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This was the race where the simmering aggression between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton finally boiled over. It was also another Hungarian GP where a load of off-track aggro was followed by a boring race - and that's not just me saying it was boring, it was Kimi too and he was driving! The design of the circuit means overtaking is virtually impossible (at least when it's dry), so he could close to within a second of race leader and pole man Hamilton but no closer as a significant proportion of his F2007's downforce disappeared in the McLaren's turbulent wake. This happens nearly every year, yet nothing is done about it and the circus goes there every year and has done since 1986! How can this be when fantastic places like Spa are on and off the calendar and there are doubts over races in the UK and France? The answer of course must be money and it would be illuminating to know just what the financial arrangements for this event are. Anyway back to the mayhem at Macca. The Stewards adjudged Alonso to have deliberately held up his team-mate in the pits in Q3, thus preventing him from getting out in time to defend his pole position, which was duly taken by the Spaniard. Alonso was demoted five places on the grid and the team were disqualified from scoring any Constructors' points. At present this penalty is under appeal. Since the race the full story has emerged. It seems that the nature of certain circuits allow one driver per team to get in an extra fuel burning lap. At this race it was Alonso's turn, yet Hamilton was released from the pit first. This was because there is a precise engine temperature at which the cars have to go so they can sit ticking over at the pit lane exit for 3 or 4 minutes (incidentally achieved by running on half the cylinders and even then not all of them firing every time they should) and Hamilton's got there first. He was then supposed to allow Alonso to get past but this he steadfastly refused to do, even disobeying a direct order from Ron Dennis personally. Alonso was informed of such and, as the injured party, took his revenge - which was the opposite of how it first seemed, when it looked like a masterpiece of on-the-spot thinking worthy of Schuey at his best! There's much more to it than that and if you want to know more, then you should read Adam Cooper's masterly analysis of the situation on the AUTOSPORT website - this guy shows that serious motorsport journalism is still alive. After all this, the race was a tedious anti-climax, I actually fell asleep twice during it and hadn't even had a big lunch! For the record it was won by Hamilton from Räikkönen, who did the best job he could do by jumping Heidfeld at the start and keeping Lucy under pressure for the duration. Alonso managed to gain two places, coming home fourth after being trapped behind Schumacher R for much of the race. It must be contract time again, and Ralf did manage sixth place, but I suspect that even he's left it too late this time and he'll be joining his brother in retirement. Rosberg finished right behind him in his Toyota powered Williams, who are eight points ahead of their mega-funded engine supplier in the Constructor's Championship table; indeed, there are only Super Aguri and Honda below them (Toro Rosso and Spyker haven't scored). Surely Toyota would do better to admit defeat, close their Cologne-based operation and shove huge amounts of cash towards Sir Frank's and Patrick's pension funds? Former Williams partner BMW are doing rather better running their own team than most pundits, yours truly included, predicted they would. In Hungary they consolidated their third place in the Constructor's title chase with Heidfeld securing the final spot on the podium and Kubica fifth. Kovalainen scored the final point for Renault. After a hesitant start he again out-performed his team-mate and is now only one point behind him in the Drivers' Championship table. Massa was a dismal 13th after qualifying 14th following extraordinary scenes in Q2 where it seems the Scuderia changed his tyres, but forgot to re-fuel him! He set off down the pit lane and had to be called back. He was given the necessary drop of Shell and set off again but his now cold tyres meant it was a hopeless cause. The in-car scenes were simply amazing - totally redefining understeer. It looked like the front end of the car wasn't connected to the back. Such fiascos were once a regular feature of Ferrari pit stops and it was John Barnard who brought Nigel Stepney in from Benetton to straighten things up. I wonder if it was Stepney who cancelled the once traditional Lambrusco at lunchtime for the mechanics and if this policy has possibly been reversed? I also wonder that if it was Stepney who got rid of the lunchtime fizzy, whether this has anything to do with his current situation? Facetiousness apart, the Scuderia are clearly under massive pressure and only just holding it together, undoubtedly missing the cast iron certainty and control of Ross and Schuey. If Massa was feeling the pain, think how his predecessor at Ferrari must have felt. Poor old Rubens was dead last, his Honda beaten by Spyker. At one time he radioed in to say how wretched this was and all his engineer could do was say they too were feeling his pain. Hardly the scenario he would have imagined when he chose to step out of Michael's shadow and leave Ferrari. For old times sake, you have to sympathize with him and admire his fortitude and dignity, but the money must ease the pain a bit though. I am pleased to say that I correctly predicted another piece of the off-track drama. Following the contretemps at the Nürburgring, Scott Speed was fired by Scuderia Toro Rosso and replaced by Sebastian Vettel, who finished 15th. Later in the week week it was announced that Tonio Liuzzi will be replaced by 28 year old Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais for 2008. Finally, if this goulash tasted a bit familiar, when we look back to last year Alonso and Michael were both penalised, the former for a "road rage" type incident. From this we can see that about half-way through the season Massive Pressure + Rubbish Circuit = Aggro. Hardly rocket science is it? At least last year we had the rain to liven the race up. You may dimly recall that someone called Jenson Button won it. Neither is it rocket science to predict that either Alonso or Hamilton MUST leave McLaren at the end of the year. Let us hope that Ferrari is strong enough to take advantage of the situation this year to beat them and next year to sign one of them. Either will do.
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