How McLaren defined ten days at the Hungarian GP

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How McLaren defined ten days at the Hungarian GP

McLaren has the best record of any Formula 1 constructor at the Hungaroring. Here’s how the team defined 10 days in the history of the Hungarian Grand Prix.

1. August 7 1988
Ayrton Senna enjoys a lights-to-flag victory, but he has it far from easy. His McLaren teammate Alain Prost battles through from seventh on the grid and passes the Brazilian for the lead late in the race, only to run wide and slot back into second place. Prost crosses the line 0.6s behind Senna. © AP Photo/John Redman

2. August 11 1991
A momentous lap by Senna sees him qualify 1.2s faster than anyone else. He’s never headed in the race, but has to see off a determined challenge from the Williams cars of Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese. Senna's McLaren teammate Gerhard Berger finishes fourth in the second MP4/6. © AP Photo/STR

3. August 16 1992
Williams lock out the front row of the grid, but their squabbling on the dash to Turn 1 allows Senna to pass Mansell for second place. Race leader Patrese makes a mistake at half distance, handing the lead to Senna, who’s never headed. Mansell finishes second to win the world championship, with Gerhard third for McLaren. © AP Photo/Denis Paquin

4. August 15 1999
Mika Hakkinen dominates the entire weekend, taking pole position and winning the race. David Coulthard makes it a McLaren one-two, but the Scotsman has to earn his place on the second step of the podium. He drops to fifth on the opening lap and battles through the order to pass Eddie Irvine for second place in the closing laps.© AP Photo/MTI/Imre Foeldi

5. August 13 2000
Hakkinen leapfrogs from third to first at the start of the race. One of the cars he passes is teammate Coulthard, who ends lap one in third place. Hakkinen goes on to win his second consecutive Hungarian GP, while Coulthard has the pace to jump ahead of Michael Schumacher at the pitstops, but loses time behind the Minardis and finishes just 0.5s behind the Ferrari in third. © AP Photo/Tibor Illyes

6. July 31 2005
A brilliant performance by Kimi Raikkonen. He starts fourth, but is up to second midway through the opening lap, and sets off after Michael Schumacher in the lead. He drops to fifth after pitting on lap 11, but a brilliant second stint allows him to jump ahead of Schumacher at the second pitstops and he disappears into the distance, pulling out a lead of 25s in just 11 laps. © AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky

7. August 5 2007
Lewis Hamilton wins from pole position, but it’s far from an easy victory. After opening an early lead, he’s hunted down by Raikkonen and the pair spend the second half of the race running nose-to-tail. For 20 laps they’re rarely separated by more than one second, but Hamilton is inch-perfect and crosses the line 0.7s ahead. Fernando Alonso is fourth in the other MP4-22. © AP Photo/Daniel Maurer

8. August 3 2008
Heikki Kovalainen wins his first Grand Prix and, in so doing, becomes the 100th different winner in Formula 1 history. He takes the lead two laps from the chequered flag, when Felipe Massa’s engine blows up. But a win’s a win. “I know I was a bit lucky,” says Kovalainen, “but it still feels great to win a race.” Hamilton runs second early on, but a slow puncture drops him to fifth. © AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic

9. July 26 2009
Early-season problems with the MP4-24 are overcome by a series of updates at the Hungaroring. Hamilton qualifies fourth and jumps to third on lap one when he picks off Sebastian Vettel. He then passes Mark Webber on lap four with a brilliant move around the outside of Turn 2 and then takes the lead when Fernando Alonso pits. It’s the first victory in Formula 1 for a KERS-Hybrid car. © AP Photo/Petr David Josek

10. July 31 2011
Jenson Button takes an emphatic win in his 200th Grand Prix. A pre-race shower forces everyone to start on intermediate tyres, but slicks are the order of the day once the track dries. Another shower at half distance splits the field: race leader Hamilton opts for intermediates, while Button stays out on slicks. It stops raining and Button wins, with Hamilton coming home fourth. © AP Photo/Balazs Czagany