The combination of rain and driver penalties gave us a race to remember at the Hungaroring. Once again tires played a major part in the events on track, the Michelin wets and intermediates proving superior to Bridgestone’s, although the situation was reversed when the track dried out. Through all the chaos of spins, collisions and tire choices came Jenson Button, looking supremely in control in the Honda RA106, to take his first and thoroughly deserved win.

This was a victory that was going to happen, even if Alonso’s rear suspension had not forced an almost unheard of Renault retirement. Jenson was catching the race leader easily before Alonso came in for dry tires and thereafter the Honda was unassailable at the front.

The team can be proud of their performance on a day when they got everything right, Barrichello coming home in fourth to emphasize their effectiveness while others struggled in the changing conditions. Staying out of trouble was the order of the day and Honda demonstrated how it’s done.

Which cannot be said of Michael Schumacher; he looked so wild whenever anyone attempted to pass him that I feared for the safety of the other drivers. It was only justice that he should break a trackrod by running into the rear of Heidfeld’s BMW Sauber after the young German had already got by.

Michael had earlier risked disqualification by cutting the chicane to retain his place and was running on intermediate tires that were worn treadless and almost certainly illegal therefore. His retirement enabled him to avoid a storm of protest from other teams and also meant that he was classified ninth, later to become eighth when Robert Kubica’s Sauber BMW was excluded for running lighter than allowed. So, with typical Michael Schumacher luck, he picks up one point that should not have been allowed, in my humble opinion.

But Kubica was another story of the race, not only because he drove with such passion and verve, spinning out a couple of times but pressing on regardless and finishing in seventh position. On this showing it is understandable that BMW Sauber have decided to keep him in the race seat for the rest of the season, as announced after the race. It was a mutual decision between the team and Jacques Villeneuve, apparently, and means that yet another of F1′s most flamboyant characters is out of a drive.

But let nothing detract from Jenson’s excellent victory. The man has always had the talent; let us hope that this is but the first of many wins and that the Brits have a new hero to shout about.

Well, well, everything suddenly becomes very interesting in Hungary. With Fernando Alonso incurring a two seconds qualifying penalty yesterday, it looked as though the race was being handed to Michael Schumacher on a plate. But this morning Michael was given an identical penalty and, in spite of being the fastest man on the track, will start from 11th spot on the grid. Fernando is down in 15th after taking his medicine.

So fortune and the stewards have ensured that there will be some desperate battles in tomorrow’s race. And the fact that Kimi Raikkonen grabbed the pole from under Massa’s nose makes things even more interesting. Felipé is still in a good position (2nd) to help his team leader, however, whereas Fisichella’s 7th means he is unlikely to be of much assistance to Alonso.

Things are further complicated by Jenson Button being demoted from 4th to 14th as a result of his engine change yesterday. That puts him behind Michael but ahead of Alonso and his speed at this track will make him very difficult to pass. I can see Fernando being bottled up behind the Brit’s Honda while the Ferraris recede into the distance.

So it looks as though we are set for a lot of overtaking tomorrow and this on a track renowned for its lack of passing places. It has the potential for heroism and tears as some force their way through and others overdo it. If the FIA are genuinely meddling with the championship in an effort to make it more exciting, as suggested by Flavio Briatore yesterday, they couldn’t have done a better job.

Realistically, the race still seems to be between the Ferraris and Raikkonen. Ferrari have retained much of their advantage over the rest and were able to set times a second quicker than the others in most sessions. Kimi will have his work cut out to stay ahead of Massa and I have no doubt Schumacher will surge through the field in customary fashion, with Ross Brawn’s tactical brain gaining a few places in the pit stops as well.

This race must surely be one of the most severe tests yet of Alonso’s ability.

Whatever your opinion of Michael Schumacher as a man and as a driver, it has to be admitted that he has long been the champion when it comes to handling the press. No-one else is so expert at answering politely but never giving away anything that he doesn’t want to. Take these few quotes reported from Hungary, for instance:

“I know it is your job to speculate, but obviously it is my job not to get into all that.”

“It might go one way, it might go another way.”

“I don’t believe I have to comment.”

I have seen journalists construct an entire team strategy from one stray and innocent sentence buried in a driver’s comments (and rarely does it turn out to be true). But who can infer anything from Michael’s pronouncements? They state the obvious in clear and unambiguous terms.

And, if Michael says that we will have to wait until the Monza race before finding out his plans for next year, then that is exactly how long we will have to wait.

Two extraneous and unrelated items of news caught my attention this morning; the first, that Prodrive, due to enter Formula 1 in 2008, have been granted permission to build their factory on the site of Coventry’s Baginton Airport. Now, I’m a Coventry kid although I now live in the States, and I know exactly where they will be building. The airport is sited on a high plateau just southeast of the city and has been the home of an excellent air museum, as well as a cargo and leisure flights facility.

There is opposition to the factory from local “greens”, apparently, but I cannot see that they have a reasonable case. Apart from the fact that the airport has been there since before WWII, just across the road there is a developing industrial and commercial complex already. If there ever was an argument, it was lost years ago it seems.

I find it entirely appropriate that the Prodrive HQ should be in Coventry. The city was always the center of Britain’s car industry and lost that position only through idiotic government and corporate decisions in the seventies. Jaguar remain and Peugeot occupy the old Rootes factory, but otherwise everything has gone. Prodrive’s choice at least is a reminder of past glories.

And secondly, I see that Champ car driver, Christiano da Matta, has been seriously injured after colliding with a deer at Road America. Christiano had an emergency operation to remove a subdural hematoma and is now under observation in the hospital’s intensive care unit.

Naturally, I wish Christiano a speedy recovery and return to racing, but I am also intrigued by the nature of his accident. A deer? How did a deer manage to get onto the track? If nothing else, this is a reminder of how much of America is still wilderness and the wild, wild West is still there if we care to see it.

In hot pursuit of my post, Webber Waits, comes the news that his services will not be required at Williams next year. The team have opted for a line up of Nico Rosberg and Alex Wurz, leaving Mark Webber out in the cold.

Mark is too good a driver to be ignored, however, and it seems he has a good chance to be with Renault, McLaren or Red Bull in 2007. Everything still depends upon where Kimi Raikkonen decides to go and now Michael Schumacher enters the equation too. Rumor suggests that Ross Brawn will be leaving Ferrari at the end of the year, either permanently or on sabbatical. And, if Ross is going, the chances of Michael retiring increase.

All of which leaves Mark Webber waiting to see what happens before deciding between whatever offers he has. Such is the competition for seats in F1 these days that it is possible he might be left with nothing. Perhaps that is the price for being forthright in your views on your team’s prospects.

Another who may be wondering about that today is Jacques Villeneuve. Following the news that he cannot drive in Hungary because he is not fully recovered from an injury sustained in the German race, comes a rumor that he will not be returning to the Sauber BMW team at all. Certainly, Robert Kubica will take his seat in the Hungarian race and, such is the enthusiasm for the Pole’s driving skills, this must hurt Jacques’ chances for next year.

Of course, this may well be groundless speculation emanating from the Polish press but it has to be admitted that the way Jacques withdrew was a little unusual. The team announced that he had advised them that he was not ready to race yet; this was the first indication we’d received that Jacques was injured at all.

Whatever the truth, it does look as though Villeneuve will not be in a Sauber BMW next year. It seems likely that America will gain another F1 refugee instead.