Fernando Alonso used a very light fuel load to take pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Behind him, both the Red Bulls are at least 14kg heavier and Brawn’s Jenson Button has 27kg more than the Renault driver. Here are the fuel loads in full:
| Grid | Qualifying | Name | Weight | Fuel (kg) | First stint (laps) |
| 1 | 1 | Fernando Alonso | 637.5 | 32.5 | 13 |
| 2 | 2 | Sebastian Vettel | 655 | 50 | 22 |
| 3 | 3 | Mark Webber | 652 | 47 | 20 |
| 4 | 4 | Lewis Hamilton | 650.5 | 45.5 | 19 |
| 5 | 5 | Nico Rosberg | 654 | 49 | 21 |
| 6 | 6 | Heikki Kovalainen | 655.5 | 50.5 | 22 |
| 7 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | 651.5 | 46.5 | 20 |
| 8 | 8 | Jenson Button | 664.5 | 59.5 | 26 |
| 9 | 9 | Kazuki Nakajima | 658 | 53 | 23 |
| 10 | 11 | Sebastien Buemi | 671.5 | 66.5 | 29 |
| 11 | 12 | Jarno Trulli | 671.3 | 66.3 | 29 |
| 12 | 13 | Rubens Barrichello | 689 | 84 | 37 |
| 13 | 14 | Timo Glock | 679.2 | 74.2 | 33 |
| 14 | 15 | Nelson Piquet Jnr | 667.7 | 62.7 | 27 |
| 15 | 16 | Nick Heidfeld | 658 | 53 | 23 |
| 16 | 17 | Giancarlo Fisichella | 680.5 | 75.5 | 33 |
| 17 | 18 | Adrian Sutil | 683.5 | 78.5 | 35 |
| 18 | 19 | Robert Kubica | 666 | 61 | 27 |
| 19 | 20 | Jaime Alguersuari | 675.5 | 70.5 | 31 |
Other strategies to note:
- Lewis Hamilton is on a realistic strategy with almost as much fuel as the Red Bulls
- But Heikki Kovalainen is fuelled to go a few laps further and could jump his team mate at the first round of pit stops if he can stay close
- Rubens Barrichello, starting outside the top ten, is very heavy
Read more
gabal
25th July 2009, 18:37
No wonder Alonso said he doesn’t think he will win here. What is the point of having so little fuel when he will most probably end up in traffic after his pit-stop.
Michel S.
26th July 2009, 1:39
And no wonder he told Eddie Jordan beforehand that he was sure he’d be on pole!
Shagrathian
25th July 2009, 18:43
First of all, i hope a clean start. Then, i think Alonso and Hamilton are gonna fight for the podium.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
25th July 2009, 19:32
Not like the GP2 one then – bit of a shambles!
Patrickl
25th July 2009, 18:45
Really sad. Why does Alonso pull this nonsense? Who is he trying to fool?
He tried this stunt 3 or 4 times already and every time it ended in misery.
Why not just start 5th or 6th with a proper fuel load?
CoolGav
25th July 2009, 18:52
If Hamilton is second off the line with his KERS boost, and holds up those behind, Alonso might build enough of a lead to make the low fuel strategy work. And you never know about safety cars… Alonso takes risks, that’s what he does, and sometimes like in Singapore last year, they pay off!
Patrickl
25th July 2009, 19:40
Alonso took a risk in Singapore? Piquet slammed into the wall handing Alonso a free pitstop by bringing out the safety car.
Anyway, the safety car rules are completely different now.
iceshiel
25th July 2009, 18:56
if the renault has found some pace with their upgrades (look at alonso’s Q2 timings) then i think their strategy might not be too bad.
Patrickl
25th July 2009, 19:55
If Alonso stops on lap 13 and gets stuck behind Buemi, Trulli or Button then he might end up even lower than if he simply started where he normalyy ought to have.
Oliver
26th July 2009, 4:58
Thats why it pays to start in front, when he has fuel in his car he will simply wait for the cars ahead to pit, and of course, his lap times will not surfer too much as he is heavily fueled. Starting from 6th or 7th position, wont help his cause as the cars ahead are very fast.
Patrickl
26th July 2009, 10:23
Like I said, he tried this “brilliant” strategy several times already. It failed horribly each time.
If he stops that early he will be MORE likely to end up stuck behind a slow and fully fueled midfielder. That would completely ruin his three stop strategy.
The only way I see this work is doing a fast short stint on an unfavorable tyre and then a long middle stint and longish last stint. That would help not being held up for the middle bit.
Still, Alonso only had the pace for 7th spot so I guess it doesn’t hurt to gamble. I just think it’s a lame way to end up on pole.
StrFerrari4Ever
25th July 2009, 18:50
I was optimistic but skeptical about Renault I had a feeling they had done what they did in China and they have which is rather sad because I was expecting Alonso uptop challenging. Red Bull still have the advantage but Mclaren are getting closer and this could be a worry for the Bull’s. Rosberg seems fast whether tommorow he can sustain his pace he could ruin a few people’s races and Jenson if his not careful might get jumped by Kazuki and possibly Buemi if he gets an astounding start. The conclusion i’ve come to is if Red Bull are ahead of Mclaren’s after first lap then they could go on to a 1-2 and there’s a high possibility of Button not finishing in the points.
F14EVA
25th July 2009, 18:52
I agree with Patrickl – It could have something to do with ING sponsoring the race as well as the Renault team. I think this will backfire and he will probably finish behind Button for minor points. This should be a fight between Red Bull and Mclaren.
rahim
25th July 2009, 18:52
Kimi was really on a hot lap but it was all messed up by them again
frank
25th July 2009, 20:12
Last GP Alonso did have the fastes laptimes. If he can do the same here I hope it will work.
159Tom
25th July 2009, 18:55
So that’s why Alonso was so confident earlier about being on pole (according to Eddie Jordan).
Might be a smart move if he can stay ahead of the McLarens, and they hold the Red Bulls up.
I’ll be keeping an eye on Rubens too.
F14EVA
25th July 2009, 18:56
Why are people commenting that Hamilton will hold up traffic behind if he gets his KERS boost? Since Prac 1 on Friday morning to Q3 today Mclaren have genuine pace!!
Patrickl
25th July 2009, 19:43
No. Webber was doing only race simulations and Hamilton did quali stints. In the longer stints Hamilton was actually about half a second off of Webbers pace.
Patrickl
25th July 2009, 19:54
Well let me rephrase that. Obviously Hamilton has good pace, but he was slower than the Red Bulls. So he might hold them up.
JUGNU
25th July 2009, 18:57
I think maybe Renault is hoping for same situation as Singapore last year. At same time Pitstop for Alonso and crash for Piquet = saftey car which will help Alonso. Otherwise i don’t find much sense in there strategy. It is something like Glock qulaifying 2nd in boring, dry Bahrain and he finished outside points.
And looks like Hungry is also most probably going to be very similar.
gabal
25th July 2009, 20:47
Safety car rules are different now.
TommyB
25th July 2009, 18:58
My 3 favourite drivers in the top 4. Brawns down in 8th and 12th. A Toro Rosso in the top 10. I couldn’t ask for anymore.
Button is heavy but not that much more than Vettel. I hope Vettel doesn’t get held up by Alonso and Hamilton but it probably will happen
StrFerrari4Ever
25th July 2009, 19:32
Yeah I agree with you I hope Seb doesn’t get held up by either of them because we’ve seen in the turbulent air the RB5 tends to struggle so if he can get first place he’ll streak off and be on his way to victory. Webber has to give it his all to get into second to maximize on the Brawn’s issues Button heaviest in Q3 but just a few laps more than Red Bull which shows that Brawn are possibly moving backwards Jenson could get mugged by Kazuki & Buemi. Buemi congragulations in 10th due to Felipe’s accident I think this will be the first time in the dry we see his wheel to wheel racing hopefully he can get into the points.
net.sticks
25th July 2009, 19:31
Why is Hamilton strategy unrealistic? You don’t think he can go toe to toe with the Red Bulls and you thought some kind of Ferrari like strategy to do some overtaking on the pit stop would be better?… I think not!
By the way – I read here somewhere a guy wondering that it could be Schumacher to take Massa’s place… That gave me a couple of minutes of laughs… LOL. Team have reserve drivers names written on a little list and delivered to Race Control or FIA… Is that news ?!?! DAH!
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
25th July 2009, 19:34
I said the opposite!
Pengo
25th July 2009, 19:49
So who is going to be racing for Ferrari in place of Massa?
Patrickl
25th July 2009, 19:56
No one
F1Fan
25th July 2009, 19:55
Once again, Webber has failed when it counted. He had been faster than Vettel throughout the P sessions, faster in Q1 and Q2, and of course in Q3, when it really counted, he again made the mistake. We now know he also was lighter than Vettel (just like at Silverstone, where he again was beaten to pole). That’s why I keep saying he is a mediocre driver and more often a liability than an asset, And the numbers in his career are there to prove it.
And I will say again that there was only one thing he could possibly screw at the Ring, the start, and he almost did it, in fact he did it (not almost) by hitting Rubens (and then also making contact w/ Lewis). He was just lucky that he didn’t suffer a DNF in the first lap (which has been the case with him too often).
neracer
26th July 2009, 0:47
completely agree. i don’t remember P1-P3 drivers moaning last year about who was behind them on the grid – webber moans when he’s at the back, at the front, if there are younger drivers, and so on…
i can’t stand the guy! total hypocrite.
Michel S.
26th July 2009, 1:46
Webber is one of the better qualifiers (not in the same league as Trulli, or Vettel, but better than most), but he’s definitely one of the worst at starting off the grid.
So in that sense, moaning does have a certain amount of sense — if you tend to fall asleep at the start, you tend to get hit from behind, so when coupled with drivers who are known to be a bit reckless at the start, it’s a recipe for disaster.
But yes, after Germany, when Webber himself was rather reckless off the start, he certainly cannot criticize others on safety grounds without being hypocritical.
Jack
25th July 2009, 19:55
Things aren’t as bad as they look for Button. He only did one flying lap when the tyres were quicker on the second flying lap. Also, the lap he did do was scruffy by his own admission. This means the Brawn is quicker than it looks, and fuel-corrected Button is (even with a poor lap) only one-tenth off Kovalainen and 2-tenths of Hamilton.
This means that if Hamilton can get ahead of the Red Bulls, Button should be able to stay within a reasonable distance, and with at least 5 laps more fuel then everyone in front of him, he has a decent chance.
Patrickl
25th July 2009, 19:59
What surprises me is how Ferrari have such bad performance in Q3. Previous race too. They (or in this case Raikkonen) lose 2 seconds compared to Q2 where other drivers lose only about a second.
Is it that they are saving tyres for the race? Or that they need all their fresh tyres to get into Q3 to begin with? What?
StrFerrari4Ever
25th July 2009, 20:20
Looking at Kimi’s lap when he made that mistake it cost him time and he could’ve been slightly higher but I think they tend to try to save tyres for the race so will be interesting to see the Ferrari’s pace. Kimi could hold up Jenson which would make a train and help the Red Bull’s get further ahead leave Jenson open to attacks from cars behind him. Can’t wait :D
Zahir
25th July 2009, 20:00
Webber seemed a bit unhappy in the press conference being beind vettel but I cant see why because he is on the clean side of the track and at the Hungaroring the dirty side is known to be very dirty.
Thats why i dont think Hamilton will get such a storming start with his KERS as he is also on the dirty side and i dont think that the run into the first corner is that long in Hungary(correct me if im wrong)
Alonso Webber Hamilton top three going into the first corner is my prediction
F1Fan
26th July 2009, 0:16
Zahir,
KERS is worth about an 18-20 meter advantage here in Budapest. So even though Lewis starts from the dirty side of the track, which as you correctly mentioned does offer a disadvantage on this track, he should be able to pass both RBR’s going on the inside (which he has already done this season, I can’t remember in which race though). But even if this happens, in other words w/ Alonso, Hamilton, Webber and Vettel after T-1, I think Vettel still has the advantage since he will be stopping later than the other three. And it is certain that none of them will be able to open a significant gap on Vettel, the RBR is surely the quickest car here, again.
I think the real intangible in the race will be the Safety Car, i.e. accidents. This track may be slow, but there have always been eventful races here. Under this light, I really think that Rubens may have something to say tomorrow. He is surely 1-stopping, and in case of an SC he will suddenly have a big advantage.
Lutz
25th July 2009, 20:03
Keith, do you have any news about the mess with the timings at the end of Q3 ?
Nobody said nothing about it her in Brasil and I found it a quite strange and serious problem. All the timings were gone on TV transmission, on the website…
and just in the moment the drivers were on their flying laps!
odd to say the least
sato113
25th July 2009, 20:46
keith do you think you could look up driver changes during a race weekend? ie. can someone replace massa?
gabal
25th July 2009, 20:56
It has been answered in other threads – only before quallifying or if the stewards give a permission (which has never happend so far).
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
25th July 2009, 21:07
I wrote about it here:
https://www.racefans.net/2009/07/25/felipe-massa-crashes-heavily-after-being-struck-by-debris-during-qualifying/
Basically they can’t unless the stewards decide it’s ‘force majeure’, which I’m not aware of any precedent for.
Striay
25th July 2009, 21:03
What’s with Massa then? is he getting replaced by Gene or something?
SamC
25th July 2009, 21:04
Will they leave an empty space on the grid as Massa won’t be racing (if there isn’t a replacement) or does everyone get moved up a place?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
25th July 2009, 21:08
Looking at the rules it appears as though everyone gets moved up. See here: https://www.racefans.net/2009/07/25/hungarian-grand-prix-grid/
Jorge
25th July 2009, 21:33
Alonso 9º in Q2 and 1º in Q3????
And the time computer system just come down in that moment????
And Hungaryan GP is Sponsored by ING?
I think there is a very, very dirty bussines there…
pSynrg
25th July 2009, 22:52
Ummm, look at the fuel load. Maybe one of ING’s people forgot to walk around the track picking up debris.
Alonso had to abort his final flyer in Q2 due to the accident.
Oh and don’t forget the fuel loads…
Santiago
25th July 2009, 22:55
Alonso will get away in a very short stint the softer compound of tyres. Then will get the harder ones and fight for the podium. I think is a good strategy. We´ll see tomorow. Never think Alonso knows less than us, specially if he drives that car.
Brian
25th July 2009, 23:01
Another 1 – 2 for RED BULL, and that ain’t no ‘bull’ pardon the pun. But yeah, this is the race where Red Bull will stick up Brawns exauhst!!!
PrisonerMonkeys
26th July 2009, 0:48
YES! JB’s got at least four laps on everyone in front of him! He claims that it he ended up with four laps’ more fuel than they intended, but given that he’s happy with the car, he could do some serious leapfrogging.
agnieszka
26th July 2009, 1:01
Well, what about fuel consumption here at the table above? Till now we have been used to the sitution when the approximate number of laps were calculated on the same base of fuel used, am I wrong? We should also deduct the amount needed for the first instalation lap?
agnieszka
26th July 2009, 1:08
Are you sure the numbers in the table above are calculated correctly? It seems as we should use the same amount of fuel kg per lap for every car? And deduct amount of fuel needed for the instalation lap, isn’t it true?
Patrickl
26th July 2009, 12:10
Not sure why Keith dropped the explanation, but he usually says how he guestimates the number of laps. Just look up one of the previous editions.
Anyway, indeed he keeps in mind that they need to do a formation lap and such.
wasiF1
26th July 2009, 4:18
Is Rubens on 1 stop
david
26th July 2009, 9:49
Well done Alonso. He is done the right thing, it will probably not work but at least he is trying. There is no point in fueling the car normally, it would be a guarantee mediocre performance; 4th, 5th, 8th or 15th …. where is the difference?
With this strategy he has a chance, a small one but a chance to be in the podium.
F14EVA
26th July 2009, 11:46
I think as Keith points out Mclaren do have a realistic strategy. However they could have gone ultra competitive as per James Allen’s article. If Hamilton had gone light like Alonso he would have secured pole and clean side, KERS etc could have pulled 10 sec gap by time of first Pit Stop, combined with Kovi moving up a couple of places from the start and one or both RB’s behind could have given Ham his best chance of winning, bu rumour has it that this was not have been seen as fair. Not sure I agree with that as Alonso doesn’t appear to have any issues with that tactic. Anyhow 10 seconds after the start we should all now exactly how this race will unfold…think it’s gonna be a cracker! -Kimi might have a say…..
martinb
26th July 2009, 17:04
Hungarian GP: Comparing predicted and actual pit stops.
Grid . . kg . .Pred. Actual . . . . Fin
.. . . . . . . La. T La T La T La T 70Laps
01 ALO 32.5 13 s 12 s 13!m 17r RET
02 VET 50.0 22 m 01! 21 s 28!m RET (30r)
03 WEB 47.0 20 s -- - 20 m 51 s 03
04k HAM 45.5 19 s -- - 21 s 47 m 01
05 ROS 49.0 21 s -- - 21 s 50 m 04
06k KOV 50.5 22 s -- - 21 s 45 m 05
07k RAI 46.5 20 s -- - 20 s 46 m 02
08 BUT 59.5 26 s -- - 25 s 56 m 07
09 NAK 53.0 23 - -- - 23 - 57 - 09
10 BUE 66.5 29 m -- - 27 - 39! 16
11 TRU 66.3 29 s -- - 29 s 59 - 08
12 BAR 84.0 37 - -- - 34 - 58 - 10
13 GLO 74.2 33 s -- - 33 s 61 m 06
14 PIQ 62.7 27 s -- - 24 s 49 - 12
15 HEI 53.0 23 - -- - 19 - 50 - 11
16 FIS 75.5 33 s -- - 30 s 48 - 14
17 SUT 78.5 35 - 01r -- - -- - RET
18 KUB 61.0 27 - -- - 22 - 53 - 13
19 ALG 70.5 31 - -- - 29 - 53 - 15
k = KERS, m = soft tyres, s = super-soft tyres
(Super-softs favoured at start)
Fine and warm. No rain.
Temp. air: 25 – 26 C, track: 43 – 45 C
Wind: 6 – 9 m/s
Order at end of first lap:
ALO, WEB(+1), HAM(+1), RAI(+3), ROS, KOV, VET(-5), NAK(+1), BUT(-1), TRU(+1), PIQ(+3),
GLO(+1), KUB(+5), BUE(-4), HEI, BAR(-4), FIS(-1), ALG(+1), SUT(-2)
KERS on first lap: HAM(+0), RAI(+2), KOV(-1) Not impressive (Vettel gifted them 1 place)
Jaime Alguersuari replaces Bourdais in Toro Rosso. Felipe Massa doesn’t race because of
head injury sustained during qualifying.
INCIDENTS: (1)RAI touches VET at T1, RAI to be investigated, VET pits for front wing;
(1)BAR contact with unknown at T2, loses places; (1)HEI hit from behind at start, goes wide
at T11; (13)ALO loses front wheel after pit stop, drives to pits; (20)WEB long stop (fuel
hose), nearly crashes into RAI on pull-off; (21)VET long stop; (46)RAI long stop (missed
gear); (59)TRU long stop. (RBR and Renault pit crew have a bad day)
UNSCHEDULED STOPS: (1)SUT retires (water temperature); (1)VET front wing; (13)ALO replace
wheel; (17)ALO retires (fuel pump); (28)VET front wing and suspension check; (30)VET
retires (front suspension); (39)BUE pits after spinning off
EXCUSES: ROS–tyres graining; Toyota (John Howett)–need to qualify better; BUT–massive
graining on rear tyres; Brawn Mercedes (Ross Brawn)–both cars tyere graining problems;
KUB–Massive understeer and front tyre wear throughout the race; BMW Sauber (Willy
Rampf)–need to qualify better; BUE–starting on harder tyres was wrong, front wing damaged
by debris.
martinb
26th July 2009, 17:19
Oops! This usually works. Don’t know where the unwanted line breaks come from. Trying again…
Hungarian GP: Comparing predicted and actual pit stops.
Grid . . kg . .Pred. Actual . . . . Fin
.. . . . . . . La. T La T La T La T 70Laps
01 ALO 32.5 13 s 12 s 13!m 17r RET
02 VET 50.0 22 m 01! 21 s 28!m RET (30r)
03 WEB 47.0 20 s — – 20 m 51 s 03
04k HAM 45.5 19 s — – 21 s 47 m 01
05 ROS 49.0 21 s — – 21 s 50 m 04
06k KOV 50.5 22 s — – 21 s 45 m 05
07k RAI 46.5 20 s — – 20 s 46 m 02
08 BUT 59.5 26 s — – 25 s 56 m 07
09 NAK 53.0 23 – — – 23 – 57 – 09
10 BUE 66.5 29 m — – 27 – 39! 16
11 TRU 66.3 29 s — – 29 s 59 – 08
12 BAR 84.0 37 – — – 34 – 58 – 10
13 GLO 74.2 33 s — – 33 s 61 m 06
14 PIQ 62.7 27 s — – 24 s 49 – 12
15 HEI 53.0 23 – — – 19 – 50 – 11
16 FIS 75.5 33 s — – 30 s 48 – 14
17 SUT 78.5 35 – 01r — – — – RET
18 KUB 61.0 27 – — – 22 – 53 – 13
19 ALG 70.5 31 – — – 29 – 53 – 15
k = KERS, m = soft tyres, s = super-soft tyres
(Super-softs favoured at start)
Fine and warm. No rain.
Temp. air: 25 – 26 C, track: 43 – 45 C
Wind: 6 – 9 m/s
Order at end of first lap:
ALO, WEB(+1), HAM(+1), RAI(+3), ROS, KOV, VET(-5), NAK(+1), BUT(-1), TRU(+1), PIQ(+3), GLO(+1), KUB(+5), BUE(-4), HEI, BAR(-4), FIS(-1), ALG(+1), SUT(-2)
KERS on first lap: HAM(+0), RAI(+2), KOV(-1) Not impressive (Vettel gifted them 1 place)
NEWS: Jaime Alguersuari replaces Bourdais in Toro Rosso. Felipe Massa doesn’t race because of head injury sustained during qualifying.
INCIDENTS: (1)RAI touches VET at T1, RAI to be investigated, VET pits for front wing; (1)BAR contact with unknown at T2, loses places; (1)HEI hit from behind at start, goes wide at T11; (13)ALO loses front wheel after pit stop, drives to pits; (20)WEB long stop (fuel hose), nearly crashes into RAI on pull-off; (21)VET long stop; (46)RAI long stop (missed gear); (59)TRU long stop. (RBR and Renault pit crew have a bad day)
UNSCHEDULED STOPS: (1)SUT retires (water temperature); (1)VET front wing; (13)ALO replace wheel; (17)ALO retires (fuel pump); (28)VET front wing and suspension check; (30)VET retires (front suspension); (39)BUE pits after spinning off
EXCUSES: ROS–tyres graining; Toyota (John Howett)–need to qualify better; BUT–massive graining on rear tyres; Brawn Mercedes (Ross Brawn)–both cars tyere graining problems; KUB–Massive understeer and front tyre wear throughout the race; BMW Sauber (Willy
Rampf)–need to qualify better; BUE–starting on harder tyres was wrong, front wing damaged by debris.
Lina
17th August 2009, 13:43
All the best! Your fan.