All the pit stop strategies, tyres used, lap times and more data from the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Pit stops
Mark Webber and Lewis Hamilton were among ten drivers who made the fateful switch to intermediate tyres late in the race.
Some were less badly disadvantaged than others, such as Nico Rosberg and Adrian Sutil, who were due for a pit stop around that time anyway. All of them came back in to change back within four laps.
Sebastian Vettel enjoyed the fastest pit stop of the race when he made his final visit on lap 41. Six of the 17 fastest pit stops were performed by Red Bull.
Ferrari did a particularly good job with Fernando Alonso’s stops – he had two of the seven quickest. Felipe Massa’s stops were generally slower – none of his pit stop times were within the top 30.
In total there were 85 pit stops during the race, a record, plus three drive-through penalties for Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez and Pastor Maldonado.
See here for all the drivers’ race strategies, what tyres they used, and how long their pit stops took:
Race progress
The race progress chart allows us to see the damage Hamilton’s late-race errors did to his race.
The two pits stops – the first to change to intermediates, the second to discard them – dropped him from first to fourth. The drive-through penalty cost him a further two places to Webber and Massa, both of which he recovered,
Lap one position change
Sutil and Perez both suffered poor starts, losing 12 and nine places respectively. They were among the drivers on the off-line, right-hand side of the grid, who generally made poorer starts than those on the racing line.
Hamilton held on to second, partly because Button stayed his hand against his team mate in their wheel-to-wheel dice. But Massa and Rosberg both lost ground.
Lap chart
Sebastien Buemi gained the most places in the race, rising from 23rd on the grid to finish eighth, less than a second behind Paul di Resta.
All lap times
Massa set the fastest lap of the race.
2011 Hungarian Grand Prix
Image © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo
Ral (@)
31st July 2011, 22:14
Wonder if Massa is just a couple inches less perfect placing his car for the pitstop. The drivers are the only variable in the pitstops, aren’t they? Same pit-stop crew for both drivers?
Ral (@)
31st July 2011, 22:17
Although, on the other hand, Alonso’s other two pitstops are very nearly the slowest of the race.
Fixy (@)
1st August 2011, 17:07
I think Massa waited some hundreths of a second more than Alonso after the lollipop man lifted the lollipop. Maybe Singapore 2008 is still in his mind?
Jim
31st July 2011, 23:26
The intermediate tyre switch was hardly fateful, merely meant he got 4th rather than 3rd
The more crucial tyre stop in the race was the 3rd pitstop. McLaren & Ferrari put Lewis & Alonso on super-softs, while Button and Vettel went on sofs.
That’s where Lewis lost the race.
Mike
1st August 2011, 1:57
But as the track became wet, Lewis was actually faster than Button.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
1st August 2011, 8:29
You’re assuming he couldn’t have won on his original strategy, which is not a given.
Jim
1st August 2011, 11:48
he couldn’t have. The super softs proved not to have lasted more than about 15 laps, there were still 28 laps to go or there abouts when he pitted for them
If they had put Lewis on the softs instead of super-softs, the likelyhood is that he would have won the race
Eggry (@eggry)
1st August 2011, 0:23
Just strategy, strategy strategy
F1Fan
1st August 2011, 1:48
As I was watching live timing it became very clear around the middle of the race that Lewis’s car was set up for damp conditions whereas JB used a dry setup. Lewis was devastatingly quick in sector-2 while the track was wet. Once it started drying out, and because of the extra downforce on the car, his tires could only last 10 laps effectively, whereas JB just kept on going for 16-17 laps. I noticed at one point, I think it was Lewis’s 3 stint, that Button was moving a bit faster around the track w/ the softs than Lewis was w/ the super-softs ! (which supposedly were up to 8/10s faster). So to me clearly McLaren had split the strategies to ensure one of their drivers was going to win the race. They surely have the fastest car in race trim now, no question about it.
Rob2
1st August 2011, 6:46
Alonso’s final stint was pretty epic.
frood
1st August 2011, 9:49
ferrari really dropped the ball here – alonso was so quick all day when he was in clear air. with the same strategy as button and vettel, he would have been right in the mix at the end. without his mistakes early on, he would have won (*should have won).
Funkyf1 (@funkyf1)
1st August 2011, 12:02
There should have been a safety car when the Renault caught fire. The danger present was to both drivers and stewards. As a result a steward was injured (maybe that would of happened regardless) and there was nearly a crash as Vettel left the pits. At least the pit lane should of been closed, which in such conditions was another risk in itself. This precaution if acted upon could of changed the whole outcome.
sato113 (@sato113)
1st August 2011, 18:43
‘Ferrari did a particularly good job with Fernando Alonso’s stops – he had two of the seven quickest. Felipe Massa’s stops were generally slower – none of his pit stop times were within the top 30.’
seems like Ferrari only really care about Alonso nowadays. the evidence suggests it.