10 Memorable Moments From The Hungarian Grand Prix

The 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix was the first race to take place in wet conditions in one and a half years, with Daniel Ricciardo taking a popular and dramatic second victory of the season after starting from fourth on the grid. A late pit stop meant he was able to storm to the front after pass the top three in the closing stages.

Fernando Alonso held off a charging Lewis Hamilton, who started from the pit lane after a fire during qualifying, and Nico Rosberg (the pole-sitter for the race) to secure second. It was an action-packed wet/dry race with crashes, drama and plenty of overtaking. Here are 10 memorable moments:

1. A wet start

A brief but heavy rain shower around one hour before the race meant every driver fitted the intermediate tyre for the start. It was the first wet race since Malaysia 2013, with the early laps being very treacherous in the slippery conditions. Rosberg held the lead into turn one with Valtteri Bottas moving ahead of Sebastian Vettel.

2. Spinning around

With cold tyres and brakes after sitting at the end of the pit lane prior to the five lights going out, Hamilton spun at turn two on the opening lap, gently tapping the barrier. He was able to continue but lost a considerable amount of time.

3. Huge smash

Marcus Ericsson exited the race in dramatic style after crashing on lap seven at turn three, which is a fast right-hand kink. He lost control in the tricky conditions and the impact with the wall registered at 20G. Fortunately he was okay but the accident deployed the safety car.

4. Clumsy Hulkenberg

Prior to the Hungarian Grand Prix, Nico Hulkenberg had scored points in every 2014 race. However, his run of consecutive top 10 results came to an end today after a clumsy pass on his team-mate Sergio Perez at the final corner.

5. Crashtastic

Perez didn’t last much longer in the race, crashing on the exit of the last turn on lap 22 after running wide and onto the wet kerb. He spun across the track and hit the pit lane wall heavily, but was fortunately OK.

6. Naughty Pastor

Pastor Maldonado got caught up in yet another scrap (although, to be fair, his last few races haven’t been that bad), after colliding with Jules Bianchi during the race, with Kamui Kobayashi just missing the chaos.

7. Vettel goes for a spin

Perez wasn’t the only one to lose it at the exit of turn 14, with four-time champion Vettel also spinning after running wide. The Red Bull driver just managed to avoid any damage, although his car did gently hit the barrier.

8. Battles, battles, battles

Who says F1 is boring right now? There were battles all the way through the field during the Hungarian Grand Prix, with the best fight being over first place in the final few laps. Ricciardo quickly passed Rosberg, before then displacing Hamilton and Alonso, with the second Mercedes joining in the fight for a podium too. It was a great way to end the first half of the season.

9. A popular winner

Ricciardo’s extra big smile returned to the top step of the podium, after a stunning drive from fourth on the grid. He made the strategy work and completed some great overtakes, with Alonso finishing a season-best second and Hamilton recovering to third.

10. School’s out for summer

F1 is now off on its summer break, with the next race taking place at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium from the 22-24th August. This also includes the factory shut down, which allows hard-working team members and drivers to take some time off before the busy second part of the year. For us fans, though, we’re just counting down the days until the 22nd.