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The recent Hungarian Formula 1 Grand Prix was interesting. I suppose the weather helped again as it rained and we got to see defending World Champion Sebastian Vettel as well as previous World Champions Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso losing it with either a spin or having some off the track incidents. We also got to see a level headed ex-world champion Jenson Button winning the race in a McLaren. Lady luck must have been with him as the Hungarian Grand Prix was mainly led by Lewis Hamilton who drove the other McLaren. Now other than that this race marked Button's 200th race and incredibly his 11th race win. I suppose this basically means that Formula 1 is tough as this chap has been racing for so long and actually won the driver's championship once yet he only has eleven wins around his belt. It must be as he has to fight four other world champions out there (the chaps mentioned above and Michael Schumacher too). Anyway, it rained and as usual that sort of weather makes racing so unpredictable. Aside from the spins and slips by the race leaders and challengers, one other reason Jenson Button won was his decision not to come in of intermediate tires when everyone seemed to want to use them. He opted for the prime tires in a slightly damp track and kept it on the track when others seemed to be slip-sliding all around him. From what I have seen, the Red Bull cars are still the cars to beat on race day but when the weather comes into play, tire strategy, patience and skill comes into play. One other incident that is actually worth writing about is the fact that Nick Heidfield's Renault actually caught fire in the pits (at around lapd 20). This happened as the Renault was stationary for quite a while and upon exiting the pits, his car caught fire. Heidfield managed to scramble out of the car and the car experienced a small explosion while the track marshalls were trying to put the fire out. One marshall was hit by flying shards of carbon fiber and it was a nearly a safety car incident. It wasn't, but if the safety car was brought out, the outcome of the race may be altered. Anyway, as I posted earlier, mid-season is usually when Formula 1 gets interesting. No one knows what will happen after this upcoming 4 week break from racing. The next race is scheduled on the 28th of August at Spa, Belgium. Results 01. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1h43:42.337 02. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 3.588 03. Alonso Ferrari + 19.819 04. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 48.338 05. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 49.742 06. Massa Ferrari + 1:17.176 07. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap 08. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 09. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap 10. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 11. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap 12. Petrov Renault + 1 lap 13. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 2 laps 14. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 2 laps 15. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 2 laps 16. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 2 laps 17. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 4 laps 18. Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth + 4 laps 19. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 5 laps 20. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 5 laps Retirements Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 56 Schumacher Mercedes 27 Heidfeld Renault 24 Trulli Lotus-Renault 18 photo credit:planetf1

Most of us will never know what it's like to order a supercar. Thankfully, we have collector extraordinaire Jay Leno to share the process. Leno is the proud owner of a 2012 McLaren MP4-12C, and he recently discussed how he went about buying his new toy. Leno says that normally, acquiring the latest exotic can be annoying. Sales associates want to tell you that the car is sold out while also pushing options you may or may not need. Not so with McLaren. When Leno ordered his MP4-12C, he simply phoned the McLaren office and went through the options list. When doing so, he found a refreshing level of honesty in the person helping him buy the car. Leno said he wanted the carbon ceramic brakes, and the sales associate asked whether Jay would be tracking the car or not. Leno said no, and the salesperson told him he wouldn't need the ceramics, then, as the standard steel brakes were cheaper, lighter and very effective. The associate also informed Leno that the carbon fiber interior accents were merely decorative and offered no weight savings, helping Jay save even more on the bottom line. All told, it seems Jay Leno is just as smitten with the car as he with McLaren's operation as a whole. The MP4-12C will occupy a space in Leno's giant garage, positioned, we assume, right next to the McLaren F1 he already owns. Before purchasing the MP4-12C, however, Leno took a trip to Woking to see how the car is made. He got some track time, too, which you can watch in the clip posted after the jump.

Gordon Murray, famous for being the designer of the McLaren F1 has officially previewed his City Car Concept called the T25. The T25 was previewed at the Smith School World Forum on Enterprise and the Environment on last 28th June at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment in Oxford, England. It is small, very unlike the McLaren he designed earlier and not very fast. But tree hugging people will love it I think. The car is 2.4meters long, 1.3meters wide and 1.6meters high. So it is as long than the span of the desk of which I am typing this article, about 11cm or so shorter than I am, and it is as wide as a letter box slot as you are able to park three T25s in to a regular parallel parking lot. It can sit three instead of two like in the SMART ForTwo (yet pretty much the same size) and when it comes to packaging, it is also miles ahead of even the Toyota IQ. The similarities between Mr Murray