Dismal Outing in Hungary

Before I sat down to watch the Hungarian Grand Prix I though maybe just maybe at least Robert Kubica had a chance from 5th starting slot. Maybe, just maybe Nick Heidfeld could move up into the top 10. After watching qualifying I was somewhat happier when Robert Kubica qualified 5th, but knocked back down when Nick just didn’t have qualifying pace again. Yes he was blocked, but I can’t say he would have done any better than 12th or 13th on the grid. It was wishful thinking to say the least and reality was that this grand prix was something to forget.

To put it bluntly, the cars had no pace at all and the usually strong Robert Kubica dropped from 5th to 8th in the end. Nick Heidfeld started 16th (and yes he should have started higher) and with a little attrition and pit fires he managed a pitiful 10th.

The race was a bit hard to follow on TV. I guess the BMW team was so bad they didn’t even get coverage. From time to time a little bit on where Kubica was and where Heidfeld was, but that’s it.

It’s pretty hard to understand and swallow after pretty good qualifying speed and grip for the cars to completely lack that same speed and grip all day. With Nick’s poor grid position he was full of fuel for a one stopper and so having to take care of his tires and having a poor car made his day even longer than Robert’s.

Mario Theissen didn’t have too much to say, but here it is:

“We were completely off the pace during the race. Neither driver was able to do the lap times we expected after the sessions on Friday and Saturday. It was the same on both tyre compounds. The reason for that is currently not clear, but we shall analyse everything.

So we leave Hungary with 1 point. Yes 1 point.