The Hungarian Grand Prix was full of pleasant surprises like Fernando Alonso's win or Mark Webber's strong performance. It was, however, also full of disappointment for other competitors. Atlas F1's Karl Ludvigsen looks at the ups and downs of the Hungarian race

I have to admit that there were moments during the Hungarian Grand Prix when I was hoping something would break in Alonso's Renault. They didn't last long; he hugely deserved his runaway victory, as did all behind him in the Renault operation. As Allan McNish aptly put it, "Renault are back and winning again." But as the author of the biography of Bruce McLaren I was sorry to see the legendary Kiwi lose his title as the youngest-ever proper Grand Prix winner. I'll have to hope for another printing in which I can amend the text accordingly. Bruce did well; he held the title for more than 43 years!

In the manner of his winning, above all, Fernando Alonso set himself apart from McLaren. Bruce inherited his win when Jack Brabham's Cooper-Climax ran out of gasoline on the open spaces of Sebring's airport at the end of the 1959 season. Bruce almost stopped when he saw his leader slowing and Jack had to wave him on! The New Zealander was one of the most surprised winners in Formula One history.

In contrast, Alonso was so far ahead in the early laps that he had to ask his pits where everybody went! He knew he had a fast car - his pole demonstrated that - but in race trim the Renault was devastating. This is bad news for those teams that think they have the 2004 season sorted. And it may cause Renault to have second thoughts about abandoning its wide-angle V10. On the Hungaroring it showed distinct advantages in its reduced weight transfer under braking and cornering.

Although his challenge faded toward the finish, Mark Webber proved with his early pace and his excellent qualifying that he's the Real Deal. Mark has developed an excellent liaison with the technical team at Jaguar that helps him dial in his Big Cat to suit the circuit optimally. Jaguar needs to think hard about pairing him for 2004 with another driver who can help raise the team's pace. Increasingly, the car deserves it. Now that Toyota has rejected my suggestion to hire Nick Heidfeld, he's the ideal guy to partner Webber at Jaguar. Sorry to diss Justin Wilson, but the German is a proven and experienced talent who would blossom in the Jaguar regime. And he would indeed give Jaguar a huge boost in the German market that it needs to crack.

I can't be as positive about the Cosworth engine situation. Mark Webber blew one Northampton-built V10 in practice and Wilson retired from the Grand Prix with a failed engine. Jordan's travails with its "Ford" engines were epic - four detonating before the start and two during the race. Minardi also lost a Cosworth. I'm well aware that engine failures can't always be laid at the door of the engine maker, but this is a pattern that's too consistent to ignore. Not calculated to help the situation is Martin Leach's defection from Ford's top European job to join Fiat Auto. As an active and able driver, Leach understands the racing world better than most senior auto executives. When the hard men of Ford move in to start slashing costs in their money-losing European operation, Formula One racing will be high on their lists of programs to consider cutting.

We saw an awesome display of driving from Schumacher the Younger after his recovery from a first-lap spin. Finishing only a second behind Montoya after restarting well back was no small achievement. Trouble is, this is just the kind of performance that drives Messrs. Williams and Head crazy. They're wondering why Ralf doesn't do more of that kind of thing from the front of the pack instead of the back. Getting a driver fired up does pay dividends, and Ralf was certainly on fire as he slashed through the field, even counter-steering to catch a slide in the pitlane! I was sure his momentum would carry him well forward, as indeed it did. He'll want to be doing a bit more of that to secure his future on the BMW Williams roster.

Although points have been elusive this season for Sauber, finishing one position behind Michael Schumacher's Ferrari wasn't too bad a result for Nick Heidfeld. It's interesting that the Swiss outfit has started using Lola's wind tunnel while it waits for its big new tunnel to be commissioned - the asset that attracted Giancarlo Fisichella, and rightly so. Sauber's new front wings were developed at Lola in the tunnel that Toyota has been using until its own was ready. That the wings worked well speaks volumes for the good calibration that the Lola tunnel has achieved. After the abject failure of the MP4/18 McLaren we need this reassurance that England's racing-car builders still have what it takes in the technology department.