Nothing like a shower of bubbly
Heikki Kovalainen was covered in the sweet victory of bubbly at the end of the Hungarian Grand Prix after teammate Lewis Hamilton suffered tyre problems and race leader Felipe Massa bit the dust with only three laps to go before his engine failed.
The fifth place for Hamilton meant that his hopes of extending his world championship points were wrecked, but Hamilton was gallant about it all:
“Congratulations to my team-mate on his deserved first grand prix victory. It was nowhere near as bad as it could have been as we could have had Kimi and Felipe [ahead of us]. The race could have been better for me. My start was OK but Felipe’s was better and he managed to overtake me. My lap times were good and I kept the gap slightly small. With our strategy we still had the chance to pass him but the damaged tyre destroyed my race. I don’t know why it happened but at least I scored some points, so the result was not too bad for me.”
The tyre was reportedly damaged when it grazed a sidewall.
The temperature outside rose at one point to 45 degrees whilst Brazilian Felipe Massa took the lead from Hamilton in a flawless display of driving skill, until his engine died.
Timo Glock was in the race after a nasty crash in Hockenheim a fortnight earlier that saw him leave in an ambulance. A few days later Glock was back. Glock drove brilliantly and finished second in the Hungarian Grand Prix. Glock explained:
“It is just unbelievable after the race in Hockenheim and the big crash. I could not believe it when I saw Felipe’s engine go and I was second. I was under pressure from Kimi, with soft tyres and I was struggling quite a lot. We knew since Friday that the soft tyres would be difficult. I had a really good car. It was perfect until the last stint. Unbelievable, in my first year.”
