Hungarian GP Paddock Notebook - Saturday - MotorSportsTalk

Is there such a thing as luck? “No,” grumble the cynics. “You make your own luck.” If that is the case, then I dread to think just what Lewis Hamilton has done in a past life, because at the moment, he is probably the unluckiest man in Formula 1.

Just one week on from his terrifying brake failure and crash during the first part of qualifying for the German Grand Prix, lightning struck the #44 car once again as his engine caught fire following a fuel leak. He will start tomorrow’s race from the pit lane.

On the other side of that coin, you have Nico Rosberg, who clinched his fifth pole position in six races today at the Hungaroring. However, it was by no means an easy feat even without his teammate playing a part. Sebastian Vetttel and Valtteri Bottas both put up a fight again the championship leader, but neither could stop him from capitalizing on Hamilton’s demise.

It was a thrilling qualifying session in Hungary today, with a sprinkling of rain and a red flag really spicing things up. Now we’ve cooled down, here’s the complete paddock round-up from Saturday at the Hungaroring.

SESSION REPORTS

Lewis Hamilton ominously topped FP3, picking up where he left off on Friday, and didn’t appear to give the rest of the field much chance heading into qualifying.
But then the racing gods intervened. An engine fire robbed him of a shot at pole, with Rosberg picking up the pieces to claim his sixth pole position of the season.

NEWS FROM THE PADDOCK

The eleven Formula 1 teams are likely to follow the FIA’s lead for the Russian Grand Prix, amid concerns in the region.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says that Sebastian Vettel remains absolutely committed to the team.
VIDEO: Watch Lewis Hamilton’s qualifying session go up in flames.
Rosberg was delighted to nail his final lap in Q3 to bag pole position.
Fernando Alonso was delighted with P5, saying it was better than he expected to fare.
Sebastian Vettel was also pretty pleased with second place, given the pace of the Mercedes.
Make it three happy chappies: Valtteri Bottas was surprised to finish third in qualifying at a track that should’t suit Williams.
Kevin Magnussen will start tomorrow’s race from the pit lane following a crash in Q3.
Lewis Hamilton has called on Mercedes to improve the reliability of his car after his sixth technical issue of the year.
A strategy mistake by Ferrari left a disgruntled Kimi Raikkonen 17th on the grid.
Force India owner Vijay Mallya sees no reason to change his line-up for 2015.
Christian Horner has lashed out at the media in F1 for being too negative.
I take a look at F1’s ongoing global expansion, which is continuing in Azerbaijan and Mexico.

THOUGHTS FROM THE TRACK

After Christian Horner’s outburst during the team principals’ press conference yesterday, we turned our focus back to the on-track action today – and boy were we served up a treat. Fire, rain, red flags, shock knockouts – you name it, this qualifying session had it.

However, the end result was not so much of a surprise. Once again, it is a Mercedes on pole, with Nico Rosberg the man on top. Although he faced less of a challenge following Lewis Hamilton’s firey exit, he did still need to see off Vettel and Bottas at the end of qualifying. His final lap was perfect: three purple (quickest) sectors for pole position.

For Lewis, it is just more rotten luck that is part of being a racing driver. Nobody wants to DNF ever, but it does happen. The cries of conspiracy from the fans is completely bonkers, yet you can understand their reasoning: this was the sixth time Lewis has hit trouble in 2014 (Australia practice, Australia race, Canada race, Britain practice, Germany race, and here); Rosberg has only come unstuck once (Britain race).

So could Lewis do what he did in Germany and rally to finish on the podium? Well, it might be a bit harder given that overtaking around the Hungaroring comes at a premium. Nevertheless, a bit of rain could spice things up; Lewis will be gunning to keep the gap to Rosberg at the top of the championship as small as possible.

The battle behind should be pretty interesting between Red Bull, Williams and Fernando Alonso for the final podium position. However, you can count Kimi Raikkonen up. He did not mince his words when talking about Ferrari’s mistake that caused him to drop out in Q1. The fact that he brushed it off because it’s been that kind of season sums up where his head is at right now.

Be sure to join us tomorrow for the Hungarian Grand Prix live on CNBC and Live Extra from 7:30am ET. Once again, MotorSportsTalk will be bringing you all of the latest news, reports and analysis from the paddock in Hungary.

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Vicki Golden has earned a career worthy of a thousand stories and 805 Beer tells at least one of them, as “Inverted Perspective” premiered March 30 on the company’s website and YouTube channel.

Golden did more to break the glass ceiling in SuperMotocross than she ever thought possible. She knows this because riders have never felt the need to explain any of her accomplishments with the disclaimer, “for a girl”.

At this point in Golden’s career, she’s been the first woman to finish top 10 in AMA Arenacross Lites, the first woman to qualify in the Fast 40 in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the first woman to compete in freestyle Moto X competition, earning a bronze medal by doing so.

Her love for moto came from childhood while she watched her dad and brother ride. By seven she was on her bike and making waves throughout Southern California.

Golden, 30, is still madly in love with the sport and has no plans on moving away but her career is already one to talk about. 805 Beer’s film series wanted to do exactly that.

“I’m taken aback by it all,” Golden told NBC Sports about the documentary. “It’s just crazy to see your story, it’s one thing to live your life and battle everything that comes about but it’s another to just sit there and talk about it.”

805 approached Golden about the feature by asking, “Do you even realize that what you do, and your story is special?”

Golden took the question as a blank canvas to map out the highs and lows of her career and life.

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The title “Inverted Perspective” came from a brainstorming session with Dominick Russo and it highlights Golden’s outlook on the sport of SuperMotocross and her life in general.

“My whole life, my whole career was thinking differently and looking at things that shouldn’t be done and aren’t there, while being able to make a place for myself, where no one thought there should be a place,” Golden said. “It’s inspiring someone to think in different ways. It sums up my life.”

*Vicki Golden is not “fast for a girl”; she’s just fast. – 805 Beer*

While Golden is no stranger to the spotlight, this was the first time she’s been fully involved with the storytelling and creation of a feature about herself.

“It’s not like a full new experience,” Golden said. “Obviously, you get your standard questions about your upbringing and accomplishments, but I’ve never really put into perspective things that happened in my past with my dad and putting that to light. Also, certain other things that maybe got overlooked in previous interviews or films. I wanted to touch on these and Dom wanted to create a story. It’s just cool to see it come to light, it’s a nearly impossible thing to tell somebody’s life story in 40 minutes.”

Golden’s father was left paralyzed after an ATV accident, robbing him the opportunity to ride again. This happened a few months before the father-daughter duo was set to compete in the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals when Vicki was 12. While she might have been unable to grasp the severity at the time, it’s something she carries with her. Golden continues to ride in his honor.

Years later, an accident in 2018 nearly sidelined the then 25-year-old Vicki when a freestyle accident almost resulted in the amputation of her lower leg.

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Golden 805 Beer — *Vicki Golden has ridden a variety of disciplines in SuperMotocross, which gives her a unique perspective. – 805 Beer*

“Inverted Perspective” highlights her father’s diligence in helping Vicki continue with her career and the kindness and strength he carried while fighting his own battle.

“My dad was the entire reason that I started riding in the first place,” Golden said. “So, to honor his memory and to honor what we went through and how hard he pushed to keep our dream alive and keep everything going – in that sense then, it was really special to be able to honor him and talk about him.”

The 40-minute feature was filmed entirely in black and white, a stark contrast from the oversaturated world of motocross where the brighter the suit the easier it is for fans to find their rider and follow him in the race. By filming in monochrome Russo and Golden had the chance to focus on the race and track from a different perspective.

“It was cool to be able to film it differently,” Golden said. “It created a challenge in the sense of what was going to be more visually impactful for the film.

“I couldn’t be here without the companies that back me but at the same time, it’s not like the logos or colors disappeared, it’s just different lights shed on different spots. It’s just a cool way to do it and to take color away and still be impactful. When you think of black and white, you think of old school, the OG way of doing things.”

Hungarian GP Paddock Notebook – Saturday

Vicki Golden and 805 Beer tell a unique story from an Inverted Perspective

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