Playing the Formula 1 Numbers game...

So that was a refreshingly exciting race at the notorious HungaBoring race circuit in Budapest, ‘Officaly known as the Hungarian Grand Prix. Thus in case Y’all didn’t catch the action I’ll repeat some of the numerology doled out this weekend by the crack SPEED Statisticians...

The event marked the 850^th Grand Prix for la Scuderia, nee Scuderia Ferrari, arguably the sports biggest team in the history of F1, as I believe I caught Bob Varsha musing that when he and ‘Hobbo, aka David Hobbs called their first race live there way back in ’89 for duh ‘Deuce (ESPN2) – it was then only Ferrari’s 500th Grand Prix... As Enzo’s team has amassed a staggering 216 victories, 205 Pole positions, 16 Constructor’s titles and 15 driver crowns in that 61yr time span!

It was the 25^th Anniversary of the race, which back in 1986 became the very first Iron Curtain country to allow Western Foreigners to host a race inside the Communist regime – which has obviously changed since then... As Hungary was claimed to be the highest attended race with I believe 211,000 crazed spectators before ‘Ronnie George’s inaugural USGP at Indianapolis in 2000 – with claims of 225k attendance.

And can it really already be eleven years since I witnessed some fresh faced British 20-year old Punk make his debut for Team Willie in Sir Frank’s and Patrick Head’s white & blue Williams FW22-BMW – as this BLOODY Brit quickly became known as ‘JENSE here at No Fenders...

This means it was 11yrs ago that Mary Ellen read to me from my F1 Racing subscription the feature article on Messer Button claiming he liked women with small feet – whatever that mean’s Dude! Since I recall this being the year that the British rookie was taken under the tutelage of ‘BLOCKHEAD BERGER, as Herr Gerhard was then the head of the Bayerische Motoren Werke AG Motorsports arm who were supplying factory ‘lumps to Sir Willy’s Grove-based concern...

And  I recall taking a shine-on to Bloody Jense upon reading that he’d lost his license upon being caught speeding in a BMW diesel! (A bloody Saloon no less I believe...)

Thus Jenson, who’s now a gritty 31yr old made fun of the interview occasion – celebrating his 200^th Grand Prix start by claiming he’s just a ‘Nipper compared to DER TERMINATOR, noting how Michael’s (Schumacher) 42 or 43... Thus I suppose there was some sorta symmetry by Button claiming his second win of the season and 11^th overall as the icing upon the cake, as Jense becomes just the 11^th driver to crack the 200GP starts barrier – something once seemingly impossible to accomplish in the Formula One arena...

Yet quick, can you name the three drivers on the Hungaroring starting grid with more starts then him? Buuuzzzzzzzzzz... Times Up! Did Y’all say ‘Rubino, Herr Schumacher and Trulli Scrumptious... As Rubens Barrichello has 314, M. Schumacher 278 and Jarno Trulli 244. (Including 2011 Hungarian GP)

Big Hitters – Button joins the 200-plus club

Meanwhile another driver was celebrating his 100^th Grand Prix start in Hungary, albeit he’s still searching to break his ‘Duck in the rarefied ‘Atmo of Formel Ein... As Nico Rosberg, who I believe Mark ‘Handlebarz Webber nicknamed Brittany due to his long flowing golden locks once again had to be content settling for ninth place after having been caught out by the changing weather conditions. Having started from P7 Brittany lost track positions when taking on intermediate (treaded wet weather) tyres for a rain squall that never quite arrived, thus necessitating another stop to change back to slick rubber to finish out the race... Yet the young Rosberg can take solace in the fact that it took Button 113 GP’s to find victory lane... Not to mention ‘Quick Nick Heidfeld whose uncertain of joining the vaunted 200 start club – upon seeing his 183^rd race go up in flames literally! As the elder German still seeks to crack his Duck, which is doubtful in the lumbering Renault; as speaking of ‘JENSE, its somewhat symbiotic that I watched his maiden Formula One victory at Budapest exactly five years ago, which was just prior to the beginning of this eclectic racing ‘BLOB thingy as ‘Aunty Harriet calls it...

And its even more ironic I suppose that Button has now surpassed his teacher ‘N elder, a one Mr. G. Berger, who in his F1 career mustered 210 GP starts and won 10 races whilst driving for the likes of Benetton, Ferrari and McLaren.

Yet the most intriguing bit ‘O numerology to Mwah was the tidbit Bob Varsha tossed out ‘bout who was the first American to win a Grand Prix. NOPE! It wasn’t Dan Gurney; it was none other then Jimmy Murphy at the wheel of a Duesenberg 90yrs ago at the 1921 French Grand Prix; YIKES!