Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro moved to within 19 points of Championship leaders McLaren Mercedes after Kimi Raikkonen scored eight points for Ferrari at the Hungarian Grand Prix this afternoon and McLaren failed to score. This followed a stewards' ruling against McLaren after they were judged to have imposed orders which cost Lewis Hamilton the chance of a second qualifying run in the third session of qualifying. The team is appealing.

Fernando Alonso and Hamilton had set the two fastest times, but the Spaniard was penalised five places on the grid for his part in the affair. Hamilton went on to win, challenged all the way by Raikkonen, while Alonso scored a close fourth place behind Nick Heidfeld. Felipe Massa, destined to start 14th after a mistake by the team in the second session of qualifying, failed to scored points so that the Ferrari are pair are 20 points behind championship leader Hamilton.

As ever, on a circuit as difficult to overtake on as the Hungaroring, much was decided in qualifying - perhaps more than usual. Hamilton inherited Alonso's pole position with Heidfeld starting alongside. Raikkonen lined up third behind Hamilton with Nico Rosberg's Williams in fourth place. Ralf Schumacher was fifth from Alonso sixth. Then came Robert Kubica and Jarno Trulli.

The start was obviously one of the best opportunities for place changes and Raikkonen took full advantage, overtaking Heidfeld off the line and into the first corner. Rosberg remained fourth from Schumacher, then Kubica and Mark Webber and Alonso in eighth, having lost two places.

Hamilton drew away during the opening stint, having a 3.9s lead on lap 18 before the leading pair both made their pit stops. Heidfeld slowly dropped away before stopping first on lap 17, and Rosberg also dropped away. Schumacher, however, stayed close to the Williams driver, pushed throughout by Alonso who stopped, like Heidfeld and Rosberg, on lap 17. Hamilton came out of the pits with a two second lead, and within eight laps, Raikkonen was on his tail, but there he would remain. The pair were now over 10s clear of the rest of the field, led by Heidfeld. Behind Rosberg, Kubica had leapfrogged ahead of the Schumacher-Alonso duel and when Rosberg made a second of three stops, he moved up to fourth.

The BMWs were also on three stops, making the second just after the forty lap mark. Raikkonen came in on lap 46 which was four laps ahead of leader Hamilton, and when the McLaren emerged from the pits, he was 4.4s ahead. But both drivers were now on the softer of Bridgestone's tyres, and the Ferrari seemed to be better suited to them, with Raikkonen now the quicker driver. Within six laps, the 4.4s gap had largely disappeared, and now Raikkonen was on Hamilton's tail. But there, again, he would remain for the final 13 laps of the race, setting fastest lap on the very last of the 70 laps, and finishing 0.715s behind the McLaren. Heidfeld finished a distant third place, while Alonso got the better of Schumacher in their final pit stops and then closed on the BMW Sauber, shadowing it all the way to the chequered flag. Kubica finished fifth from Schumacher and Rosberg.
 

Jean Todt: "A second and thirteenth place are a meagre reward for this weekend. There is a slight bitter taste at seeing how competitive we were in the race with Kimi, as it showed yet again that starting from the front is vital, especially at a track like the Hungaroring where overtaking is almost impossible. Of course, Felipe was even more heavily penalised because of the negative outcome of qualifying, given that he was constantly stuck in traffic. We knew this track would not suit us that well. Now we need to try and get both our drivers on the podium all the time to try and make up the gaps in both championships for the remaining third of the season. We have all we need - the team, the car and drivers - but we have not always been able to put them all together to the best effect. If we don't manage it, the championships will not be won."

Kimi Raikkonen: "My main aim today was to make up points on my three closest rivals for the title. I didn't manage it and so I cannot be completely happy. We knew we could count on a very good car in terms of race pace and so it was, as was clear to see on the few occasions when I could drive with a clear track ahead of me, but it was not enough to win. When you find yourself very close to a car with similar speed, unless it makes a mistake, it is very difficult to overtake, especially on a track like this one. I fought to the very end to try and win but I never had a real chance to pass Hamilton. We came in together for our first pit stop and at that point, the choice of fuel levels determined the final outcome. But bit by bit as the track rubbered in and got more grip, my performance improved. Clearly, on some tracks, we suffer a lot in qualifying and we have to understand why. I think that in the coming races the situation should definitely be better, starting in Istanbul."

Felipe Massa: "It was a horrible race; there are no other words to describe it. At the start, I managed to pass some cars but at the exit to Turn 1, I lost position again. Then, at the next corner, I tried to pass Wurz but I ran wide and Sato also got past me. At that point, any hopes I had just evaporated. I had a very heavy car and lost downforce every time I tried to close on other cars. It's been a weekend to forget but I have not lost confidence. We know we have a good car and we must return to winning as soon as possible, starting in Turkey. We must not give up."

Luca Baldisserri: "We cannot be happy with this result. We saw we had a very competitive race pace but the outcome of qualifying made the situation very difficult especially for Felipe, who was almost never able to run with a clear track ahead of him. Kimi did his best, starting well and always attacking Hamilton, but on this track, overtaking is an impossible task. Apart from the mistakes made with Felipe yesterday, in certain conditions we have serious difficulties in doing a time over the first timed lap, as was clear to see yesterday. We have to analyse the situation well to improve our performance in this area."

Race Details: K. Raikkonen: 2nd + 0.715 70 laps chassis 262; F. Massa: 13th +1 lap 69 laps chassis 260; Weather: air temperature 26/25 °C, track temperature 35/34 °, partially cloudy.