Ferrari left Hungary having been thoroughly outclassed by a team that could’ve lapped the field – making the champagne taste of second place even more the sweeter.

Right from the off, it was obvious that Red Bull were the class of the field, lapping a second ahead of everyone in practice before a gigantic 1.2 second lead on Ferrari in qualifying. And despite a cracking start to the GP, and despite the fact it’s ridiculously hard to overtake at the Hungaroring, they had only themselves to blame. Sebastian Vettel admitted that he was ‘sleeping’ at the safety car restart, resulting in a drive through penalty after teammate Mark Webber was allowed to scamper away. Given the amount of points he’s generously thrown away this season, you’d have to say he’ll still need plenty of rest in time to deliver bundles of presents on Christmas Eve. The call to leave Webber out, on a set of soft tyres that simply refused to wear, proved smart enough to finally lift him ahead of the fast-starting Alonso. The ‘dirty air zone’ allowed the double world champion a blanket ahead of Vettel, ensuring that once again the best car on the grid couldn’t take maximum points towards a first championship of their own.

Vettel’s problems however cast a shadow on what was an absolutely faultless weekend for Alonso. When under pressure from Webber and Vettel behind, the Spaniard simply refused to make a mistake, while once again proving that his fast starts can obliterate the second a lap qualifying advantage that the flying Bulls possess. Teammate Massa will also be pleased with a lower-key weekend than at Hockenheim – despite struggling with the set-up over practice, he managed to stick the car fourth on the grid, a position that was only under threat after Lewis Hamilton jumped him in the pits – the virtue of not having to cue behind a surprisingly lackluster Jenson Button. Hamilton’s retirement added an extra reward for a weekend where realistically, Ferrari scored the maximum amount of points they could muster.

F1 now takes a month long recess, with factory work banned for the first two weeks. This could be both a blessing and a curse for the Scuderia; the Spa circuit is similar to the Hockenheim track where they excelled, but now other teams have a margin to develop. McLaren have dropped well off the pace but now have the opportunity to fine-tune their failing upgrades, while Mercedes will desperately be looking to inject pace into a car that can now barely make Q3. But remember that not too long ago in Turkey, Fernando Alonso qualified a sheepish twelfth, yet now people are still talking about a potential championship challenge. Things change quick in Formula 1, and Ferrari will have to keep up a relentless rate of improvement.

Overall though, the team will be delighted with how the past few races have really got the season back on track. Current form suggests that the drivers championship will be contested between the Red Bulls and Alonso, who is back to his best after a midseason stumble. The team will just have to hope that their rivals continue to adopt a new catchphrase: Red Bull – it gives you gifts.

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