hard, the only driver lapping in 1:23.

The race ends without any changes in the hierarchy, with Jenson Button finishing ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, while Lewis Hamilton beats Mark Webber for fourth place.

The F1 Circus is now on vacation and will meet in a month in Belgium for a race that promises to be magnificent, with the Red Bulls seeming less dominant than during the first part of the season.

Results of the 2011 Hungarian Grand Prix: