Storms left a wet, changing circuit, a safety car reshuffled the order twice, and Ricciardo held off Alonso and Hamilton to win from fourth.
Ricciardo won the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix from fourth on the grid, 5.2 seconds ahead of Fernando Alonso. The race was run on a track that dried during the afternoon, and Hamilton finished third, leaving him 11 points behind Rosberg in the drivers table.
Daniel Ricciardo won the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix for Red Bull from fourth on the grid, with Fernando Alonso second and Lewis Hamilton third. The race was run on a damp, changing track after thunderstorms, and it was Ricciardo's second win of the season.
The result also marked a long wait for Ferrari. Alonso's second place was his last podium finish until the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix, and the day put Mercedes' strategy and team orders under scrutiny as much as the racing.
Who won the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix?
Ricciardo won the 70-lap race from fourth, with Alonso second and Hamilton third. Rosberg finished fourth after a late charge, while Massa and Raikkonen completed the top six. It was Ricciardo's second win of 2014, and it lifted him to third in the drivers table.
The race was the 30th Hungarian Grand Prix and the 29th run as a world championship round. Hamilton closed the gap on Rosberg to 11 points, while Ferrari overtook Williams for third in the constructors table.
A wet start, a safety car that cost the leaders the lap and a Ricciardo win from fourth that Mercedes had not planned for.
How did the championship stand going into Hungary?
Rosberg led the drivers championship with 190 points, ahead of Hamilton on 176 and Ricciardo on 106. Alonso was fourth on 97 points and Bottas fifth on 91. In the constructors table Mercedes had 366 points, Red Bull 188, Williams 121, Ferrari 116 and Force India 98.
Mercedes had won nine of the previous ten races, and Ricciardo had taken the Canadian Grand Prix. Magnussen and Bottas had each finished second, while Vettel, Alonso, Button and Perez had each stood on the third step of the podium at least once.
Several teams changed their cars for Hungary. Marussia swapped one of its MR03 chassis for Max Chilton after balance and electrical problems in Austria. Williams added a small wing section to increase downforce, and Lotus brought new front wing endplates designed to scavenge airflow more efficiently.
How did practice and qualifying go at the Hungaroring?
Hamilton was fastest in the first two practice sessions and the third, but Chilton's oil leak and fire restricted him to five timed laps. In qualifying Rosberg took pole at 1:22.715, with Vettel alongside him on the front row, while Hamilton's car caught fire before he could post a time.
Hamilton led the first practice session ahead of Rosberg and Raikkonen. Chilton's Marussia developed an oil leak that caused a fire, and he finished the session 21st overall after five timed laps.
In the second practice Hamilton was fastest again, though he struggled for tyre grip through the session. Rosberg, Vettel and Alonso followed him. The third practice on Saturday morning saw Hamilton fastest once more, ahead of Rosberg, Ricciardo and Vettel.
Qualifying was in three parts, the first two lasting 18 and 15 minutes, with the 107 per cent rule in force. Rosberg claimed his sixth pole of the season and his first at the Hungaroring. Vettel joined him on the front row, and Hamilton started from the back after his car caught fire.
Hamilton and Maldonado both failed to set a time in the first part of qualifying. The stewards later gave both of them permission to start, so the grid was complete.
How did the race start on a wet track?
The race began on intermediate tyres because thunderstorms had soaked the track through the day. Rosberg led into the first corner, while Hamilton spun at turn two after a start from the pit lane with cold brakes and then rejoined last.
The race started at 14:00 local time on a track that was still wet. The air was between 20 and 21 degrees C and the track between 27 and 28 degrees C, and every runner began on intermediates.
Bottas took second from Vettel on the outside of turn one, and Alonso also moved past Vettel to third before Vettel repassed him later on the lap. Hamilton had missed the formation lap after starting from the pit lane, so his brakes were cold. He spun at turn two, scraped the barriers lightly and rejoined last.
By lap nine Rosberg had built a lead over the field, and Hamilton had worked his way up to 13th. Then Marcus Ericsson crashed, and the safety car was deployed. All the drivers pitted under it and most switched to dry tyres, although the two McLarens fitted fresh intermediates.
The timing of that safety car caught the leaders out. Rosberg, Bottas, Vettel and Alonso missed the pit entry and had to complete the whole lap behind the safety car before stopping, which cost them a lot of time. Rosberg dropped from first to fourth and Bottas from second to eleventh, while Ricciardo benefited most and went to the front.
The safety car stayed out longer after Romain Grosjean lost control and crashed under safety car conditions. Racing resumed on lap 14, and Button quickly passed Ricciardo for the lead. Button had done only two laps on intermediates, and when the track began to dry he pitted from the lead for dry tyres on lap 16, rejoining 16th.
How did the race turn into a fight for the lead?
Alonso was excelling in the wet and moved to third by lap 18, and after the safety car restart he led the field. By lap 62 Alonso, Hamilton and Ricciardo were separated by just 0.4 seconds each, with Rosberg fourth and closing fast.
Hulkenberg retired on lap 17 after colliding with his team-mate Perez, although Perez was able to continue. On lap 23 Perez spun at the final corner and hit the pit wall, which gave Force India its first double retirement of the season. Another safety car followed, and Ricciardo and Massa pitted from first and second to rejoin sixth and seventh.
The safety car came in on lap 27, and Alonso pulled out a lead over a train of cars running second to fifth. On lap 33 Rosberg pitted for soft tyres and rejoined 13th, while Vettel spun at the same final corner where Perez had crashed but avoided the wall. Hamilton then caught Vergne and passed him on the outside at turn four on the next lap.
Alonso pitted for soft tyres on lap 39, and Hamilton pitted for medium tyres a lap later, rejoining fourth and fifth. That handed the lead back to Ricciardo, while Rosberg, who had been passed by Hamilton in the stops, was still behind his team-mate.
By lap 47 Rosberg had made further progress but was still stuck behind Hamilton. Hamilton was on a two-stop plan and did not need to stop again, while Rosberg was on the softer tyre with one more stop to make. Hamilton was told to let his team-mate through. He refused, and said that if Rosberg got close enough to pass him, he could.
Ricciardo and Rosberg pitted for soft tyres on laps 54 and 56, rejoining fourth and seventh. Rosberg was over twenty seconds behind Ricciardo in fourth on lap 62, but he was closing by up to three seconds a lap on newer soft tyres, and he set the fastest lap of the race.
Alonso cut the chicane on lap 63 but kept the lead and avoided a penalty. Ricciardo passed Hamilton around the outside of turn two on lap 67, and the next lap he passed Alonso at turn one for the lead with two laps to go.
Alonso defended from Hamilton, but both of their tyres had fallen off their operating window after close to 30 laps each. By the final lap Rosberg had caught up to the back of the leaders. He tried an outside pass on Hamilton into turn two, but Hamilton defended and held his place.
Ricciardo crossed the line 5.2 seconds clear of Alonso, with Hamilton and Rosberg close behind in third and fourth. Massa and Raikkonen took fifth and sixth, while Vettel and Bottas finished seventh and eighth after starting second and third.
Race facts at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date | 27 July 2014 |
| Venue | Hungaroring, Mogyorod, Hungary |
| Race distance | 70 laps |
| Pole | Nico Rosberg, 1:22.715 |
| Winner | Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, from fourth |
| Podium | Alonso (second), Hamilton (third) |
| Winning margin | 5.2 seconds |
| Round | 11th of the season |
What did the result mean for the championship?
With third place, Hamilton trimmed his deficit to Rosberg to 11 points, while the rest of the standings barely moved. Ferrari took third in the constructors table from Williams, and Rosberg kept the lead of the drivers table with the title race still open.
Niki Lauda said after the race that he agreed with Hamilton's decision to ignore team orders, and that Mercedes had panicked in issuing them. Both Mercedes cars had rear brake problems at points in the race. Hamilton also lost about 0.5 seconds a lap after a fuel pressure problem that followed his second stop, and that loss may have cost him the win.
