ATLAS F1 - THE JOURNAL OF FORMULA ONE MOTORSPORT
The 2003 Hungarian GP Review

By Pablo Elizalde, Spain
Atlas F1 News Editor



Fernando Alonso on top of the podiumIf there is a moment that is going to symbolise the whole 2004 season, that is likely to be lap 61 of the Hungarian Grand Prix. The image of Michael Schumacher being shown the blue flags before Fernando Alonso flew past to lap the five-time World Champion seemed to represent much more than the result of a single race; the moment could have symbolised the end of an era, and the start of a new one.

The signs of that change, however, have been there for everybody to see for a big part of this season, and Hungary only showed that Schumacher, for all his endless hunger and enormous talent, will soon have to pass the baton he has held for over ten years.

The German could still be the champion and take an unprecedented sixth title; it would be wrong to rule him out just yet, but it is undeniable that there is a new wave of drivers in Formula One which has shown that the future of the sport belongs to them. On Sunday, you only had to look at the podium - the youngest ever - to know that there is something changing.

In Hungary, it was Alonso who made his bid for the "next Schumacher" title. It was not the first time the young Spaniard had proved his worth this season, and it will certainly not be the last, but the way he controlled the race from start to finish was a master class of driving, and another proof of the amazing talent of a driver who just turned 22.

Raikkonen finished a strong secondFrom the start of the year, it was obvious that it was a matter of time before Alonso would score his maiden victory, and perhaps only the lack of power of his Renault had stopped him from taking his first win in past races. Hungary, however, offered the perfect opportunity for the man from Oviedo, and he seized it in the most spectacular fashion.

After taking a superb pole position on Saturday, Alonso led from start to finish, not putting a foot wrong all race long to finish comfortably ahead of anyone else. His drive was relentless, and even when he lapped Schumacher with less that 10 laps remaining in the race, Alonso looked like a man on a mission, determined to leave both the World Champion and his own teammate Jarno Trulli a lap behind. After all, that was probably the last opportunity he had this year to fight for a win considering the three races left in the Championship.

Maybe Alonso would not have won so comfortably had the Williams drivers not ruled themselves out of contention at the start of the race, but Formula One is always full os "ifs" and the Renault driver took the opportunity and proved to be untouchable on Sunday. Chances are there are many more races like this to come for the young Spaniard.

The Williams team had be content with third and fourthFor the Williams team, the Hungarian Grand Prix must have left a bitter-sweet taste. On the one hand, they left Budapest leading the Constructors' Championship and with the impression that their package is the one to beat. On the other, however, the Grove-based outfit might have been thinking of what might have been had the start of the race been different.

Both Juan Pablo Montoya and, especially, Ralf Schumacher paid the price for their poor starts on a track where overtaking - despite the changes - proves virtually impossible when there is a competitive car in front. When they finally found themselves in clean air, it was already too late. Aided by their Williams, both men recovered well - again especially Ralf, who even overtook his brother - and the result was especially good for Montoya, who is now only one point off the Championship lead.

The Colombian, however, could have left Hungary in the lead and with a bigger advantage to Kimi Raikkonen. As it was, it was the McLaren driver who benefitted the most from his rivals' misfortunes, as the Finn got right into the fight for the title thanks to a strong second place which set the stage for an electrifying three-way battle that will most likely be decided in Japan.

Of the three title contenders, it was Michael Schumacher who again came off worst, although, unlike in Germany, this time there were no excuses for his Ferrari team, who were simple off the pace and were not helped by their German driver's lack of form. Unlike in Hockenheim or Silverstone, Schumacher was unable to find a way to salvage valuable points and had to settle for eighth place a lap behind Alonso.

Rubens Barrichello's carFerrari, always the masters of understatement, said they were disappointed by their performance, but their lack of pace was very worrying ahead of their home Grand Prix at Monza, where Schumacher could be faced with the punishment of losing the lead of the Championship in front of the tifosi, who will be waiting for answers to justify such a slump in form.

At the moment, however, it seems like Ferrari are unable to find the answers to their problems and the heat is on them to try to rectify the situation before the Italian Grand Prix next month. The test at Monza next week is likely to be crucial for the Maranello squad.

"It is impressive how they have gone backwards," said Niki Lauda of Ferrari after the race, perhaps echoing the general surprise of the paddock to see the World Champions struggling so badly. "Now they are so bad it's unbelievable. They have been dominating the last three years, nobody could get near them and now they get lapped."

It seems that as each race goes by, the pendulum is swinging more often towards Michelin in this season's tyre battle. Qualifying at the Hungaroring was further example of that, with most of the Bridgestone runners struggling with their tyres, which at the moment seem unable to withstand the demands of a flying lap without losing performance towards the end.

Webber was spectacular in qualifyingAt the end of the Saturday session it was hard to find a Bridgestone partner team who had not suffered from understeer during the day, and that was reflected in the timesheet once more, with eight Michelin runners in the top ten and the two Ferraris once more the only Bridgestone-shod cars who were able to show some form among the users of the French rubber.

With that in mind it was obvious that a Michelin-tyred car would be on pole, and from Friday it looked like it was going to be a battle between Renault and Williams, as the McLarens did not seem to have enough pace to fight for the front row.

The Grid

1. Fernando Alonso Saturday time: 1:21.688
Friday Qualifying: 6th, 1:22.953

After a couple of races failing to match the spectacular pace of his very fast teammate Trulli, Alonso returned to form with a bang, flying over the Hungaroring towards his second career pole position following his maiden one in Malaysia earlier this year. On a track where he was expected to shine, the Spaniard did not disappoint and completed a spectacular lap that shot him to the top of the times after a shaky start on Friday. Alonso's second and third splits proved to be unbeatable following a poor first sector in which he only set the ninth quickest time. At the end of the day, however, that proved to be more than enough.

2. Ralf Schumacher Saturday time: 1:21.944
Friday Qualifying: 3rd, 1:22.625

The Renaults finished on top of both qualifying sessionsRalf felt at home during most of the weekend at the revised Hungaroring, always showing competitive pace and getting the best out of his Williams-BMW package. On Saturday the time he set on his first split - over half a second faster than Alonso - was particularly remarkable. In hindsight, however, he would have gained quite a lot by being slower in qualifying, as taking the start from the very slippery side of the grid would cost him dearly on race day.

3. Mark Webber Saturday time: 1:22.027
Friday Qualifying: 3th, 1:22.625

Even if he was somewhat overshadowed by Alonso's brilliant pole position, the Australian was again the surprise of qualifying, putting his Jaguar again on the second row of the grid, and that despite hinting on Friday that he would take more fuel in on Saturday in order to be in good form for the race. As it was, however, Webber impressed again with a flying lap that was right on the edge and that also rewarded him with starting from the clean side of the dusty circuit.

4. Juan Pablo Montoya Saturday time: 1:22.180
Friday Qualifying: 8th, 1:23.305

On a track where he had struggled badly to be on the pace in the last two years, the Colombian proved how good the Williams-BMW-Michelin combination is at the moment by placing himself in a strong position to fight for victory or at least for a place on the podium. More importantly, however, Montoya managed to qualify ahead of his main rivals Raikkonen and especially Michael Schumacher, whose disappointing performance allowed the Colombian to take it easier on his flying lap. The Williams driver, however, had to settle for a position on the wrong side of the track, which proved costly at the start.

5. Rubens Barrichello Saturday time: 1:22.180
Friday Qualifying: 5th, 1:22.892

Firman was forced to miss the race after this crashFor the third race in a row, Barrichello was the Ferrari man in form, although that was not good enough to be able to fight for the top positions with a car which seems to be struggling with the Bridgestone tyres. Both Barrichello and Schumacher suffered the same problem: their tyres did not last for a whole lap, and they had to cope with severe understeer, something that the Brazilian driver seems to be doing better than his teammate nowadays.

6. Jarno Trulli Saturday time: 1:22.610
Friday Qualifying: 1st, 1:22.358

Aided by the efficiency of the Renault chassis, Trulli was capable of showing once more his speed over a single lap, setting the fastest time in Friday's session as the French squad began to show what could be expected from them over the weekend. On Saturday, however, the Italian driver perhaps tried too hard while trying to beat his teammate's time, his flying lap also hampered by some unexpected oversteering. It was the first time in five races that he was outqualified by Alonso.

7. Kimi Raikkonen Saturday time: 1:22.742
Friday Qualifying: 12th, 1:23.695

Raikkonen's performances in both qualifying sessions were rather subdued in Hungary, the Finn never a contender for the top spots and even losing out to teammate Coulthard in the opening session by nearly a whole second. On Saturday things looked better for the McLaren driver, and although he could not match the pace of title rival Montoya, he was happy enough to finish ahead of Schumacher and, more importantly, to be starting from the clean side of the track.

8. Michael Schumacher Saturday time: 1:22.755
Friday Qualifying: 9th, 1:23.430

Schumacher's major slump in form was again obvious in Hungary, the German having to settle for his lowest grid position since he started the 1998 German Grand Prix from ninth place. It was also the first time in his F1 career that he has been outqualified by his teammate for three consecutive races, although by now seeing Schumacher struggle for pace is not such an uncommon image. The World Champion looked unable to maximise the performance of his Bridgestone tyres as well as Barrichello did, and the lack of grip at the front of his car again proved to be too much of a burden for Schumacher.

9. David Coulthard Saturday time: 1:23.060
Friday Qualifying: 4th, 1:22.786

Coulthard had a quiet weekendThe Scot, who was confirmed at McLaren for another year in Hungary, matched the pace of teammate Raikkonen for most of the weekend, and had he not gone wide at turn five on his flying lap, losing some four tenths of a second, Coulthard could have finished ahead of the Finn despite running with more fuel on board, having opted for a two-stop strategy to Raikkonen's three stopper. In the end he was confident of a good race, relying on his car's stronger race pace.

10. Olivier Panis Saturday time: 1:23.369
Friday Qualifying: 7th, 1:22.986

Considering the Hungaroring was not going to be a good track for Toyota's TF103 car, Panis's performance was rather pleasing for the Japanese squad, who showed that the progress shown in recent races is real. The Frenchman was impressively fastest in the first practice session, although he slipped down the order gradually as the weekend progressed. He was still happy with a place in the top ten, which was Toyota's aim prior to the weekend.

11. Nick Heidfeld Saturday time: 1:23.621
Friday Qualifying: 10th, 1:23.482

Heidfeld confirmed Sauber's progress with a solid performance that meant he was the fastest of the Bridgestone runners behind the two Ferraris. The German was, within the limitations of his package, strong all weekend, outpacing teammate Frentzen in the majority of the sessions. Heidfeld finished almost a second ahead of his compatriot in final qualifying, although as usual they were running different strategies, with the younger German on a lighter fuel load.

12. Justin Wilson Saturday time: 1:23.660
Friday Qualifying: 15th, 1:24.343

Even if he is still getting to grips with the Jaguar, Wilson's performance in Hungary was very disappointing, both on Friday and on Saturday. Almost two seconds off Webber's pace in first qualifying and more than 1.5 behind in the grid-deciding session showed that being the Australian's teammate in not an easy task, as Antonio Pizzonia knew too well. Jaguar hired Wilson to score points and he will need to raise his game in qualifying if he is to have a chance of keeping the seat in 2004.

13. Giancarlo Fisichella Saturday time: 1:23.726
Friday Qualifying: 16th, 1:24.725

Panis was the strongest Toyota driver all weekendHaving finally announced that he will leave Jordan at the end of the season to move to Sauber, Fisichella had another average qualifying that again saw him finishing outside the top ten, an achievement which at the moment would mean a big step forward for the Silverstone-based squad. At the end of the day, the Italian was rather pleased, but surely looking forward to better days with Sauber in 2004.

14. Jenson Button Saturday time: 1:23.847
Friday Qualifying: 13th, 1:24.313

The BAR team struggled at the Hungaroring, and neither Button nor his teammate Villeneuve were happy with the way their cars were handling. On Friday, Button had problems with the grip levels, something the team could not solve during the weekend. On Saturday, the Briton admitted to pushing too hard on his flying lap and, struggling with his Bridgestone tyres, the result was disappointing. At least he managed to outqualify Villeneuve.

15. Cristiano da Matta Saturday time: 1:23.982
Friday Qualifying: 20th, 1:55.138

Following his strong showing at the German Grand Prix, the Brazilian had a really bad weekend in Hungary, never getting to grips with the Hungaroring circuit, where he had never raced before. Da Matta was not comfortable with his car most of weekend, and it showed, as he spun on his flying lap on Friday, again in Saturday practice, and again in the warm-up. As a consequence his qualifying lap was too conservative and as a result he finished more than half a second behind his Toyota teammate Panis.

16. Jacques Villeneuve Saturday time: 1:24.100
Friday Qualifying: 14th, 1:24.333

The Canadian BAR driver was another victim of that problem that seemed to affect most of the Bridgestone runners: his front tyres did not last for the whole flying lap and the third sector was a struggle, with too much understeer. Villeneuve's first two splits would have put the Canadian closer to the top ten, but the final four corners of the lap proved too big of a struggle and his time reflected it.

17. Heinz-Harald Frentzen Saturday time: 1:24.569
Friday Qualifying: 11h, 1:23.660

Like teammate Heidfeld, Frentzen fared better in Hungary thanks to the improved form of the Sauber C22. Except in final qualifying, that is, where the veteran German made an error at the second corner and then lost a lot of time in the second split. Frentzen, who was running more fuel than Heidfeld as he had opted for a two-stop strategy, complained that his car was too oversteery on his flying lap.

18. Jos Verstappen Saturday time: 1:26.423
Friday Qualifying: 18th, 1:26.052

Baumgartner made his Grand Prix debutThe Dutchman continued to prove one of the most consistent qualifiers of the year, even if that helps his chances little when driving the uncompetitive Minardi. He put two solid performances on Friday and Saturday, outqualifying his teammate Kiesa by a whole second. Unfortunately for Verstappen, he was still very far from the competitors in front of him.

19. Zsolt Baumgartner Saturday time: 1:26.678
Friday Qualifying: No time

Given the circumstances of his Grand Prix debut, there was little to demand from Baumgartner, who in the space of two hours had to assimilate the news that he was going to race in front of his home crowd, becoming the first ever Hungarian driver to take part in a Formula One race. From the moment it was confirmed Ralph Firman would not race following his massive practice crash, Baumgartner had little time to get in the mood to compete in final qualifying, although he had already driven the Jordan for two hours on Friday. As expected, he took it easy on his flying lap, finishing almost three seconds behind Fisichella, although his inexperience showed, as he completed the whole lap with the saving fuel map on.

20. Nicolas Kiesa Saturday time: 1:28.907
Friday Qualifying: 19th, 1:27.023

Despite leaving the nerves of his first Grand Prix behind him in Germany, the Dane's situation did not improve in Hungary, where he struggled badly to get to grips with his Minardi, something that was reflected in his times when compared to teammate Verstappen. Kiesa's task was not made any easier by a major engine problem on Friday, although despite having to use the spare car for his flying lap, he was much more competitive than on Saturday. In the final session, Kiesa was unable to find the right set-up for his car, struggling with terrible understeer and a tricky rear end.

The start of the raceStarting from the dirty side of the track was to prove a more serious problem than many drivers had anticipated the previous day. When the red lights extinguished, most of the drivers who had qualified in the even positions were left spinning on the track. "I couldn't believe it," said Montoya of the start. "I let the button go, and everybody went past like we were not even accelerating."

While Alonso flew to keep his lead comfortably, both Williams drivers were very slow off the line. By the end of the straight, Alonso was in the lead followed by Webber, Barrichello, Raikkonen, Trulli, Coulthard and Michael Schumacher. Montoya had dropped down to eighth, while Ralf was also in the middle of the pack after the first corner.

The German Williams driver's frustration was reflected on the second corner, when he pushed way too hard and spun to avoid hitting Montoya, dropping down to the back of the field and effectively losing all his chances of fighting for victory. Ralf was quick to rejoin the race, albeit in 18th position, only ahead of Kiesa and da Matta, the Brazilian having stalled at the start.

Alonso could not have wished for a better start to the race, as it was very soon obvious that Webber was unable to follow his pace, and that the pack following the Australian could do little to overtake him. By lap five, the Spanish driver was already a massive 12 seconds ahead of Webber, and the gap continued to grow at around two seconds per lap.

Ralf spinsWhile the chasing group followed Webber closely-packed, there was no change in the running order at the front, and only Ralf was able to gain positions as he made his way back to the top. By lap ten, the German driver had already moved up to 11th position and had set his sights on Villeneuve, who he passed quickly at the end of the following lap to get into the top ten.

The first round of stops was triggered by Alonso, who dived into the pits on lap 13, when he was more than 20 seconds ahead of Webber, who followed the Spaniard into the pits moments later. That allowed Raikkonen to take the lead briefly, with Alonso returning to the race in second place.

Raikkonen and Trulli pitted two laps after Alonso, who recovered the lead ahead of Barrichello, Coulthard and Schumacher Sr., all of them still to pit. Ralf, meanwhile, had fought his way back to seventh place after moving ahead of Heidfeld in the Sauber and was right behind teammate Montoya in what was a spectacular recovery from his early spin.

Barrichello and Montoya pitted next, and they were followed moments later by the Schumacher brothers, who were running closely together. When Michael rejoined the race, he had fallen to eighth position behind Montoya and ahead of Ralf. Coulthard was the last of the top runners to pit, the Scot rejoining the race right ahead of Ralf.

While his teammate fought with Coulthard, Montoya was putting pressure on Barrichello. The battle, however, would not last long, and when on lap 20 the Brazilian was braking at the end of the straight, his car suffered a failure on the rear left wheel which torn off the whole suspension, sending the Brazilian straight off the track and into the tyre wall at very high speed.

Webber is chased by the pack"Fortunately, I did not hurt myself at all and physically, I am fine," said Barrichello of the accident. "However, I am not at all happy with the fact that I received no medical attention immediately after the accident and shortly afterwards when I was back in the pits."

With Barrichello out of the race, Montoya moved up to fifth place ahead of Michael and Ralf Schumacher, the Williams driver having overtaking Coulthard on the same lap of Barrichello's accident. Ralf set his sights on his brother, who followed Montoya closely thanks to Trulli, who was slowing down the Colombian.

Up in front Alonso continued to lap flawlessly, extending his lead over Raikkonen to some 27 seconds by lap 25, the Finn himself also running in clean air as Webber had dropped back since he had been overtaken by the McLaren star during the first round of pitstops.

The leader made his second stop five laps later, although this time he was able to return to the track still in first place, with Raikkonen following closely. Further behind, Ralf continued with his recovery by passing his own brother Michael, which was something of a revendication for the Williams driver, even if the Ferrari was no match for the Williams on Sunday.

In the space of the following four laps, all the frontrunners, except Coulthard and Ferrari's Schumacher, pitted for the second time. Schumacher pitted on lap 39, but not even running in clean air for some laps allowed the German to gain any positions, and when he rejoined the race he was in eighth place behind Trulli, the Italian having lost out to the Williams duo in the second round of stops.

Schumacher could only salvage one pointSo Alonso continued to lead ahead of Raikkonen and Coulthard until the Scot made his second and final pitstop on lap 43, dropping down to seventh ahead of Schumacher. That allowed Montoya to move into third place, the Colombian clearly ahead of Webber, who was under pressure from Ralf before the German driver dived down the inside of the first corner into fourth place, some 12 seconds behind his teammate.

The final round of pitstops was rather uneventful, and Alonso continued to lead by some 20 seconds over Raikkonen, with Montoya still in third and Ralf in fourth. Coulthard, who did not have to stop for a third time, was in fifth ahead of Webber, with Trulli and Schumacher completing the point-scoring positions.

One of the defying moments of the race came around 15:30, when the struggling Schumacher was faced with the embarrassment of being shown the blue flags as Alonso lapped him. The Renault driver did the same with teammate Trulli seconds later, in a reflection of how amazing the Spaniard's drive had been all afternoon.

The final moment of excitement came with eight laps remaining, when Montoya lost the rear end of his car and spun, although the Colombian managed to keep his engine running as well as his third place despite the pressure from Ralf. "I just went into the corner and as soon as I turned in it swapped ends on me and the first thing that I did was go full throttle so it wouldn't go backwards into the gravel," he explained. "Then into first gear and go again."

In the lead, Alonso did not encounter such problems and crossed the chequered flag to become the youngest ever winner of a Grand Prix, the first Spaniard to win a race, the eighth winner of the 2004 season, and also to give Renault their first win in 20 years. And all of that having lapped the World Champion.

"Too many things for one day for me at the moment," Alonso said. "The weekend was fantastic, pole position and now the victory for me is a dream come true. I'm 22 years old and I have my first victory in my pocket, so I hope I can have a long career in Formula One with more victories."

The podiumRaikkonen took second place and Montoya third, completing the youngest ever podium in F1 history. With Michael Schumacher coming home in eighth, the Championship will be at stake in every of the three remaining races, and one retirement could mean the end of a driver's hopes. At the moment, however, reliability is not enough for Ferrari if their pace does not improve and quick.

The World Champions and Bridgestone will be working hard in next week's Monza test, probably the most important of the year. If they want to stand a chance of retaining their titles, they will be hoping to find some answers to their problems.


Race Results

 1.  Alonso        Renault           (M)     1h39:01.460
 2.  Raikkonen     McLaren Mercedes  (M)     +    16.768
 3.  Montoya       Williams BMW      (M)     +    34.537
 4.  R.Schumacher  Williams BMW      (M)     +    35.620
 5.  Coulthard     McLaren Mercedes  (M)     +    56.535
 6.  Webber        Jaguar Cosworth   (M)     +  1:12.643
 7.  Trulli        Renault           (M)     +  1 lap
 8.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari           (B)     +  1 lap
 9.  Heidfeld      Sauber Petronas   (B)     +  1 lap
10.  Button        BAR Honda         (B)     +  1 lap
11.  da Matta      Toyota            (M)     +  2 laps
12.  Verstappen    Minardi Cosworth  (B)     +  3 laps
13.  Kiesa         Minardi Cosworth  (B)     +  4 laps

Fastest Lap: Montoya, 1:22.095 - lap 37

Not Classified/Retirements:

Driver        Team                   On Lap
Frentzen      Sauber Petronas   (B)    48
Wilson        Jaguar Cosworth   (M)    43
Baumgartner   Jordan Ford       (B)    35
Panis         Toyota            (M)    34
Fisichella    Jordan Ford       (B)    29
Barrichello   Ferrari           (B)    20
Villeneuve    BAR Honda         (B)    13


World Championship Standing, Round 13:

Drivers:                  Constructors:
 1. M.Schumacher  72       1. Williams-BMW      129
 2. Montoya       71       2. Ferrari           121
 3. Raikkonen     70       3. McLaren-Mercedes  115
 4. R.Schumacher  58       4. Renault            78
 5. Alonso        54       5. BAR-Honda          15
 6. Barrichello   49       =  Jaguar-Cosworth    15
 7. Coulthard     45       7. Toyota             14
 8. Trulli        24       8. Jordan-Ford        11
 9. Webber        15       9. Sauber              9
10. Button        12
11. Fisichella    10
12. da Matta       8
13. Frentzen       7
14. Panis          6
15. Villeneuve     3
16. Heidfeld       2
17. Firman         1

Fastest Race Laps

Pos  Driver        Team                  Lap  Time              
 1.  Montoya       Williams-BMW     (M)  37   1:22.095
 2.  R.Schumacher  Williams-BMW     (M)  55   1:22.319 + 0.224
 3.  Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes (M)  66   1:22.372 + 0.277
 4.  Alonso        Renault          (M)  47   1:22.565 + 0.470
 5.  da Matta      Toyota           (M)  36   1:23.040 + 0.945
 6.  Webber        Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)  49   1:23.156 + 1.061
 7.  Coulthard     McLaren-Mercedes (M)  40   1:23.193 + 1.098
 8.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari          (B)  38   1:23.207 + 1.112
 9.  Button        BAR-Honda        (B)  65   1:23.376 + 1.281
10.  Trulli        Renault          (M)  34   1:24.100 + 2.005
11.  Heidfeld      Sauber-Petronas  (B)  54   1:24.267 + 2.172
12.  Panis         Toyota           (M)  17   1:24.414 + 2.319
13.  Frentzen      Sauber-Petronas  (B)  45   1:24.450 + 2.355
14.  Barrichello   Ferrari          (B)  13   1:24.583 + 2.488
15.  Wilson        Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)  26   1:24.936 + 2.841
16.  Fisichella    Jordan-Ford      (B)  13   1:25.081 + 2.986
17.  Villeneuve    BAR-Honda        (B)  13   1:25.278 + 3.183
18.  Baumgartner   Jordan-Ford      (B)  22   1:26.464 + 4.369
19.  Verstappen    Minardi-Cosworth (B)  60   1:26.559 + 4.464
20.  Kiesa         Minardi-Cosworth (B)  47   1:27.641 + 5.546

Pitstop Times

Pos  Driver        Team                  Time      Lap
 1.  Trulli        Renault          (M)   27.472   15
 2.  R.Schumacher  Williams-BMW     (M)   27.490   34
 3.  Trulli        Renault          (M)   27.855   52
 4.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari          (B)   27.894   50
 5.  da Matta      Toyota           (M)   28.153   52
 6.  Heidfeld      Sauber-Petronas  (B)   28.186   34
 7.  Montoya       Williams-BMW     (M)   28.187   35
 8.  da Matta      Toyota           (M)   28.238   34
 9.  Trulli        Renault          (M)   28.343   32
10.  Barrichello   Ferrari          (B)   28.472   16
11.  Heidfeld      Sauber-Petronas  (B)   28.499   52
12.  Montoya       Williams-BMW     (M)   28.549   51
13.  Alonso        Renault          (M)   28.564   30
14.  Montoya       Williams-BMW     (M)   28.598   16
15.  R.Schumacher  Williams-BMW     (M)   28.706   53
16.  Alonso        Renault          (M)   28.714   13
17.  Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes (M)   28.913   33
18.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari          (B)   28.944   17
19.  Webber        Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)   28.980   13
20.  Heidfeld      Sauber-Petronas  (B)   29.044   17
21.  Wilson        Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)   29.171   30
22.  Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes (M)   29.182   15
23.  da Matta      Toyota           (M)   29.232   15
24.  Verstappen    Minardi-Cosworth (B)   29.332   49
25.  Webber        Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)   29.351   31
26.  Alonso        Renault          (M)   29.454   49
27.  Frentzen      Sauber-Petronas  (B)   29.497   22
28.  Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes (M)   29.725   51
29.  Panis         Toyota           (M)   29.823   15
30.  Verstappen    Minardi-Cosworth (B)   29.952   12
31.  Verstappen    Minardi-Cosworth (B)   30.253   29
32.  Webber        Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)   30.306   50
33.  Kiesa         Minardi-Cosworth (B)   31.051   32
34.  Button        BAR-Honda        (B)   31.145   18
35.  R.Schumacher  Williams-BMW     (M)   31.232   17
36.  Coulthard     McLaren-Mercedes (M)   31.536   18
37.  Coulthard     McLaren-Mercedes (M)   31.537   43
38.  Kiesa         Minardi-Cosworth (B)   31.671   13
39.  Wilson        Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)   31.841   12
40.  Kiesa         Minardi-Cosworth (B)   31.849   50
41.  Button        BAR-Honda        (B)   31.996   43
42.  Baumgartner   Jordan-Ford      (B)   32.680   19
43.  Fisichella    Jordan-Ford      (B)   33.078   14
44.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari          (B)   34.054   39


The Hungarian Grand Prix, Lap by Lap

Lap 1: At the start of the race Fernando Alonso takes the lead as the two Williams-BMWs get away very slowly. The clean line on the left side of the track proves to be a huge advantage and the first four on the left side of the grid take the first four places in Turn 1 with Alonso leading Mark Webber, Rubens Barrichello and Kimi Raikkonen. Jarno Trulli is the fastest starter on the right side of the grid and passes both Williams-BMW to take fifth ahead of a fast-starting David Coulthard, Michael Schumacher, Juan Pablo Montoya and Nick Heidfeld. At the tail of the field Cristiano da Matta fails to get off the line. The Toyota is pushed into the pit lane and starts from there. Ralf Schumacher spins in Turn 2 and falls to the back of the field ahead of only Nicolas Kiesa and da Matta. At the end of the lap Alonso is nearly two seconds ahead of Webber who is holding up the rest of the field.

Barrichello was the fastest Ferrari before retiringLap 2: Alonso increases his lead to three seconds as Webber comes under pressure from Barrichello. At the back of the field Ralf Schumacher passes Jenson Button and Zsolt Baumgartner, Button also taking advantage of the Hungarian novice.

Lap 3: Alonso continues to pull away, increasing his lead to 7.3 seconds. Everyone else is trapped behind Webber. Barrichello tries to pass Webber at the chicane and overshoots and falls behind Raikkonen and Trulli. In the midfield Olivier Panis passes Heinz-Harald Frentzen for 14th position.

Lap 4: There continues to be a sorting out in the midfield with Ralf Schumacher passing Frentzen. Ralf and Panis then pass Jos Verstappen. Further back Baumgartner passes Kiesa for 18th.

Lap 5: Eleventh-placed Giancarlo Fisichella runs wide and falls behind Justin Wilson, Panis and Ralf Schumacher.

Lap 6: Alonso's lead is up to nearly 14 seconds with everyone else still stuck behind Webber. Ralf Schumacher continues his recovery passing Panis for 12th place.

Lap 9: The lead is up to 17.5 seconds and any hope of catching Alonso is fading fast. Ralf Schumacher continues his progress and passes Wilson for 11th place.

Lap 10: Button passes Frentzen to move to 16th place.

Montoya tries to overtake TrulliLap 11: Alonso's lead is just under 20 seconds. Ralf Schumacher remains the only man making real progress as he passes Jacques Villeneuve for 10th place. Further back Button passes Verstappen for 15th.

Lap 12: The pit stops begin with Wilson and Verstappen heading into pit lane.

Lap 13: Alonso and Webber both pit. This puts Raikkonen into the lead. Alonso rejoins in second place. Also stopping is Kiesa at the tail of the field.

Lap 14: The pit stops continue with Fisichella and Villeneuve stopping. Jacques's car stops as he tries to rejoin and he is out.

Lap 15: Raikkonen and Trulli both stop which puts Alonso back in the lead and Barrichello up to second. Coulthard is third with Michael Schumacher fourth. In the midfield Ralf Schumacher passes Heidfeld for seventh. Panis also stops and drops from ninth place.

Lap 16: Barrichello heads of the pits and Coulthard moves up to second place ahead of Michael Schumacher, Ralf and Heidfeld. Montoya goes into the pits.

Lap 17: Michael Schumacher, Ralf Schumacher and Heidfeld all stop. This puts Raikkonen back to third place ahead of Webber, Trulli, Barrichello and Montoya. Further back Fisichella passes Baumgartner for 15th place.

Webber en route to sixth placeLap 18: Coulthard is the last of the frontrunners to pit. Raikkonen goes to second ahead of Webber but Alonso is still more than 20 seconds ahead, although the gap is now stabilised. Button comes in for his first pit stop.

Lap 20: Barrichello suffers a catastrophic left rear failure, which tears the entire suspension off the car. The Ferrari is uncapable of steering and goes head-on into the barriers at the first corner. Fortunately Barrichello is not hurt. In the course of the lap Ralf Schumacher passes Coulthard for seventh place, while behind him Frentzen (who is still to pit) passes Heidfeld for ninth.

Lap 22: The order has stabilised with Alonso 24 seconds ahead of Raikkonen. He is eight seconds clear of Webber who is now clear of Trulli, who is under pressure from Montoya and Michael Schumacher. Ralf Schumacher is closing in on them with Coulthard behind him. Frentzen pits and drops back into the midfield.

Lap 26: At the tail of the field Da Matta catches and passes Kiesa for 17th.

Lap 29: Little has changed at the front as the second pit stops approach. Fisichella retires with an engine failure.

Lap 30: Alonso heads for pit lane again but this time he is able to come out still in the lead. Further back Ralf finally passes his brother Michael for sixth place.

Lap 31: Third-placed Webber pits and drops back to ninth. Trulli moves to third ahead of Montoya, Ralf Schumacher, Michael and Coulthard.

Lap 32: Trulli pits and so Montoya moves to third ahead of Ralf Schumacher.

Lap 33: Raikkonen pits and falls behind the two Williams-BMWs. Panis also stops but something goes wrong and he cannot rejoin.

Schumacher followed by the Williams Lap 34: Ralf Schumacher stops and so Raikkonen moves up to third again. Heidfeld also stops and falls back from seventh place. Baumgartner goes out with an engine failure.

Lap 35: Montoya heads for pit lane and so Raikkonen goes back to second place ahead of Michael Schumacher who has yet to stop for a second time. Montoya rejoins behind Coulthard in fifth place.

Lap 39: Michael Schumacher stops. Coulthard moves to third place. He is on a two-stop strategy.

Lap 43: Coulthard stops and he drops back behind Montoya, Webber, Ralf Schumacher and Trulli. But they will all have to stop again. David is however ahead of Michael Schumacher. Further back Justin Wilson goes out with an engine failure. Jenson Button, the other man on a two-stop strategy also pits. He drops from 10th to 11th.

Lap 46: Ralf Schumacher passes Webber for fourth place.

Montoya finished on the podium againLap 48: Frentzen pulls off having run out of fuel.

Lap 49: Alonso initiates the third round of pit stops. He stays in the lead. In the laps that follow all the other frontrunners except Coulthard stop. This means that DC gets ahead of Webber and Trulli and moves to fifth place.

Lap 50: Michael Schumacher stops after a stint of just 11 laps.

Lap 54: With all the stops completed Alonso is still around 24 seconds ahead of Raikkonen with Montoya third 10 seconds behind the Finn. Ralf Schumacher is fourth with Coulthard fifth, Webber sixth and Trulli under threat for seventh place from Michael Schumacher.

Lap 62: The order is unchanged but Montoya has a spin. He is able to rejoin before being overtaken by Ralf Schumacher.

Lap 70: Alonso becomes the first Spaniard to win a Formula One Grand Prix. He is also the youngest man, winning his first victory at 22 years and 26 days, beating Bruce McLaren's long standing record.


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    Volume 9, Issue 35
    August 27th 2003

    Atlas F1 Exclusive

    The Winds of Change
    by Will Gray

    Ann Bradshaw: View from the Paddock
    by Ann Bradshaw

    2003 Hungarian GP Review

    2003 Hungarian GP Review
    by Pablo Elizalde

    Hungarian Ups and Downs
    by Karl Ludvigsen

    The Turning of the Season
    by Richard Barnes

    Stats Center

    Qualifying Differentials
    by Marcel Borsboom

    SuperStats
    by David Wright

    Charts Center
    by Michele Lostia

    Columns

    Season Strokes
    by Bruce Thomson

    On the Road
    by Garry Martin

    Elsewhere in Racing
    by David Wright & Mark Alan Jones

    The Weekly Grapevine
    by Tom Keeble



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