Hungarian Grand Prix: Raikkonen has something in store for the right moment

Formula One / David Croft / 01 August 2008 / Leave a comment

The changing conditions around the slowest permanent track on the tour could suit the Finn, says David Croft.

So here we are in Budapest for the last Grand Prix before Formula 1 takes its traditional summer break. Up and down the paddock the prospect of a week or two off - there's no testing allowed until after the European Grand Prix - is bringing out plenty of smiles amongst the pit crews who have been toiling away, almost non-stop since the middle of March.

However before the crews can enjoy some well earned R&R there's plenty to do this weekend at what looks like being a very hot couple of days with temperatures hovering around 30 degrees. In terms of current form no one is hotter than Lewis Hamilton on the track at present. Back to back wins see him come here aiming to become the first British driver since Damon Hill in 1996 to record a hat-trick and Betfair backers have the Mclaren driver as a firm favourite at [2.6] to do just that.

Speaking to Hamilton yesterday he was full of confidence and relaxed with it. A great sign and a complete contrast to the tension that surrounded Lewis and the Mclaren team 12 months ago, this was the race remember that saw the relationship between Fernando Alonso and the team fall apart in front of our very eyes.

Now there's only harmony and happiness. Heikki Kovalainen has been given a contract extension and his relationship with Lewis seems from the outside very solid. From a punters perspective it's interesting to note that Mclaren insist that Heikki isn't a number two to Lewis and that he's free to fight for the win. I did ask Heikki about the last race where he seemed to move over a little too easily to let Lewis past and wondered if the team had told him to do so. He replied that it was his decision to make and that because he had a few problems at the time, he saw no sense in holding Lewis up as he wouldn't have been able to defend his 4th position for long. Had he been in the lead at the time there was no way he would have moved over, if that's true then at least backers can put their money on the Finn safe in the knowledge that he's not just out there to make up the numbers. Betfair's win market has Kovalainen at [18.5] this weekend but whilst he will surely pick up a win one day, the form of his teammate is far superior at present and I can't see the win coming this weekend.

What though of Ferrari? The Italian team need a good weekend and were a long way off Hamilton's pace in Germany, which they say was more down to a tyre issue than anything else. In a bid to improve their car's stability under breaking Ferrari have introduced a shark fin extended engine cover this weekend, something that Renault, Force India and initially Red Bull have used to good effect this season. It won't make a huge amount of difference but every little helps and I expect them to be a lot closer to the front. Hungary is a short, slow track, the slowest permanent track on the calendar and if you compare the Ferrari performance to Mclaren in Monaco you can assume that they could go well.

Raikkonen is an attractive [3.8] to win the race and Massa an even bigger [5.2]. This isn't a track the Brazilian enjoys - he's only scored two points here in 5 races - whilst Kimi has been on the podium three times, winning the race in 2005. He needs a victory desperately and hasn't won since Spain back in April, maybe this weekend he'll step up to the plate and give us a taste of how much he wants to defend his world title.

After the first two practice sessions Raikkonen has lagged behind both his team-mate and Lewis Hamilton but as the weekend progresses the track conditions will change dramatically and I have a sneaky feeling that Ferrari and Kimi have a little in reserve and something up their sleeve for the right moment.

Tags: Alonso, BMW, Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Formula 1, Hungarian Grand Prix, Kimi Raikkonen, Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, Red Bull