|
BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Jenson Button will always remember his
first career Formula One victory even if others remember the
Hungarian Grand Prix for a disqualification, penalties and wet
conditions. "Wow! What a day. It's been amazing," the Englishman said. "I
couldn't have done it in a better way." He went more than 110 races without a victory but got to savor
the final minutes of the race Sunday. "The best laps of my career," said Button, who drove his first
race in 2000. "To come from 14th and win here is a perfect way to
win the first race." Button's win however was almost overshadowed by seven-time world
champion Michael Schumacher and defending world champion Fernando
Alonso, who each had their difficulties in a wild race that started
in rainy conditions and ended almost in sunshine. Alonso and Schumacher started in the middle of the grid after
both were hit with time penalties in qualifying Saturday. Alonso appeared to be on his way to the victory. He was leading
when he pitted for the second time. But as he pulled back on to the
track for the 52nd lap, his car began to slide from side to side
and he retired after striking tire barriers. "As I came out of the pits, something broke at the rear end and
I spun in turn two," Alonso said. "These things happen in motor
racing, but what an incredible race." Button took over the lead and went on to the easy victory but
Schumacher ran into trouble behind him. Schumacher was in second place late in the race but retired with
three to go when he drove into the pits. "The track rod broke as (Nick) Heidfeld went past. We touched
partly because the track was a bit slippery," Schumacher said. Points leader Alonso failed to score any points, leaving him
with 100. Schumacher was originally scoreless, then well after the
race he was moved to eighth to gain an unexpected point and move to
10 behind Alonso with five races left. During a postrace check, the stewards found seventh-place
finisher Robert Kubica's BMW-Sauber to be about 4½ pounds
underweight. Almost four hours after the race, Kubica was
disqualified and Schumacher moved up to eighth. Kimi Raikkonen of McLaren-Mercedes, last year's winner, had the
pole position and led for a while before he went out. Raikkonen's
race was over when he smashed into the back of Vitantonio Liuzzi's
Toro Rosso on the 26th lap. Raikkonen's McLaren teammate Pedro De La Rosa came in second and
Heidfeld came in third. The next race is the Turkish Grand Prix on Aug. 27th. "We are looking forward to Turkey where with some new things on
the car we can improve our performance again in the dry and in the
wet," Button said. "So it looks promising."
|
