2017 Hungarian Grand Prix Explained

Type:F1
Country:Hungary
Grand Prix:Hungarian
Details Ref:[1]
Image-Size:250px
Date:30 July
Year:2017
Official Name:Formula 1 Pirelli Magyar Nagydíj 2017[2] [3]
Race No:11
Season No:20
Location:Hungaroring
Mogyoród, Hungary
Course:Permanent racing facility
Course Mi:2.722
Course Km:4.381
Distance Laps:70
Distance Mi:190.531
Distance Km:306.630
Weather:Sunny
Attendance:199,000[4]
Pole Driver:Sebastian Vettel
Pole Team:Ferrari
Pole Time:1:16.276
Pole Country:GER
Fast Driver:Fernando Alonso
Fast Team:McLaren-Honda
Fast Time:1:20.182
Fast Lap:69
Fast Country:ESP
First Team:Ferrari
First Country:GER
Second Driver:Kimi Räikkönen
Second Team:Ferrari
Second Country:FIN
Third Driver:Valtteri Bottas
Third Team:Mercedes
Third Country:FIN
Previous Round:2017 British Grand Prix
Next Round:2017 Belgian Grand Prix

The 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix (formally the Formula 1 Pirelli Magyar Nagydíj 2017) was a Formula One motor race that took place on 30 July 2017 at the Hungaroring in Mogyoród, Hungary. The 2017 event was the 32nd time that the race has been run as a World Championship event since the inaugural race in, every single time at the Hungaroring.

The race was won by Sebastian Vettel, ahead of Kimi Räikkönen and Valtteri Bottas.

Background

Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel entered the round leading the World Drivers' Championship by one point ahead of Mercedes's Lewis Hamilton. In the World Constructors' Championship, Mercedes led Ferrari by fifty-five points.

Williams's Felipe Massa was taken ill after Practice 3. Massa had been unwell and dizzy on Friday but was certified as fit to compete in Practice 3 by the medical staff. Massa did not feel any better during Practice 3, and his seat was taken by Williams reserve driver Paul di Resta for qualifying and the race.[5]

Practice

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo went fastest in first practice, setting a time of 1:18.486. He was followed by the Ferrari of Kimi Räikkönen and the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton in second and third.[6] In second practice, Ricciardo again set the fastest time followed by Vettel and Bottas.[7] Saturday's third and final practice was topped by Vettel, with Räikkönen second and Bottas third. Vettel set the quickest time of all three practices with a 1:17.017.[8]

Qualifying

In the first segment of qualifying, Williams reserve driver di Resta made his first start since the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix and quickly got up to speed with little prior practice. Di Resta's only experience in a hybrid F1 car consisted of 10 laps in a 2014-spec car and some laps in the simulator prior to the Australian Grand Prix.[9] Di Resta qualified 19th in a car with Massa's settings, a performance that was described as "unbelievable" by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.[10] Di Resta later admitted that he was "scared, nervous, [and] anxious" about how he would perform given his lack of experience.

In the third segment of qualifying, Sebastian Vettel secured pole position with a time of 1:16.276. His teammate Kimi Räikkönen secured second place, thus giving Ferrari its first qualifying 1–2 in Hungary since 2004. Mercedes locked out the second row on the grid, Red Bull locked out the third row on the grid, and McLaren-Honda locked out the fourth row of the grid in its best qualifying performance of the season.[11]

Qualifying classification

DriverConstructor
Q1Q2Q3
15 Sebastian VettelFerrari1:17.2441:16.8021:16.2761
27 Kimi RäikkönenFerrari1:17.3641:17.2071:16.4442
377 Valtteri Bottas1:18.0581:17.3621:16.5303
444 Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:17.4921:16.6931:16.7074
533 Max Verstappen1:17.2661:17.0281:16.7975
63 Daniel Ricciardo1:17.7021:17.6981:16.8186
727 Nico HülkenbergRenault1:18.1371:17.6551:17.46812
814 Fernando AlonsoMcLaren-Honda1:18.3951:17.9191:17.5497
92McLaren-Honda1:18.4791:18.0001:17.8948
1055 Carlos Sainz Jr.Toro Rosso1:18.9481:18.3111:18.9129
1130 Jolyon PalmerRenault1:18.6991:18.41510
1231 Esteban OconForce India-Mercedes1:18.8431:18.49511
1326 Daniil KvyatToro Rosso1:18.7021:18.53816
1411 Sergio PérezForce India-Mercedes1:19.0951:18.63913
158 Romain GrosjeanHaas-Ferrari1:19.0851:18.77114
1620 Kevin MagnussenHaas-Ferrari1:19.09515
1718 Lance Stroll1:19.10217
1894 Pascal WehrleinSauber-Ferrari1:19.83918
1940 Paul di RestaWilliams-Mercedes1:19.86819
209 Marcus EricssonSauber-Ferrari1:19.97220
107% time

1:22.651

Source:[12]
Notes

Race

At the start of the race, Vettel stayed ahead of his teammate, Räikkönen, and Bottas after Verstappen tried to go around the outside of Räikkönen and Bottas. Being forced off the track by Bottas, Verstappen went onto the curbs and was almost passed by his Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo and Verstappen collided at turn 2, after Verstappen's tyres locked up. This caused Ricciardo's radiator to break, forcing him to retire. Verstappen subsequently received a 10-second penalty for causing the incident. Ricciardo condemned Verstappen and called the incident "an amateur error". Verstappen later apologised for the incident.[13]

The safety car was called out to clear Ricciardo's stricken Red Bull car and clean up oil from the track surface. The safety car went in at the end of lap 5. Romain Grosjean pitted on lap 21 with a slow leak on front left tyre and was released with a loose wheel-nut. His car had to be retired on lap 22 and Haas F1 Team was fined €5,000 for releasing Grosjean in unsafe conditions.

On lap 25 Vettel started to notice his steering pulling left on the straights. He was instructed to avoid the kerbs and his lap times slowed, allowing teammate Kimi Räikkönen and the two Mercedes to catch up. Kimi Räikkönen radioed to Ferrari that he wanted to get Vettel to move aside on lap 39 as Vettel was having problems and Räikkönen was putting in quicker lap times. Ferrari ordered Vettel to speed up and Räikkönen kept up with him, and they both gradually increased the gap to both Mercedes cars. Lap 44, still having radio issues, Lewis Hamilton informed his engineer he had good pace and wanted around Valtteri Bottas. On lap 46 Hamilton was allowed past teammate Bottas and given 10 laps to try and get past Räikkönen, using a higher engine setting. Mercedes promised Bottas that if Hamilton could not get past, they would switch the cars back.

With nine laps to go, Nico Hülkenberg was forced off track by Kevin Magnussen and subsequently had to retire his car due to issues with the brakes and the gearbox. Magnussen was later given a five-second penalty for his actions, which were described as "nasty" by Hülkenberg. Hülkenberg condemned Magnussen and called him "the most unsporting driver on the grid".[14] Magnussen responded with "suck my balls, mate" which received wide attention.[15]

With Verstappen closing in, it appeared as if the switch back was not going to happen, but coming out of the last corner on the last lap, Hamilton slowed down, allowing Bottas past to claim the podium. Hamilton finished fourth, with Verstappen in fifth. McLaren-Honda got their first double-points finish of the season with Alonso finishing sixth and Vandoorne tenth. This result moved them out of last place in the Constructors' standings. Carlos Sainz Jr. finished seventh for Toro Rosso. Force India got a double-points finish with Pérez in eighth and Ocon in ninth. As a result of the race, Vettel extended his lead in the Drivers' Championship over Hamilton to 14 points. Mercedes's lead in the Constructors' Championship was reduced to 39 points over Ferrari.[16]

Race classification

DriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
15 Sebastian VettelFerrari701:39:46.713125
27 Kimi RäikkönenFerrari70+0.908218
377 Valtteri BottasMercedes70+12.462315
444 Lewis HamiltonMercedes70+12.885412
533 Max Verstappen70+13.276510
614 Fernando AlonsoMcLaren-Honda70+1:11.22378
755 Carlos Sainz Jr.Toro Rosso69+1 Lap96
811 Sergio PérezForce India-Mercedes69+1 Lap134
931 Esteban Ocon69+1 Lap112
102McLaren-Honda69+1 Lap81
1126 Daniil KvyatToro Rosso69+1 Lap16
1230 Jolyon PalmerRenault69+1 Lap10
1320 Kevin MagnussenHaas-Ferrari69+1 Lap15
1418 Lance Stroll69+1 Lap17
1594 Pascal WehrleinSauber-Ferrari68+2 Laps18
169 Marcus EricssonSauber-Ferrari68+2 Laps20
1727 Nico HülkenbergRenault67Brakes12
Ret40 Paul di Resta60Oil leak19
Ret8 Romain GrosjeanHaas-Ferrari20Wheel nut14
Ret3 Daniel Ricciardo0Radiator 6
Source:[17]
Notes

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
DriverPoints
1 Sebastian Vettel202
2 Lewis Hamilton188
3 Valtteri Bottas169
4 Daniel Ricciardo117
5 Kimi Räikkönen116
Source: [18]
Constructors' Championship standings
ConstructorPoints
1 Mercedes357
2 Ferrari318
3184
4 Force India-Mercedes101
5 Williams-Mercedes41
Source:

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Formula 1 Pirelli Magyar Nagydíj 2017. Formula1.com. Formula One Management. 19 July 2017.
  2. Web site: 2017 Formula 1 World Championship Programmes - The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project. Malcolm. Mitchell. www.progcovers.com.
  3. Web site: Hungaroring - The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project. Malcolm. Mitchell. www.progcovers.com.
  4. News: F1 reveals overall rise in 2017 attendance. GPupdate.net. JHED Media BV. 8 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171209011037/https://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/361717/f1-reveals-eight-per-cent-rise-in-2017-attendance/. 9 December 2017.
  5. Web site: de Menezes . Jack . 2017-07-29 . Felipe Massa set to be replaced by Paul Di Resta for Hungarian Grand Prix . 2022-07-30 . The Independent.
  6. Web site: Formula 1 Pirelli Magyar Nagydíj 2017 - Practice 1 . 30 July 2017 . Formula1.com.
  7. Web site: Formula 1 Pirelli Magyar Nagydíj 2017 - Practice 2 . 30 July 2017 . Formula1.com.
  8. Web site: Formula 1 Pirelli Magyar Nagydíj 2017 - Practice 3 . 30 July 2017 . Formula1.com.
  9. News: 'It was like being thrown off a cliff' – Di Resta on his late Williams call up. Formula1.com. 30 July 2017. 31 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170731041112/https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/headlines/2017/7/f1-di-resta-hungary-cliff-williams-qualifying-massa-illness.html. dead.
  10. News: Paul di Resta F1 qualifying performance unbelievable – Toto Wolff. Straw. Adam Cooper and Edd. Autosport.com. 30 July 2017. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20170801030112/http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/131016. 1 August 2017. dead.
  11. Web site: 29 July 2017 . 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix - Qualifying . 2022-07-30 . . en.
  12. Web site: 29 July 2017 . Formula 1 Pirelli Magyar Nagydíj 2017 – Qualifying . 29 July 2017 . Formula1.com . Formula One World Championship Ltd.
  13. News: Verstappen apologises as Ricciardo bemoans 'amateur' error. Formula1.com. 30 July 2017.
  14. News: Hulkenberg blasts 'nasty' Magnussen after Hungary clash. Formula1.com. 30 July 2017.
  15. News: Magnussen: Reputation in F1 for Hulkenberg comment became "annoying". 15 January 2021. Smith. Luke. 15 January 2021. Autosport.
  16. News: Race – Vettel wins as Ferrari prove unstoppable in Hungary. Formula1.com. 30 July 2017.
  17. Web site: 2017 Formula 1 Hungary Prix – Race Result. Formula1.com . Formula One World Championship Ltd . 30 July 2017 . 30 July 2017.
  18. Web site: Hungary 2017 - Championship • STATS F1. www.statsf1.com. 18 March 2019.