Lewis Hamilton Returns to the Top in Hungary

Lewis Hamilton Secures pole position in Hungary during qualifying today. The performance came in a dramatic set of qualifying sessions. Hamilton beat out Max Verstappen (Red Bull) by a margin of 0.003 seconds. The finish was Hamilton’s first pole position of the year and a record ninth at the Hungaroring. Hamilton set the lap on the very last lap of the session. All other cars had already completed their final lap and it came down to the wire. Hamilton stated the following to F1.com. “It’s been a crazy year and half, so I’ve lost my voice from shouting so much in the car. It’s amazing that feeling, I feel so grateful to be up here, because the team have worked so hard. We’ve been pushing so hard over this time, so to finally get a pole, it feels like the first time. I didn’t expect coming today that we would be fighting for pole. So, when I went into that last run, I gave it absolutely everything. There was nothing left in it.”

McLaren showed massive improvement securing a P3 and P4 finish in Q3 to lock out the second row. it is clear that the upgrades that McLaren brought to Hungary are working. In surprising fashion the Alpha Romeo of Guan Zhou Yu finished 5th fastest. It appears that the Alpha’s are making strides in the performance department. We will see if they can carry this early success into a result on race day.

Sergio Perez has finally returns to Q3 after missing out on Q3 in the last 5 races. He finished P9 well behing his teammate in P2 however we know that Perez is a master of overtaking and track position defense. It will be interesting to see how he bounces back tomorrow. Elsewhere on the grid, Daniel Ricciardo (Alpha Tauri) qualified P13 in his debut ahead of his teammate Yuki Tsunoda who finished P17. It is great to see Ricciardo jump back into action and compete. We will see if he can use this new found confidence to score points for Alpha Tauri for tomorrow.

Full Qualifying Results are Below

Charles Leclerc led FP2 in dry conditions after the rain fell in FP1. The majority of the drivers did not go all out this session for race pace. Instead they appeared to be montioring tire management more closely. This is in part due to changes associated with the tire allocation for each session this weekend.

Pirelli Motorsport Director Mario Isola stated to F1.com, “The Hungarian Grand Prix has become a classic event of the Formula 1 summer season, and as such the air and asphalt temperatures, which are usually very high, are the main features. This puts the drivers, cars and tires to the test, not least because the twisting nature of the track does not allow anyone or anything to catch their breath.”

“With so many slow corners, traction is one of the key factors for good performance and the biggest risk is tire overheating. Despite being a permanent track, the Hungaroring is not used very often, and the asphalt conditions improve considerably during the weekend as the ideal racing line rubbers in.”

Isola Continued Regarding Trends at the Hungaroring

“Usually, this race is all about strategy and tire degradation. This year we have opted for a trio of softer compounds compared to 2022, while a new tire allocation for qualifying will be tried out for the first time, with the obligation to use just the hard in Q1, medium in Q2 and soft in Q3 if conditions stay dry. Both these changes, at least on paper, should lead to a wider range of options, particularly in terms of strategy. The [Alternative Tire Allocation] also saves two sets of dry tires compared to the traditional format and it will be run again at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. After that, the FIA, F1 and the teams will decide whether or not to adopt it for next season.”

We expect pace to pick up in FP3 ahead of qualifying. All of the drivers will likely be on soft tires to test out their qualifying programs. With front runners Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez we look to tomorrow for the fastest lap times before qualifying. We will report on qualifying results tomorrow.

The F1 Championship lands in Budapest, Hungary for round 12 of the season. The Hungaroring is a 2.722 mile long course that will host a 70 lap race. Over the years the races at the Hungaroring have been action packed and filled with ever changing team strategy calls. This weekend also marks a return of a familiar face. Daniel Ricciardo will start his stent with AlphaTauri this weekend. Ricciardo who is the reserve driver at Red Bull took the seat from Nyck De Vries. De Vries had not performed at the level the team expected in the first 11 rounds of the season.

Ricciardo’s return sparked a frenzy across the internet and fans are excited to see Ricciardo grid up again in F1. Ricciardo is naturally ecstatic about his return, “It’s good, it’s really good!” Ricciardo said to F1.com. “I enjoyed this… Call it six months off – I think it was really good for me. But the more races I started to attend, the more sim I started to do, I was certainly getting the bug back, so to speak. Then jumping into the car a few days ago, I was like, ‘Oh yeah!’, it all felt very normal. It was one of those ones, the very first lap, ‘Oh, this is fast!’, then within a few it’s, ‘OK, I want to go faster now!’, so it was really good.”

Ricciardo Continued

“Getting back to Red Bull and just kind of the reception I had walking back into that team was really kind of, in a positive way, a little bit overwhelming. Then getting back on the sim, I was still a bit unsure how it was going to go, if the car would feel like it used to, if I was going to be, for the lack of better words, like the old me. Once I’d done a few sim sessions and started feeling like myself again, it then just kind of brought me back to normal Daniel, where I was falling back in love and ready to go again.”

In an interview with F1.com, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner stated, “He [Ricciardo] firmly wants to be pitching for that 2025 Red Bull seat – that’s his objective. By going to AlphaTauri, I think he sees that as his best route of stating his case for 2025.”

The move was welcomed by AlphaTauri fans. The team sits at the bottom of the table with just 2 points to its name. If there was an opportunity for Ricciardo to make a statement. That opportunity would be finishing in the points this weekend in Hungary. The honey badger is back!

Danila Ricciardo will replace Nyck De Vries at Alpha Tauri effectively immediately. The move isn’t surprising considering De Vries has yet to make an impact in Formula 1. Ricciardo is a talented driver who is already part of the Red Bull camp. He’s patiently been waiting for an opportunity to get back on grid. Ricciardo will race in the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I am stoked to be back on track with the Red Bull family!” Ricciardo stated to F1.com.

After 10 races De Vries has not scored points. Alpha Tauri is at the bottom of the constructors championship standings; a foreign position for recent times. His exit was all but guaranteed but the when has now happened. Ricciardo participated in a tire testing event for Red Bull and they loved what they saw in the session and made the move official. Team Principal Christian Horner stated, “It is great to see Daniel hasn’t lost any form while away from racing and that the strides he has been making in his sim sessions translate on track. His times during the tire test were extremely competitive. It was a very impressive drive, and we are excited to see what the rest of the season brings for Daniel on loan at Scuderia AlphaTauri.”

The news comes after it was announced that Alpha Tauri will be rebranded in 2024. The move makes sense from a business and competition stand point.

Max Verstappen (Red Bull) continues to dominate the field with yet another win in Silverstone for the British Grand Prix. Verstappen and Lando Norris had an early exchange for lead position but ultimately the pace of the Red Bull proved to be too much. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) finished P3 in a hard fought podium. Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez (Red Bull) who didn’t make it to Q3 had am impressive drive to finish P8 in an effort that helped him salvaged a points finish. His championship race seems to be dwindling every round with Verstappen in perfect form the last 6 races. Perez is still holding second place int he championship standings but Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) is within 19 points of challenging the second spot.

Verstappen Spoke to the F1 Media

Verstappen stated the following to F1.com, “Of course, very happy that we won again. I mean, 11 wins in a row for the team, I think that’s pretty incredible, but it wasn’t straightforward today. I was doing a bit of drifting on Thursday with marketing, and it felt like I was doing that also in the start, which wasn’t very good – it was very bad. We’ll look into that, because I think the last few starts were actually a lot better, and today wasn’t that great.”

“But at least it made it a bit more exciting, I had to push for it. Lando Norris didn’t really put up a fight, he was very nice to me, but then he actually came back again in the DRS, so he had a lot of pace today – he did very well today.”

In surprising fashion both McLarens finished in the top 5 with Oscar Piastri (McLaren) securing his best finish of the season in P4. Piastri was in third for the majority of the race but lost out on a late pit stop under a safety car and wasn’t able to regain P3 before the checkered flag flew. With the finish Verstappen extends his championship lead to 99 points ahead of Sergio Perez. The double top 5 finish for McLaren secured 30 points for the McLaren side. Mercedes currently sits in second place with 203 points ahead of Aston Martin with 181 points.

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In a mixed weather condition qualifying session Max Verstappen secured pole position ahead of Lando Norris (Mclaren) and surpised P3 finished Oscar Piastri (Mclaren). The qualifying finish is the best Mclaren has achieved all season. Verstappen’s pole position did not come without challenges. Verstappen had an incident in the pit lane that saw his front wing damaged which required repair. This didn’t stop the dutchman. Verstappen’s teammate on the other hand once again had issues in qualifying. Sergio perez has now failed to reach Q3 in 5 straight races which marks his biggest drought since joining the Red Bull Racing camp. Perez will have an uphill battle if her wants to compete for points.

Verstappen Spoke with F1.com

Verstappen had the following words for F1.com, “It’s been quite a crazy qualifying, it’s been quite hectic, also quite slippery in some places. We did our laps and then, in Q3, I was quite surprised to see [Norris and Piastri] there, but it’s great for McLaren as well to be here. From our side, very happy, of course, to be on pole!”

“Especially Q1 and Q2, there were still a few damp spots, so you had to be a little bit careful. Of course, you push close to the limit, but knowing that we have a quick car, you don’t need to go to the 100% limit. I think that’s why in Q3 when you really just go for it, that’s where we then eked out the gap a little bit, but still, it was not a very big gap to them. For us, it’s a great day, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow already.”

Rounding out the top 5 were Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) at P4 and Carlos Sainz (Ferrari). The Ferrari out paced the Mercedes who finished behind in P6 and P7. Alex Albon put his Williams car in the top 10 with a qualifying result that was celebrated after the long drought the team has faced since they were regular podium contenders.

Full Qualifying Results are Below

Check out the F1 RACE HUB to find out how you can catch the action from Silverstone.

Max Verstappen (Red Bull) wins the Austrian Grand Prix on a perfect weekend. Verstappen secured pole position for the sprint race and main grand prix and won both from the front. This win marks 5 wins in a row for the defending champion. Verstappen had the following words with F1.com after the race,“I think the most important [thing] for me was Lap 1, to stay in front. After that we could do our own race.”

“Of course we opted not to box during the Virtual Safety Car, and just follow our normal strategy, and I think that worked out really well. The tire [degradation] was not that high around here and our stints were perfect, so a great day – I enjoyed it a lot!”

He Continued Discussing the Events Under the Virtual Safety Car

“I could see already the few laps before the Virtual Safety Car came out, we were pulling out quite a gap, so I knew I would get them back eventually. I think just following our own plan at the time was the best way forward.”

The FIA stewards appeared to be very strict on track limits this year with multiple drivers receiving penalties from breaching track limits. The penalties prompted all of the teams to adjust starting strategies. There was only one retired from the race when Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) had a mechanical issue that saw his car grid to a halt on lap 14 of the race. We suspect a gearbox failure.

Charles Leclerc has finally returned to the podium after a number of mechanical failures and unlucky track incidents have robbed him of competing for the championship this year. The Ferraris have fallen backwards in terms of performance compared to Red Bull in 2023. However, a podium at the Austrian Grand Prix is never a negative thing. Ferrari will look to build off of this momentum.

Full Austrian Grand Prix Results are Below

After what seemingly was a disappointing qualifying for Sergio Perez (Red Bull Racing). The Mexican came back in true form to earn a P2 finish. After an early challenge with Max Verstappen in variable weather conditions Perez fell back. Verstappen ended up winning the race by 21 seconds. Perez qualified P2 in the sprint shootout which was a vast improvement from his P15 finish in qualifying for the main race.

Perez beat Verstappen off of the line but Verstappen showed his resilience and was able to rebound. Some drivers switched to slicks as the track dried but it appears that staying on intermediates was the dominant strategy. The sprint race was 24 laps. Any ground that would have been made up by the slick tire advantage did not come to fruition in time. For the Perez the finish is welcomed after not making it into Q3 yet again for the Grand Prix. Perez will have an uphill battle in tomorrows race.

After the race Verstappen said to the Formula 1 media, “The start was not ideal, a bit of wheelspin, but after that, after Lap 1, once we got back in the lead, it was good,” said Verstappen. “We were just managing the tyres, knowing that if it wasn’t going to rain anymore, then you know 24 laps on an intermediate is quite a lot, but they were hanging in there.”

“I think of course the last five laps the slicks were quite a bit faster, but I think for us, so far in the lead, it didn’t make sense to pit. We just hung in there with the inters which worked well.”

Elsewhere on the Grid

The Aston Martins of Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso shows great pace securing a double points finish for the side. Aston Martin and Red Bull were the only teams to secure double points finishes in the sprint race. Ahead of the Astons in third was Carlos Sainz whom has been mostly quiet this season. Our assessment is that he has not been overly underperforming or overperforming. Sainz is in a rut where he isn’t really going anywhere. This sprint race podium could be the motivator he needs to get back into podium contention form.

Nico Hulkenberg who finished 6th secured the fastest lap in the sprint race

Austrian Grand Prix Race Results

Pos.	Driver	Team	Time
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	LAP 24
2	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	+21.048
3	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	+23.088
4	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	+29.703
5	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	+30.109
6	Nico Hulkenberg	Haas	+31.297
7	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	+36.602
8	George Russell	Mercedes	+36.611
9	Lando Norris	McLaren	+38.608
10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+46.375
11	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	+49.807
12	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+50.789
13	Alexander Albon	Williams	+52.848
14	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+56.593
15	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	+57.652
16	Yuki Tsunoda	Alpha Tauri	+64.822
17	Nyck De Vries	Alpha Tauri	+65.617
18	Logan Sargeant	Williams	+66.059
19	Guanyu Zhou	Alfa Romeo	+70.825
20	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo	+76.435

Helmut Marko has confirmed that AlphaTauri as we know it will end and will be renamed in 2024. The move comes after Red Bull analyzed the downward turn in the team. AlphaTauri have struggled to find a rhythm in rising to an above middle pack team in the F1 championship. There have been glimpses of brilliance over the past few season with surprise podiums and stunning individual races but nothing with longevity. Red Bull has decided its time to step in and revamp their junior program.

The FIA regulations prohibit certain levels of information sharing between teams. Generally all teams should be acting independently in terms of development.

As reported by GPfans.com, Helmut Marko stated, “AlphaTauri will have two new leaders in 2024, Laurent Mekies and Peter Bayer. There will be new sponsors and a new name. The orientation is clear: follow Red Bull Racing as far as the regulations allow. Own designs are the wrong way to go. Basically, Yuki is having a very good season with unfortunate results and penalties, but the performance is right. With Nyck de Vries, however, we are not satisfied, we are looking at that as well.”

De Vries has had a very disappointing season thus far. He currently has no points and rarely has made it into Q2 during qualifying. There were high expectations from the former F2 world champion. Those expectations are note being met.

Max Verstappen Offer Words During Today’s Austrian Grand Prix Press Conference

As reported by F1.com, current drivers championship leader Max Verstappen (Red Bull) offered the following words on De Vries and his struggles. “I think we all know that this is motorsport in general. “You need to perform and do the best you can. It’s not forever anyway. You can’t force things as well, so it’s about how you work together with your team, gain more experience as well.”

“At the end of the day it doesn’t matter what people above you say. It’s about how then you learn from your weekends and learn from your mistakes, like we all do. And just get on top of the car a little bit more, feel a little bit more comfortable, and definitely don’t force.”

“Just talk to your engineers, what can we do better, what can be worked on and at one point there is this point where things kind of click a little bit more. You can get these results, and if you have one good result maybe it leads to another one, and then you feel a bit more comfortable anyway.

“It’s a lot of things that have to come together at the end of the day. Don’t get too stressed about it, just work hard together with your people involved who can actually make a difference and influence your performance.”

Verstappen continued his Thoughts on De Vries

“But I don’t even need to tell Nyck, he has a lot of experience. But we will see again this weekend. And this is for everyone, it’s not only Nyck. It’s every single weekend, you have to work together with your engineers. But again, this year we have a very quick car, but if I were to sit back and relax and think that everything will come to me, the results at some point will stop coming and you cannot let that happen.”

In the same press conference in Austria Nyck De Vries was asked what he thought he needs to do to improve his results. De Vries stated, “There is no need to force anything. Whenever you are trying hard or trying to force something that is not kind of ready, then it won’t happen, then mistakes will happen. The key is to continue as we are, continue to focus on the job, remain patient. And I think the potential is there, so it is just a matter of time until things come together.

For more up to date F1 news check out F1.com.

During the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix, FIA stewards spotted soccer superstar Neymar Jr. and other guests on the grass of the front straight during the formation lap at the start of the race. FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said the issue is not specific to F1, and has acknowledged the need for change due to safety concerns.

Statements from the FIA President

Sulayem stated, “We must take learnings from the incident at the Spanish Grand Prix. The FIA has been assured by Stefano Domenicali (CEO of Formula 1), that measures are being taken to ensure that there is no repeat of the incident. It is an issue not just in Formula 1 but also in Formula E and World Endurance Championship and other categories from my recent experiences with too many people on the grid at some events. I have no doubt that in all cases, the promoter will adhere to the FIA requirements on safety and security. It is the duty of the FIA to ensure a safe environment for all. Safety in motor sport is the Federation’s main priority.”

The issues with Neymar in Spain come after an earlier season mishap in Australia. The race stewards observed multiple fans, photographers and personnel at the end of the hot pit lane during an active race. As reported by Motorsport.com the World Motor Sport Council has stated, “protecting the health and well-being of everyone on the grid – guests, officials and teams – was the FIA’s priority.” There are rumors of an ongoing investigation by the WMSC as it awaits official reports from the event organizers in Australia and Spain. The goal appears to be corrective action rather than punitive punishment. There must be a balance between securing safety of the formula 1 drivers and staff and the invitation of celebrities for branding. We will report more as this story develops.