Hungarian Grand Prix Review: Strategy is crucial
Hungarian Grand Prix Review: Strategy is crucial
Max Verstappen charged from the middle of the field to win the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday and extend his commanding lead atop the F1 driver’s standings.
Rain threatened to throw a potential curveball into the plan, so the whole race was done with one eye on the sky. The rain never actually started to fall heavily. Nevertheless, the final finishing order was ultimately determined largely by race strategy.
Red Bull strategy masterclass
Which teams are accustomed to competing for titles may be easily determined by looking at the first half of this year. The Red Bull pit wall has maximised weekends with the best plans and pit stops by a wide margin, dependability and disparity apart.
Red Bull won the race by choosing to start on a soft tyre compound, adopting an aggressive strategy, and installing new power components in the back of both RB-18s. After another Ferrari strategy error and a Verstappen spin, Verstappen passed Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for a second time, thus winning the race. Red Bull’s use of the undercut strategy was essential in giving Verstappen an advantage over Leclerc, Sainz, and Russell on the racetrack.
Rise of Ferrari’s strategy blunders
Verstappen will undoubtedly be seen as having received the championship from Maranello if he wins it this year. The Scuderia possessed the quickest car for the first several races this season. Still, reliability concerns, subpar strategy, and driver errors prevented them from maximising their pace advantage.
Once Leclerc eventually passed the Mercedes in Hungary after edging back to put pressure on early leader Russell in the first stint, Ferrari appeared to have the performance and track position to win. However, placing him on hards—which had not been used during the dry Friday practice—cost so much pace that he even required an additional stop. Ferrari did not put Sainz on the hards, but they still found a method to delay him, in this case with two lengthy pit stops.
Leclerc will virtually need to finish ahead of the Red Bull driver in every race to even have a chance of winning the title. Since Verstappen currently has an 80-point advantage over him, there is no place for any mistakes for Ferrari.
Mercedes is stepping up
If Ferrari is failing in every area but the pace, it’s fair to say Mercedes is doing the exact opposite. A 13-race skid without a Mercedes pole since Lewis Hamilton won the Saudi Arabian GP in 2021 ended when George Russell won his first F1 pole by dominating qualifying at the Hungaroring.
Mercedes made the most of this weekend with the W13, securing their maiden pole position, the fastest lap, and another double podium. Hamilton pursued Russell, and Mercedes did not need to say a thing to their two drivers. Russell would be excused for not wanting to fall short of his teammate in the last six laps after his greatest weekend in racing thus far. When Hamilton tucked into his slipstream on the pit straight, Russell defended the inside line against Hamilton without receiving any team orders. Still, Hamilton was smart and just cut to the inside on the exit to drive through into the second position. Although Mercedes has yet to win a race this season, Hungary will be remembered as the event when it first appeared likely.
Mercedes is gradually moving up the field and closing the gap with Ferrari in the constructor’s title.
