nicolachew

The Hungarian Grand Prix, like every other race, was action-packed, intense and exhilarating. But this one was slightly different from the rest because for one person, it held a monumental amount of sentimental value.

Jenson Button, race winner of the Hungarian Grand Prix 2011. As he received his winner’s trophy on the top step of the podium, he raised his arms in triumph and victory, basking in all the glory of an exceptional milestone in his F1 career.

The Hungarian Grand Prix marked his 200th GP in his entire racing career, and he had won it. His win on Sunday probably felt like déjà vu too, as this track in Budapest is the very same one where he claimed his first Formula 1 victory with Honda.

But his victory was not easy to come by. Driving a Formula 1 car on a partially wet, partially dry track at 300 km/h for 1 and a half hours is no easy feat, especially if you constantly have a pack of about 4 other cars hot on your tail, fighting for the very same position.

Starting 3rd on the grid, Button slowly fought his way to the front, battling with Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and teammate Lewis Hamilton for P1. Pole-sitter Vettel managed to hold off Lewis Hamilton, who was in P2, for the first 5 laps, before unintentionally going wide at one of the more slippery parts of the track, giving Hamilton the opportunity to overtake. Not long after, Button caught up with Vettel and after adding a tremendous amount of pressure on the Red Bull, managed to overtake and continued forwards to chase race leader Lewis Hamilton.

The most intense part of the race was during lap 52, where Button and Hamilton relentless fought each other for P1. Multiple times we saw Hamilton and Button driving wheel-to-wheel, and even switching track positions for mere seconds before the other regained it. However, a drive-through penalty for Hamilton for spinning on the track and rejoining the pack of cars which nearly caused him to collide with Paul di Resta, as well as a few tyre changing mix-ups, Hamilton lost a huge amount of time and slid down the pack, leaving Button as the race leader, who maintained his position all the way to the chequered flag.

And apart from all the action that took place between the front-runners, this race saw its fair share of accidents and spin-offs as well!

Overheating due to a slow pit stop by the Renault team sent the rest of Nick Heidfeld’s race in flames… Literally! While exiting the pit lane, Heidfeld’s car caught fire and he had to park his car at the pit lane exit (which Vettel nearly drove into) to avoid being engulfed by the inferno. It even turned explosive, as his car started shooting car parts in all directions.

The mechanics of the Virgin team scurried into the garage as Jerome D’Ambrosio’s tyres lost grip while driving through the pit lane and spun a good 180 degrees right before his pit stop, nearly knocking over his stunned mechanics. Fortunately their fast reflexes enabled them to avoid the car and seek safety in the garage just in time, and no one was hurt.

A good number of penalties was issued as well – to Lewis Hamilton for nearly causing a collision with di Resta; to Heikki Kovalainen for unsafe release from his pit stop; to Pastor Maldonado for speeding in the pit lane; and to Sergio Perez for overtaking under the yellow flag.

Other than Nick Heidfeld’s car catching fire, there were no other major collisions, though a number of cars were forced to retire due to technical issues. Jarno Trulli and his Lotus-Renault teammate Heikki Kovalainen retired during laps 21 and 60 respectively due to a water leak, and Michael Schumacher had to retire in lap 28 due to a gearbox problem.

All in all, this race was like no other because the end result was completely unpredictable. The position of race leader kept changing hands, and the midfield action, especially the battles between di Resta, Kobayashi, Buemi, Alguersuari and Rosberg, were stunning and captivating. It was a race that we will all remember, and one that the race winner, Jenson Button, will never forget.