In his seventh season in Formula 1, after 113 races and thirteen podiums, Jenson Button achieved his first victory at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix. In a display of sheer driving brilliance, the Briton, who started the race from the Fourteenth place on the grid, he made his way across the field in challenging conditions to take the flag marked for the first time in his Formula 1 career.
The 2006 Formula 1 season marked the transition from 3.0-liter V10 to 2.4-liter V8 engines, and was the last year that two tire manufacturers supplied the teams. It was also the year that saw the almost total dominance of Ferrari and Renault. The Drivers’ Championship was a two-man battle between Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher and Renault’s Fernando Alonso, with the Italian and French manufacturers dominating the season and winning all but one race: the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Hungarian summer is usually hot and dry and the Hungaroring has a reputation for being a difficult track to pass; it is narrow and twisty, and often very dusty from heat and infrequent use. As such, the Hungarian Grand Prix is commonly associated with processional races, with cars following each other, unable to overtake. However, 2006 was different; Hungary hosted its first Formula 1 Grand Prix in the wet and the rain caused quite a stir in the race, delivering one of the most action-packed races of the year.
The stewards were kept busy in the run-up to the race: Championship leader Alonso received a one-second qualifying penalty for overtaking under the yellow flag during Friday’s practice session, and was punished with a penalty of one second more for testing the Red Bull brakes test pilot Robert Doornbos. During the final practice session, Schumacher received a two-second penalty for overtaking with a red flag button, while the Honda was recovered after suffering an engine failure (which resulted in an engine change and earned the British a penalty of 10 places on the grid).
McLaren’s Kimi Räikkönen took pole, ahead of Ferrari’s Felipe Massa and Honda’s Rubens Barrichello; while Schumacher started eleventh, Button fourteenth and Alonso fifteenth. There was standing water on the track making an eventful first lap; while Räikkönen held the lead, Massa fell to seventh place, Schumacher and Alonso climbed to fifth and seventh respectively. Button used his wet-weather driving skills, finding grip on the wet track to make up significant ground in the early stages of the race.
At a track known for its lack of overtaking fans, drivers bravely put their overtaking skills to the test amid the rain-induced chaos. Toro Rosso’s Tonio Liuzzi spun out of control and gave teammate Scott Speed 14th, while Barrichello plunged into the pits to change tires from full wet to intermediate; a measure considered very strange as the weather conditions worsened. Massa had his hands full after spinning his Ferrari, costing David Coulthard’s Red Bull a spot, and then taking a wide line that allowed BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld to pass.
Schumacher found himself under fire from Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella, as did Pedro de la Rosa’s Alonso. Barrichello was gaining ground on Massa’s Ferrari, so the team took him to the pits for a tire change; however, Barrichello soon went off the track but was able to recover. Fisichella made a bold move on Schumacher, but in the process Ferrari’s front wing took off sending the German to the pits. Not long after, Fisichella’s afternoon ended when he flew into the gravel and crashed into a barrier. Nico Rosberg joined the retirees from the race after being the victim of a power failure.
The drivers had to contend with challenging weather conditions as the heavy rain subsided and the sun dried the track, putting a heavy emphasis on tire strategy and, at this stage, Schumacher was the only Bridgestone rider in the top ten. Räikkönen’s day came to an abrupt halt when he crashed his McLaren into Liuzzi’s Toro Rosso and sent him flying through the air, no driver was injured but the safety car was deployed.
Alonso was one of several drivers who took advantage of the pit entrance in search of fresh rubber, he also found himself in the lead with Button in second place and de la Rosa in third. When the safety car arrived, Alonso seized the moment and took off, but Button stayed with the Spaniard and the two exchanged fast laps, at one point the gap narrowed to less than a second. Both cars were running on intermediate tires and were struggling to find wet parts from a rapidly drying track, and both opted for a much needed tire change. But when Alonso came out of the pits, disaster struck when his Renault appeared to wobble and at turn two he lost control when the right rear wheel nut came off and crashed into a barrier.
In the dangerous conditions, only eleven cars crossed the finish line with Jenson Button in the lead, thirty seconds ahead of McLaren’s Pedro de la Rosa in second and Nick Heidfeld in the BMW Sauber third, delivering the team’s first podium. But the day belonged to the triumphant Button, who through insurmountable odds made his way across the field to claim his first ever Formula 1 victory.
