Webber Claims Victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix; F1 Title Now Any Man's Race
Australian Mark Webber brought Red Bull to the top of the Team Championship with a shining win in Budapest, edging out team-mate Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso with a stunning 1:41:05.571 race time. Tipped to be the favourite with a pole position of 1m 18.773s, Vettel lead the race by an impressive 12 seconds, until facing a penalty for breaching safety car regulations which knocked him down to third. It was a bittersweet victory for the Red Bull team who hoped for another one-two at the finish line, but for Webber, it was just the success he needed to place himself at the head of the Driver's Championship.
Another Win Lost On Vettel
Webber maintained a solid lead throughout the majority of the race, with the greatest threat posed by Alonso who fought well to keep in second and compensate for Ferrari's shortcomings. Yet it was Vettel's error which took the limelight of the press, as the race favourite blundered his exit from the pits by violating the ten car lengths behind the safety vehicle. Though Vettel pleaded a misunderstanding as the cause of this breach, he faced a penalty which took him out of the lead and down into third place. Unable to overtake Alonso, Vettel faced the irony of being stuck in position on a track which is hideously difficult to pass, and for that very reason would have been an immense advantage to him after his excellent qualifying result. While it was Webber's time to bask in the glory of his victory, easily redeeming his mediocre qualifying record which saw him nearly a whole second behind his team-mate, it was Vettel's time to bite the bitterness of having failed to secure a sixth win out of seven pole positions. “I didn't understand what was going on and why I was penalized. I guess at the restart I was sleeping,” stated a forlorn Vettel, according to BBC Sport. “I was probably relying too much on the radio, I lost the connection and didn't hear anything. It's been explained to me why, but I still don't understand it. We're pretty unlucky because otherwise it would have been a walk in the park. I should have won, but in the end I was third and I am very disappointed.”
Old Rivalries Flare with Schumacher's Dangerous Manoeuvre
Yet Vettel's costly error wasn't the only drama to ignite the atmosphere in Hungary, as Mercedes' Michael Schumacher employed a highly controversial manoeuvre which nearly cost the life of Williams' Rubens Barrichello. Old rivalries were inflamed when the two ex-Ferrari team mates were caught at a turn which saw Schumacher pushing Barrichello dangerously close to the wall. Though penalized for this offence and bombarded by F1 fans and critics alike for his unethical style of racing, Schumacher played down the action by insisting, “I was making it obvious to him to go on the other side, there was more room there, but he chose not to.” Later, he issued an apology to Barrichello who claimed, “It was the most dangerous manoeuvre against me in my career, it was.” While the two drivers continue to disagree with one another, the majority of the sports world sides with Barrichello, accusing Schumacher of too much complacency and arrogance in his return to F1.
Championship Winner Anyone's Game
It was truly an action-packed episode for the last race before F1's mid-season break, and a fascinating turn of events. Webber is now respected and recognized as a true contender for the F1 title, sitting at 161 pts. Behind him at 157 pts is McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel at 151 pts, and Lewis' team mate Jenson Button at 147 pts. Next on the 2010 schedule is the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps on the 29th of August, a track which promises to be equally fascinating in how it plays into the course of events this fantastic season.
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