The drivers and senior team personnel report back on a breathless race in Budapest...
Force India
Nico Hulkenberg, DNF
"It was not the best day in the office and I'm feeling very disappointed. The track was drying out and I was quite close behind Checo when I made contact with him at the final corner. The previous lap he had taken a much wider line so I tried to overtake on the inside, but he took a tighter line and I couldn't back out of the move. I made contact with his car, lost my front wing and went straight on into the barrier. It was my mistake and I've apologised to the team. It's especially frustrating because there was a lot of potential in this race, but I guess it was one of those days when things didn't go our way."
Sergio Perez, DNF
"It's a very disappointing end to our weekend, just when it looked like we could have scored some big points. I went a little wide on the exit kerb of the final corner, lost the rear and that was it - I was in the wall. It was a very unfortunate end to our race and I feel sorry for the team because they deserved some points today. Conditions were very difficult, the track was drying and improving, and it made you want to push to the limit, but there were some wet patches that could catch you out. We'll take the positive elements of this weekend and get back in the points in the next race."
Vijay Mallya, Force India team principal and managing director
"It is disappointing to come away from this weekend with nothing, especially as the race was shaping up nicely for us. Both Checo and Nico were on course for a points finish, but it was not our day. Sometimes, this is how motorsport is. But a negative result must not detract from our great first half of the year because this is the first race in 2014 in which we have not scored points. Despite the missed opportunity, we remain in fifth place in the championship. It was also a fantastic race for Formula One with wheel-to-wheel racing and a great show for the fans. We have the summer break now, an occasion to regroup and come back stronger in Belgium and get ready for the final eight races."
Caterham
Kamui Kobayashi, DNF
"It’s obviously a shame we couldn’t finish the race today but an issue with the fuel system meant I had to stop the car as I had no power. My start was pretty good - I stayed on the outside to avoid any issues going into Turn 1 and I had good traction out of the first corner, helping me pass a couple of cars and straight away I could push. The car felt good in the wet/dry conditions, they seem to suit us, and my pace in the first stint was pretty strong. We boxed for the first time on lap nine and rejoined on softs and again I had good pace, enough to push me up to 14th.
"I had a big moment with Maldonado when he span after making contact with Bianchi. That’s the third race in a row I’ve had a very near miss and this time I saw him hit the Marussia and then start spinning - I managed to turn in just enough to avoid him hitting me, but there must have only been millimetres in it! After that I was into a good rhythm and the balance was fine. We were going to run quite long on that set but then on lap 24 I lost power just after Turn 12 and that was the end of my race."
Marcus Ericsson, DNF
"It was quite a good race up until the point where I crashed on lap seven. My start was ok and I was having a good fight with Chilton and Maldonado, trying to line them up through turn three and I was just a bit too eager in the throttle. The back stepped out and I couldn't catch the car and that was it, I was in the wall.
"It was a pretty big shunt! I went to the medical centre straight after the crash and they told me it was about 20g, but physically I feel fine. I’m sorry for the guys on track and back at Leafield though - they put in 100 percent all the time and it’s obviously not a good feeling for them to see one of their cars in the wall, but we’ll come back fighting in Spa where we have some new parts and we’ll keep pushing, there and for the whole second half of the season."
Cedrik Staudohar, Renault Sport F1 track support leader
"Today’s weather presented an opportunity but there are necessarily risks with these types of conditions and unfortunately Marcus just got caught out. Everything was working well with Kamui’s car until an issue with the fuel system brought his race to a close early as well. Now we will recharge our batteries during the short break and come back stronger to fight again in Spa."
McLaren
Jenson Button, 10th
"I'm glad it was an exciting race for the fans, but it was a tough afternoon for us. We didn't make the right decisions today. The opening laps in the rain were great: I got up into fifth - which wasn't a bad position for us - but it went downhill from there. As the track started to dry, we thought it was going to rain again - unfortunately, however, we were the only ones thinking that.
"I feel like I did everything right, and in every track condition, which is why it's tough - but we win as a team and we lose as a team, and we'll quickly put this behind us and move on. It's the perfect time for the summer break - obviously, we're not where we want to be, but we've had some positive results, and the whole team has worked incredibly hard throughout this first half of the season. I hope that everybody can get the chance to recharge their batteries before we embark on what we hope will be a better half of the season."
Kevin Magnussen, 12th
"We didn't make the best of things today, but having started from the pit lane, I don't think I really lost too much by choosing to stay on the Inters when everybody pitted for dries. I know we took a risk to wait for more rain, but I think we had to take that risk. I don't think things would've been much different if we'd made a different strategy call, but we now need to sit down with the engineers and strategists to discuss it.
"Once we switched to the Prime, we didn't have the pace to challenge for too many points. After a race like today's, we just need to stay positive and look for areas where we can further improve. The whole team now has the opportunity to take a break, rest and return feeling stronger than ever. I want to thank everybody for their hard work, spirit and determination throughout these first 11 races - we can come back and achieve better things in the second half of the year."
Eric Boullier, McLaren racing director
"Formula One put on a great show for its fans today - but, unfortunately, it wasn't a great afternoon for the team. We worked hard to make the most of the tricky conditions at the start of the race - but it didn't go our way. That's frustrating, but, equally, that's racing - it happens sometimes. We made the wrong call, but, in such a topsy-turvy race weather-wise, sometimes there are some very narrow margins involved.
"If things had panned out differently, we may have had a good afternoon - but we don't dwell on the maybes. We'll learn from this experience, and we'll move on. We tried our best today but it just didn't work out for us - that's a shame for both Jenson and Kevin, because they both drove very well in some difficult circumstances.
"This isn't a great reward for the team after a lot of hard work, but we'll regroup over the summer, learn from our mistakes, and work hard to improve our fortunes for the second half of the season. There are positives to take away from many of our performances this year, but areas where we can still work harder. I want to wish the whole team a restful and relaxing summer vacation, and we'll come back ready to work even harder to return McLaren to the front."
Sauber
Esteban Gutierrez, DNF
"The race started well, as I could gain positions during the start. I was pushing as much as I could, trying to drive very precisely and consistently. I was able to gain some positions and everything was going in the right direction. During the safety car period I came in for the pit stop, everything was right on target. After the restart, I was fighting with Kimi (Raikkonen) and trying to keep him behind. The pace was good and I was also able to keep up with the drivers in front of me. It was an unfortunate ending, but there are a lot of positives we can take from the weekend."
Adrian Sutil, 11th
"Finishing in P11 was very close to gaining one point. It was not an easy race, especially at the beginning with the difficult weather conditions and the two safety car periods. During the first safety car period we made our first pit stop. When I came to the box I had to wait as Esteban had not finished yet. I did loose some time, but I was fighting back. At the end I finished the race in 11th. In the corners I was faster than Jenson (Button), but I could not overtake him as he did not make any mistakes and drove away on the straights. However, it was a positive day as we came closer to the teams in front of us, and this is what counts."
Monisha Kaltenborn, Sauber team principal
"This was a good performance by the whole team that was unfortunately not rewarded. Esteban was driving strongly, and it's really frustrating that we had a problem with the Energy Recovery System, which forced him to retire. Adrian also drove strongly, but unfortunately didn't manage to gain the decisive position on track. The whole team delivered an impeccable performance under very difficult circumstances."
Giampaolo Dall'Ara, Sauber head of track engineering
"There were two deciding factors in this race for our team. First we lost Esteban due to a failure of the Energy Recovery System. He was running in eighth and could have finished the race in the points. The second key point was that we lost a position on the track, and this car slowed Adrian quite a bit towards the end of the race. During the first safety car period, we made the call to bring both cars in on the same lap, which was not easy to handle, but under the circumstances it was a correct decision. It was positive that we were able to race with quite a lot of competition, but it's disappointing not to finish in the points."
Marussia
Jules Bianchi, 15th
"That was a tough race for me because I had to drive for more than 50 laps with a damaged car with terrible balance problems. Maldonado just came from nowhere and hit me in the side. I was really fearful it would put me out of the race and I knew it was a race that would present a lot of opportunities, for me and also our competitors. Although the Caterhams were not in the race for very long, the balance problems meant that I could not take the fight to the cars ahead, particularly the Saubers, who at one point were in a good position that might have threatened our championship placing. In the end, the dry conditions ensured the race ran more in competitive order and we ended the race holding onto 9th, which I am very happy about, obviously. It was a pretty exhausting race, having to fight the car for so long and not be able to lap quicker, but at least we got both cars to the finish and we end the first half of the season on a high note. My thanks to the whole team and I wish everyone a very relaxing summer break, after which we will return stronger and hopefully finish the job we started in terms of beating Sauber on the track."
Max Chilton, 16th
"I got a good start to the race and I was happy with the way the car was performing and that we managed to avoid any of the difficulties the retirees encountered. With Kobayashi and Ericsson out of the picture, and Jules having to make an unscheduled stop, it was good to be able to move up the field and then at the end have a good fight with Jules to the flag. I'm pleased for the team that we have another two car finish and we've managed to hold on to our 9th place in the constructors' championship, which is really important. Now we all deserve a good break so we can come back in Spa and have a good second half of the season."
John Booth, Marussia team principal
"A difficult start to the race with the downpour that happened as we were preparing to go to the grid, however it was fairly clear that the Intermediate tyres would be required for the race start. It took a little longer than expected for the track to dry, but with the arrival of the safety car it was clear that we would have to stop for dry tyres at this point. Jules was running well at the back of the midfield pack when Maldonado hit him. Unfortunately, this effectively ended his ability to race in this position in the field, having sustained a significant amount of car damage, which cost him a lot of downforce. Max had a less eventful race doing well to avoid the incidents, of which there were plenty, and he made the best of his car in tricky conditions to follow Jules home. It's good to end the first part of the season with a two-car finish. The team have done a great job so far and hopefully the break will provide the respite we deserve to come back and fight even harder in the remaining eight races."
Lotus
Pastor Maldonado, 13th
"It was a tough race for us. It was a struggle to find enough grip and the track surface was very slippery. We didn't always have full power, which certainly added to the challenge in what was already a pretty difficult race with the changeable conditions. We weren't able to close in on the cars ahead along the straight which made it hard to overtake, and there aren't many places to overtake around here. The important thing is we finished all 70 laps so we have plenty of information to make further improvements to the car."
Romain Grosjean, DNF
"We didn't finish the race today which is very disappointing. The conditions on the circuit this afternoon were very tricky and we couldn't get the best out of the tyres. We made the right call to move to slicks when the safety car came out - like most of the grid did - but I made a mistake when I was trying to keep the tyres warm. Unfortunately, I touched the white line and spun and that was it. I feel very sorry for everyone in the team who are giving everything they can to give me the best car possible. Hopefully these last two weeks of work and the break ahead of us will help us move forward and come back stronger for the next race in Spa."
Federico Gastaldi, Lotus deputy team principal
"It was quite some race for us and for many teams too! Romain was unlucky to be caught out by the conditions as he had good potential in the race, but as we saw many drivers had moments off track today. It was good for Pastor to see the chequered flag in such an eventful Grand Prix. The team worked well together all weekend and now we have a week to apply all the lessons learnt from the last two races before the well-needed summer shutdown."
Alan Permane, Lotus trackside operations director
"That was an eventful race for everyone. It was unfortunate for Romain as the conditions were really tricky and a wheel on a wet kerb was all it took for him to spin off. It would have been interesting to see what he could have done if he'd stayed in the race. Pastor had a good Grand Prix, albeit he couldn't find a way past Daniil Kvyat in the early laps which compromised his eventual finishing position. We have a lot of aero data from this weekend, which we will scrutinise ahead of the summer shutdown in our quest to extract more performance from the E22."
Mercedes
Nico Rosberg, 4th
"That was a disappointing afternoon. A few things didn't work out for me and it was a very up and down race. In the beginning it was all under control. Unfortunately the safety car cost me the lead, because I just missed the pit entry and then I couldn't pit. I also had some braking issues after the safety car went in and a difficult period of time with handling this, which cost me some positions. Then I was able to push a lot. I had a great last stint and at the end there was one chance to overtake Lewis in the last lap, but it didn't work out. So that is massively disappointing. We need to sit down and analyse internally what went wrong today. I'm still leading the championship, which is a positive thing, and I'll be ready to attack again after the summer break."
Lewis Hamilton, 3rd
"It is a great result today; I was just pushing as hard as possible to get as high as I could. It was obviously damage limitation after what happened yesterday. I can't express the pain I feel when we have issues such as in the last couple of races; it's hard to swallow and difficult to come back the next day and get the right balance between not attacking too much, but pushing to the limit. The two safety car periods helped quite a lot, but naturally I looked fast and had the pace this weekend, so there was an opportunity for more points. I was in the same race as Nico and if I let him past and he had the opportunity to pull away, then he would have come back and overtaken me. I didn't understand why the team asked me to do that as he didn't get close enough to overtake and I didn't want to lift off and lose ground to Fernando. I would like to say a big congratulations to Daniel and Fernando. It was close at the end and it was getting very hard to keep Nico behind as he was catching at close to 3 seconds a lap. Coming back through shows how great this car and team is, and this result is much more satisfying than an easy win. Going into the break, I'm still in the fight for the championship, which is very satisfying."
Toto Wolff, head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
"The conditions today made the race very difficult. The safety car periods worked out better for some and worse for others. If you look at the leading three cars before the safety car period, they ended up in fourth, seventh and eighth - and that was what really cost Nico, when he was held by the safety car and couldn't get back to the pits. The result for us was also down to some brilliant driving from Lewis and Nico. To finish third and fourth on a circuit that's very difficult to overtake on is probably the best we could have done today, given the challenges that were thrown our way. Again we had reliability issues on Lewis' car and we had some very difficult decisions to make in the race. Obviously, we need to sit down, discuss and analyse the moment when Lewis was asked to let Nico pass - but, like always, we will do this calmly and work our way through any confusion or misunderstanding. There were so many things influencing the decisions we made and we must still determine whether we were right or not. We are not satisfied with third and fourth today, so we will look at everything and try to improve for the next race."
Paddy Lowe, Mercedes team executive director (technical)
"It was a difficult afternoon; but it was never going to be easy with one car starting from the pit-lane. On the other side of the garage we were well lined up with a good car and good pace. We opened up a healthy lead from the start in tricky conditions until the race was overturned by a safety car. For reasons we don't yet understand, the safety car split the pack and Nico got stuck behind it because he had been unable to pit before it was called out. We put Nico on a three-stop strategy and Lewis on a two-stop. This caused an interaction which we explained as best we could to each driver. In the event, neither strategy was capable of recovering the win given the impact of the safety car periods. We had a few issues with brake management on both cars and a fuel pressure issue on Lewis' car that we will look into more closely. The problems didn't have a significant effect on performance and at the end of the day, third and fourth was probably the best we could do in the circumstances. As we start 'half-term' it's a good point to say well done to both drivers and the team for all that has been achieved this year, and we wish everybody, including the fans, happy holidays."
Ferrari
Fernando Alonso, 2nd
"This podium means a lot to me and the whole team, because after so many difficult races, we managed to get the most out of everything, also taking a few risks and second place seems like a win. To do 31 laps at the end on used soft tyres was a great challenge. At that point, the strategy suggested that if we had made a third stop, we could have finished fourth, but we decided to run to the flag instead. This race shows that anything is possible when there are unusual conditions like today, with a wet start and the appearance of the safety car. We managed to make the most of all opportunities that presented themselves, taking the best decisions even at the most difficult moments. Sure, the characteristics of the circuit, with its limited overtaking opportunities, helped us and that's why we have to be realistic and continue to work on the car, to improve in all aspects."
Kimi Raikkonen, 6th
"Today's race was difficult, but much more fun than the others, as I had a good feeling with the car, the pace was good and I felt I could push. After the way qualifying went yesterday, sixth was the most we could hope for. At the start, I got away well but then I lost vital time behind a Sauber and when I caught Massa's Williams, I couldn't get past: here in general, overtaking is not easy and we lack speed down the straights. Sure, this is a good team result, but we must not get too excited, because even if there are signs of improvement, we still have much work to do in a lot of areas to get to where we want to be. We've had a very complicated start to the season, but I hope the second part of the championship will go better. I have great faith in the team and I feel we are going in the right direction. Even if it's going to take some time, I'm sure the results will come."
Marco Mattiacci, Ferrari team principal
"It was a great race and very pleasing to see our team fight back from an extremely complicated Saturday. Kimi and Fernando demonstrated just what they are capable of and the whole team was up to the task. However, this result is just a step on a journey which started a few months ago. Fernando's second place is a confidence booster and a sign that the major effort everyone is making to bring Ferrari back to the top is moving in the right direction, however we have to be realistic about it. Here, the weather and the track conditions leveled out the performance differences and that's why we must not delude ourselves. Now we must just go back home, set on always doing better."
Pat Fry, Ferrari chassis director
"After mixed fortunes in qualifying yesterday, today the team showed it could react extremely well and keep a cool head when faced with the variable situations that arose during the race. It's never easy in cases like this, with rain at the start, the safety car, having to avoid traffic and especially with having to keep faster cars behind us, but the team performed very competently. The F14 T demonstrated the good race pace it had already shown on Friday and that has helped us re-take third place in the Constructors' classification. After the summer break, we come to two races that will be difficult for us, on two tracks where it will be important to make the most of any opportunity, just as we did today. On behalf of the team, I wish to congratulate Fernando and Kimi. We had promised them redemption and we were true to our
word. We know that there is still a long way to go, but we will spare nothing in our efforts, continuing to work hard to improve, day by day."
Toro Rosso
Jean-Eric Vergne, 9th
"I'm very pleased with the weekend, I think it was a good one. As for the race, the team did a fantastic job to call me in straight after the safety car and everything worked well. The race was really nice and I had a lot of fun being in second position for some time. I knew that I didn't have the pace to keep up with the others around me until the end of the race but it was a great moment. Obviously I would have liked to finish in a better position to get more points but we still have to improve the performance level of the car. I'm confident that step by step this will come soon, so I'm really positive for the second part of the season."
Daniil Kvyat, 14th
"This was a very tough race. I'm not sure what happened at the start, it has never happened to me before. The engine just stalled and so I was forced to start from the pit lane. The first half of the race was not too bad, I tried to catch up but overtaking was difficult and I had a hard time looking after the tyres, especially being stuck behind the other cars. It's a shame we couldn't finish the first half of the season on a high note, but I'm sure we can turn things around and come back stronger at the next race."
Franz Tost, Toro Rosso team principal
"We showed a very good performance in the Qualifying, starting the race with Jev from eighth and Daniil from tenth position. Jev showed a fantastic race under wet conditions, but also in the drying off circumstances, when he was second behind Alonso showing Rosberg, Vettel and Hamilton the back of the car. It was clear that under a full dry track we can't keep this position. At the end we scored points again which is quite positive. Daniil's engine stalled at the start. We have never faced this before. We will investigate the reason for this to prevent it in the future. Taking into consideration that Daniil had to start from the pit lane he showed a good race. Thanks to the team which did a good job during the entire weekend, and congratulations to Red Bull and Daniel Ricciardo for the fantastic victory."
Ricardo Penteado, Renault Sport F1 track support leader
"Both cars crossed the line with all the Power Unit parameters on the green side and energy management was good, considering the evolving conditions. JEV showed incredible form on the changing track and in fact deserved to score more points. Daniil's race was unfortunately compromised at the start when the engine stalled - we are still investigating why this occurred. Congratulations to our sister team Red Bull and to Daniel on a great victory today."
Williams
Valtteri Bottas, 8th
"After three podiums in a row P8 is not that satisfying, but we got some good points as a team. There was more to come today but we were unlucky with the safety car when I went from P2 to out of the top 10. We need to analyse this race then focus on the next one. There are many more good moments for us to come this season, we are getting stronger."
Felipe Massa, 5th
"It was a very difficult race with a lot happening. We had many fights and it was difficult to stay on the track. We took some risks with the tyres in the pit stops and in the end it was a good result. Now we can look forward to the second part of the season and I'm sure we will score a lot more points than we've scored up until now."
Rob Smedley, Williams head of vehicle performance
"We've been used to racing for podiums lately, so today was a bit different. The pace of the car wasn't fantastic, which we can accept on a tight and twisty track like this. We did what we could, we got two cars home in the points and pulled away from McLaren and Force India in the championship. We're happy with fourth in the Constructors' going into the break and we've got some good races coming up, so we will come back eager for more podiums at Spa and Monza."
Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel, 7th
"It wasn't a great race. I spun, which was my mistake, and before that I was unlucky with the safety car in the first stint. The timing meant the first four cars lost positions to those running behind. Unfortunately we were then in the wrong mode for the restart and I lost two positions. It's good for Daniel that he won today, I'm happy for him."
Daniel Ricciardo, 1st
"Winning this today, it honestly feels as good as the first. It sank in a lot quicker this one, so crossing the line today I knew what was going on a bit more and it's like I could enjoy it immediately rather than it being delayed, it was awesome. To have to pass guys again to win the race, as I did in Canada, makes it a lot more satisfying, knowing that we did have a bit of a fight on our hands - you beauty! In this environment now I feel, I am a different driver and in a way a different person, a different sportsman than I was last year. I've got a lot more belief in myself and it's cool, I definitely feel like I belong here now and I've got confidence; obviously we've converted two races into wins this year so far and I think that confidence is showing. I've got some friends from Australia here this weekend, so the plan was to always have a few drinks tonight, so I think we've got an excuse to now!"
Christian Horner, Red Bull team principal
"A fantastic Grand Prix and the performance by Daniel today was truly sensational. Starting in wet conditions, he benefitted from being a little bit further back and being able to get in for slick tyres at the first safety car and then really managed to make his strategy work on the soft tyres through the next stages of the race. We knew we'd have to make a final stop, which would put us behind Alonso and Hamilton who were trying to get to the end. But he closed the gap down quickly and then, with some fantastic overtaking manoeuvres in the last five laps, pulled off a dramatic victory to achieve the second in his career and our second this season. Sebastian's afternoon was much more frustrating. Unfortunately, after a good start and some good battles, he got the call at the same time as Daniel to pit after the Caterham had an accident, but was too far round the last corner to make it into the pit lane. He then had to stop under the safety car which meant he lost some places. He was making progress but then had the spin and managed to avoid the pit wall, but he flat spotted his tyres and then had a problem at the restart. It was then a question of damage limitation, trying to run the hard tyres to the end of the race and he did a phenomenal job to keep Bottas behind him."
Thierry Salvi, Renault Sport F1 track support leader
"This race was amazing but also quite difficult to manage thanks to the multiple safety cars and changing track conditions. The fuel consumption was less than expected and forced us to use different energy scenarios to recharge the car. Seb did not benefit from the first safety car and so had a lot of work to do throughout the race to recover. Daniel on the other hand had a perfect strategy and was able to extract the maximum from his car. Winning the race is a very good result for the team, and we all deserve this. A lot of effort has gone into trying to catch up and this kind of result helps everyone keep that momentum and motivation high."
Pirelli
Paul Hembery, Pirelli motorsport director
"Today's race at the Hungaroring showed how tyre strategy can benefit a race. The brief we received from the promoter and the teams in 2011 when we entered the sport is still valid and today's results have shown how the tyres and strategy can help to produce very exciting races. The rain that fell just before the start of the race also helped as teams had to determine which of the rain tyres would be the most appropriate to start on. We saw some extremely close battles throughout until the very end, underlining the importance of selecting the right strategy and being able to react to changing circumstances. Now Formula One heads off for its summer break, and after the first half of a season that can only be described as impressive - during which the sport entered a new era, and we even previewed what an 18-inch tyre could look like - we look forward to an equally intriguing second half from the Belgian Grand Prix onwards."