THE BIG PICTURE: Our worst fears were not realized. The new tires were not over-conservative. They still produced racy on track action, and they saved Mercedes' season. A win-win for all concerned (except Red Bull and Force India).

EVENT: The crowd looked decent. And, they signed on for another eight years. What's not to love about the Hungaroring ... besides everything...?

QUALIFYING: Hamilton surprises even himself, Grosjean shows his speed again, Webber is pissed, and Perez embarrasses Button ... again.

RACE: Despite all the on track action, the race ultimately to a typical Hungary script -- strategy and pit stops.

TRACK: Okay, this year we won't complain about the tightness of this place. Though, we came mighty close a number of times to major wrecks because of the tightness of this place. Whoops...

START: Brilliant start by Hamilton, not so much for Vettel, Grosjean tries his best to take out others, and Button and di Resta fly through the field to get ahead of their respective teammates.

HAMILTON: Suddenly, Lewis declares himself a title contender. Hey, we love confidence, and if Hamilton is confident, this could be a fun second half.

ROSBERG: Not able to partake in his teammate's success.

MERCEDES: Missing the young drivers' test really hurt you badly... Wonder what Red Bull will come up with next to bitch about you guys.

RAIKKONEN: Well, Kimi did gain a few points on Vettel... The key, though, is the Lotus continues to like the tires better than Red Bull.

GROSJEAN: We've always said speed has never been an issue with Romain. Nor talent, as his hairy pass on Massa showed (the drive-thru penalty be damned). It's what happens to his brain cells when he puts his helmet on that is the issue.

LOTUS: Must be feeling good about themselves heading into the summer break.

VETTEL: A poor start doomed any chances for Sebastian.

WEBBER: A failed car in qualifying doomed any chances for Mark.

RED BULL: Raikkonen or Ricciardo? Ricciardo or Raikkonen? Wait! Maybe Alonso? Seriously? Seriously?! We don't believe it will happen, but we would sure love to see Alonso and Vettel on the same team. It would make the Macy's 4th of July fireworks show look tame.

ALONSO: Fernando uncharacteristically slams Ferrari ... in public.

FERRARI: The Scuderia fires a strong rebuke back ... in public. Is this dream relationship coming to a rapid end?

MASSA: Is there anything Fernando did in that race which warrants him sticking around Maranello?

BUTTON: The best teammate Lewis Hamilton can have ... oh, wait...

PEREZ: Faded in the race.

MCLAREN: Closed within one point of Force India ... for fifth place. We're sure everyone on that team is feeling all giddy inside...

WILLIAMS: They got a point! They got a point! We're sure everyone on that team is feeling all giddy inside.

MALDONADO: From a maiden win a year ago to (finally) one point halfway through this season.

HULKENBERG: Sauber stopped paying Nico this year, and apparently Force India didn't completely pay him last year. We sure hope Hulkenberg didn't have to pay taxes on all that uncollected income.

VERGNE: Jean-Eric misses out on the prom with the greatest date of his life.

RICCIARDO: Daniel disappeared in the race. Maybe, he was daydreaming too much about his possible ride next year.

SAUBER: Does this whole Russian "bailout" have S-C-A-M written all over it? Government agencies have hundreds of millions of dollars to pay out to a foreign entity? It includes technical agencies that will now have a close hand look at high tech engineering from foreign entities? It's all contingent on some 17-year-old nobody-ever-heard-of kid getting his superlicense? Said nobody-ever-heard-of kid happens to be the son of the head honcho of one of the said agencies? The Russian mob must be jealous over this form of bribery. The Russian taxpayers must be even more thrilled...

AUSTRIA: The "Hills Are Alive" is back on the F1 calendar. Well, as long as Red Bull can convince the locals to allow more than 40,000 fans to attend the race and ignore the sound limitations...

WORD OF THE WEEKEND: Vacation.

STAT OF THE WEEKEND: 5 -- The car number of Jenson Button whom Sebastian Vettel fell behind after his first pit stop, all but ensuring a Lewis Hamilton victory.

HISTORICAL STAT OF THE WEEKEND: Lewis Hamilton has now tied Michael Schumacher for Hungarian GP wins with four. Hamilton packed his in a shorter time period -- seven races (2007, 2009, 2012-3). It took Schumacher 11 races (1994, 1998, 2001, 2004).

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: Lewis Hamilton upon being told he was P1 after qualifying, "Pole?!"

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: After Michael Schumacher never mentioned Nico Rosberg amongst the best current F1 drivers, Rosberg shot back, "For three years I beat the best driver of all time."

SCHEDULE: The summer break is much needed by F1 workers, but Hungary left us with a cliffhanger, and we don't want to wait four weeks to see what happens next.

Copyright © 2013 by Deep Throttle. All Rights Reserved.