Hungary was not only a very disappointing race for McLaren but also a poor weekend in general. In the first practice sessions it was clear that the McLaren cars where lacking speed compared to their rivals Ferrari and Red Bull.

In qualifying things didn’t improve. The 2009 World Champion Jenson Button could only make a 11^th on the grid failing to make the top ten shoot out. His team mate Lewis Hamilton the 2008 World Champion put in a brilliant performance in his McLaren to get him fifth on the grid behind both Ferrari’s and Red Bulls.

Hamilton had a solid race and set off on what looked like it would be a boring race following the cars ahead. Button wasn’t so lucky from the start after he dropped a number of places. When a safety car was released because of debris on the track, there was instant pit lane activity. Both McLaren’s benefited with Hamilton jumping Felipe Massa into fourth place, and Button gaining a number of places which moved him up to 10^th.

Half way through the race things took a turn for the worse with Lewis Hamilton’s car with a suspected gear box problem causing him to retire from the race. After his team mates retirement Button was only able to make two more places leaving him in eighth place only scoring four points.

After this race in Hungary both McLarens have moved down in the Drivers Championship. For the first time in a number of races Hamilton is no longer leading. He is currently four points behind Mark Webber. Button is now in fourth place 14 points behind the Championship leader. McLaren are also no longer leading the Constructors Championship either, falling behind Red Bull by eight points.

After a months rest the teams head to Belgium for the next race of the season. The circuit there should favour the McLarens with plenty of long straights to put the “F Duct” to good use.

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