Analysis of the Hungarian Grand Prix, brought to you by Bahrain International Circuit
MOTORSPORT – We have often noted that F1 is anything but predictable and there can be no better example of that when it came to qualifying for the Hungarian Grand prix this weekend. For much of this season, we have been used to the dominance of the McLaren pair and there was little to suggest that the battle for pole would be anything other than a scrap between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
However, Charles Leclerc had other ideas and put his Ferrari on pole in a result which caught the entire paddock, including his team, by surprise. Reacting to the achievement, Leclerc said that he “doesn’t understand anything in Formula 1”, a sentiment shared by many. Conversely, his teammate Lewis Hamilton had another qualifying session to forget. He was eliminated in Q2 and would start the race from 12th. This was the tenth time in fourteen races that he has been outqualified by Leclerc, but this weekend clearly hit Hamilton hard, given the other Ferrari took pole. Such was Hamilton’s disappointment, that he even suggested that Ferrari may wish to look for another driver. Whilst said somewhat in the heat of the moment, it shows the level of frustration that Hamilton is facing with his Ferrari.
Meanwhile, McLaren were left stroking their chins, trying to work out how they had not put both cars on the front row. “Bizarre” was the reaction from Piastri, who could only muster a change in wind conditions as an excuse for their performance. Piastri would start second, just marginally ahead of Norris. George Russell put in his usual solid qualifying performance to start fourth, but there was another surprise as the Aston Martins of Alonso and Stroll managed fifth and sixth. Again, it was difficult to fully understand how they ended up on the third row of the grid, given that the team had not brought major upgrades to this race. Track characteristics seemed to be the explanation, with Hungary seeming to suit their car better than other venues. Further back, Verstappen could only qualify eighth, a result that came as little surprise to the team given that the Dutchman seems resigned to the fact that he has a car which does not have the performance to win races in dry conditions.
Whatever the reasons for a mashup of this nature on the grid, the omens were good for an exciting race, despite the difficulties in overtaking round this circuit. At lights out, it was a solid start for Leclerc and Piastri. Norris, however, went for a gap on the inside which didn’t exist and cost him two places, promoting Russell and Alonso in the process. Norris did make up these two places within five laps with the help of DRS.
Piastri was the first of front runners to come in on lap 19, with the hope of an undercut to Leclerc. Leclerc reacted and came in the following lap but managed to come out to stay ahead of Piastri. Norris, who had nothing to lose, was trying to go long for the one stop strategy and eventually stopped on lap 32. He came out fourth, 18 seconds behind Leclerc. Piastri was 1.4 seconds behind the lead with Russell in third eight seconds further back. For the second round of stops, Leclerc went first, followed by Russell on lap 44. Piastri came in two laps later, to slot in third, five seconds behind Leclerc.
It was headed for a grandstand last quarter, as Norris on much older tyres was seeking to defend a seven second lead from Leclerc on newer tyres. Meanwhile Piastri had even newer tyres with a further four seconds to make up. After his pit stop, Piastri was flying and by lap 51 he took Leclerc into turn one. He then had nine seconds to get to Norris with 19 laps remaining. He was gaining at a rapid rate and was likely to catch Norris with around six laps to go. Further back, Russell put in an overtaking move on Leclerc to take third on lap 62.
As was expected, with a handful of laps to go, Piastri got within a second of Norris. It was a critical scrap for the championship: a 14-point swing at stake, going into the summer break. On the second last lap, Piastri made his move, lunging on the inside coming into turn 1. It was his big and only chance, but a lock up of his front tyre kept Norris ahead. This gave the Englishman just enough breathing space to get to the end for a dramatic win for Norris.
One shouldn’t underestimate how much this means to team Lando. His temperament under pressure has been questioned throughout the season, but he stayed cool under extreme pressure. His side of the garage delivered a workable strategy after a difficult start and he delivered. It was up there as one of his most impressive wins of his career and with the gap in the championship narrowed to nine points he can go into the summer break with some renewed confidence. As for Piastri, he will inevitably rue what should have been his win.
Behind these two, Russell held on for the final podium place, whilst Charles Leclerc would have been disappointed with his fourth place, some 40 seconds adrift of the lead. Alonso continued his form from qualifying to finish fifth, followed by another impressive result from Sauber with Bortoletto in sixth, with Stroll seventh. Lawson, Verstappen and Antonelli completed the top ten.
It was a fitting race for F1 as it heads to its summer break, as the McLaren fight at the front is set to dominate the rest of the season. It’s a mouthwatering prospect for fans. For the rest of the teams, it will be a question of finding the best possible finishing position in the Constructors’ championship to maximise prize money, whilst also looking at the continued development of next year’s car, with all the complexities that a new set of rules will bring.
Our race reports will be back for the next race at the end of August, but in the meantime, why not start planning your motorsport experiences for next season? We have our Early Bird offer running this month for F1 tickets for next year and have recently launched sales for the World Endurance Championship in November. Tickets are just 5.5bd for this World Championship finale and you can head to bahraingp.com now to reserve your place.
* Laurence Jones is senior manager, Marketing and Communications, Bahrain International Circuit
l.jones@bic.com.bh
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