Not only did the Spaniard’s victory drive him right back into the hunt for end-of-season honours, just two points adrift of championship-leading team-mate
Lewis Hamilton, it also extended McLaren’s advantage over
Ferrari to some 27 points in the constructors’ standings with just seven races remaining. He is looking forward to returning to the scene of his maiden
F1 victory, and one that made him the youngest driver ever to stand on the top step of the podium in the top flight less than a month after his 22nd birthday four years ago.
“It was great to take the win in Germany,” the reigning double world champion enthused, “and I hope to achieve the same result in Hungary. I have some good memories from this track, as I took my first F1 victory in Hungary; however last year was not so good! It was a challenging race, with the time penalty that meant I started in 15th, making it up to take the lead and then dropping out. Despite this the track will always be special to me.
“I usually enjoy the race so am looking forward to racing there this year with
McLaren. It is a very slow track but also tough physically because of the conditions, which are usually very hot. Also, because of all the corners, it is constant fighting with the steering wheel and you have to have great traction for the exit phase of the corners, which is where we can find the speed. A stable front end is also very important so the car feels completely under control in the slow, long corners and you can really push the car despite the slower speeds. The MP4-22 has performed well at this type of track so far this season, so I am feeling positive for the race.”
Hamilton, for his part, endured a nightmare at the Nürburgring – an errant wheel in qualifying and spin and mistaken tyre choice in the race all conspiring to make it the first grand prix of his debut season in which the young Briton not only failed to finish on the rostrum, but indeed failed to finish inside the points at all. He is determined to make amends this coming weekend.
