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Kovalainen Gets Lucky Victory At Hungary

After yesterdays qualifying, where Lewis Hamilton [McLaren] got pole position, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the Hungarian Grand Prix would be taken by him, and Formula One would be right back to being "predictable"

However, the Brazilian Felipe Massa [Ferrari, started third], made a blinding start to the race, successfully speeding past Kovalainen off the start line, and taking First position from Hamilton at turn one.

Massa built up a commanding lead over the two McLarens who were chasing him; but all the luck wasn't with all of the Scuderia Ferrari- Kimi Raikkonnen, who qualified fifth, was overtaken at the start by Renault's double world champion Fernando Alonso.

Although Hamilton may have had a slight chance of winning the race through pit stop strategy, this was ruined, as his front- left Bridgestone tyre blew out, with just 29 laps of the race remaining. After a pit stop, he was demoted to twelfth, needing him to charge through the field as he did in Hockenheim two weeks ago.

Slated by many people around the paddock to be a boring track with limited overtaking opportunities, this year's race at Hungary was turning out to be pretty exciting; with two punctures, fuel rig fires in a few pit stops, and a sudden resurgence for the Ferrari team.

Massa seemed to have the race in the bag; after securing a lengthy lead, he began to ease off, to give his car a rest. However it was not to be- with just three laps remaining, the Ferrari V-8 engine expired on the pit straight; smoke billowing out of the back of the scarlet thoroughbred vehicle.

This gifted the win to McLaren's Finnish Heikki Kovalainen, scoring his maiden Formula One win, and re-inforcing his team's intentions to take the Constructors championship this year.

Timo Glock finished a surprise second in his Toyota, showing a magnificent recovery from his crash in Germany that sent him to hospital. Kimi Raikkonnen, in the sole remaining Ferrari, took the third step on the podium. British championship favourite Lewis Hamilton crossed the finish line in fifth.

As we move into the mid-year three week break, both driver's and constructor's championships are both wide open. Predictability? What predictability?