Formula 1’s Hungarian Grand Prix was a battle between the sport’s current great and the driver many expect to take his mantle at some point. Motorsport Week analyses the key elements from the final pre-summer event.
The lead scrap
It has been a long time coming but in Hungary Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen finally duelled for a grand prix victory. It was a race dictated by a few crucial factors and decisions at critical junctures, with the outcomes aligning to ensure it was Hamilton who picked up the ornate winner’s trophy.
The first crucial moment came on the opening lap. Hamilton felt the performance of his Mercedes W10 plateaued through qualifying, having topped practice, and that left him third on the grid, behind a fired-up Valtteri Bottas. But the Finn’s Turn 1 lock-up provided Hamilton with an opportunity at Turn 2, and the World Champion had the confidence – and trust in his team-mate – to hang the W10 around the outside of his rival through the off-cambered long-radius left-hander. Hamilton pocketed second spot, meaning he was now lead Mercedes, while Bottas’ rapidly-unravelling race meant the team had all its eggs in one basket. In one manner it was a positive, for Hamilton had the primary focus on him, while in another factor it was a negative, for the notion of 'tag-teaming' Verstappen, as mooted post-qualifying, had gone out of the window.
The opening stint underlined that Verstappen and Hamilton were equally-matched, though the fact Hamilton hovered around the two second mark indicated the Mercedes had more pure performance to unlock. The pace of the lead duo was such that they soon cleared the Ferrari drivers from their pit delta, and Red Bull responded first by bringing in Verstappen, emerging in clear air. Mercedes’ only option was to try the alternative approach, keeping Hamilton out for seven additional laps, with the hope that his fresher Hard tyres would yield dividends. That approach almost worked. Even accounting for a tardy pit stop Hamilton sliced into Verstappen’s advantage, reducing a six-second deficit in just a smattering of laps. Verstappen’s defensive work was superbly judged and Hamilton’s audacious attempt around Turn 4 was ultimately fruitless, if spectacular in its attempted execution. At this stage, having dropped 1.5s to Verstappen, Mercedes’ pit wall began to ponder another alternate strategy.
“We were too marginal on the brakes and we couldn’t continue to follow him in that way,” said Wolff. “So the only option to avoid P2 was to take a risk in the hope that the Medium tyre would create an offset.” Mercedes spent seven laps evaluating the tactic, with discussions ongoing between the pit wall, Wolff, and the strategists back at base at Brackley. Eventually chief strategist James Vowles gave it the green light.
Mercedes called in Hamilton on lap 48 and he emerged on fresh Medium tyres needing to reel in Verstappen at a rate of one second per lap. Hamilton’s out-lap was such that Red Bull could not respond, sealing Verstappen’s strategy of prolonging his Hard stint through to the chequered flag. Such was the uncertainty that both drivers informed their respective engineers that they felt they were on the wrong strategy. Verstappen, running the Honda engine to its limit (mode 11 and all the trimmings), set sufficient pace to suggest that Hamilton’s charge would fall short. But Hamilton persevered and once Verstappen hit the cliff there was only one outcome. Hamilton cruised past for win number seven at the Hungaroring, number eight of 2019, and number 81 of his career. Red Bull at least gave Verstappen an extra point by pitting for fresh tyres as soon as the race itself was lost. It was an outstanding drive by Verstappen. And an exceptional one by Hamilton.
“I was thinking ‘I can definitely make this tyre go to the end’, because the first one I got to go quite far,” said Hamilton after his first stop. “But the team said we were going to a two-stop and I was thinking ‘how is this going to work out, I’m going to come out quite far behind’. But you have to put complete faith in your team because they have different viewpoint to you, so we did the stop and I came out on the Mediums and I thought ‘Jeez, I don’t know if these are going to go the distance at the speed I am going to have to go’. Also Max turned up the engine mode and they started doing mid-19s. I started thinking ‘I don’t know if I’m close this gap’. I think the trajectory, they said I was going to catch him with nine laps to go and then that changed super quickly and went to last lap. So after that I had to put all doubt and all question marks out of my mind and go for the best laps I could do every single lap and consistency and not drop any time whatsoever. I had one of the most consistent period of laps that I’d had. I don’t know if he had traffic or mistakes or whatever but the gap started to chop down quite quickly. I think with four or five laps to go I had him four seconds ahead and I could see him in my sights, so maybe he’s struggling with his tyres. So after that I was like ‘OK, we’ve got a serious race on here’. It felt like the steepest wall to climb when you come out that far behind but the team had relaxed faith that we would do it and I’m grateful for their hard work and the decision.”
Verstappen was gracious in defeat, accepting Hamilton “was just clearly faster. Always I think I was struggling a little bit more for grip than him, he could keep the pressure on and of course when you are in second, you can gamble to do a two-stop. It was always about trying to cover him to stay ahead. If you do a two-stop worst case scenario you stay second, and best case you overtake me and that’s what they did.”
Missing In Action
The slow- and medium-speed corners that dominate the Hungaroring, allied to the relative lack of full-throttle sections, meant Ferrari was always likely to struggle, given its previous form in 2019. In qualifying it was half a second off the pace while in race trim its deficit grew to 61 seconds across the 70-lap encounter. Pre-season testing seems a light year ago. Ferrari’s problem in Hungary was that its lack of downforce meant it was sliding the tyres, causing higher wear, limiting its drivers. At the halfway stage (or rather, 12/21 down) of the season no-one in February would have predicted that Ferrari would be without a win. It has not been an abject season, but merely distinctly average, with its general upward trajectory across the hybrid era hitting a stumbling block. Spa and Monza, at least, provide golden opportunities for the SF90 to stretch its legs.
“I think what we should try to explain is not the minute [gap] but how is it possible that maybe a week ago we have the fastest car, and [in Hungary] we are somehow not the fastest,” said team boss Mattia Binotto. “First I think we are lacking maximum downforce, and obviously there are circuits where we are not running to the maximum downforce configurations, so in that case it will be different. Certainly we are seeking more downforce already on this current season. In the second half of the season we will try and put whatever max downforce we can put on the car and the car next year will require even more. We know that our competitors as well are developing their cars for next year on more downforce, so we cannot consider the gap of today as the single target. It has to be more than that.”
A bad time for a bad race
Valtteri Bottas has been within reach of Lewis Hamilton in the title battle for much of 2019 but 10 laps spread across two races in the space of eight days has undone his hard work and left him facing a summer of uncertainty. These are small margins. A wheel dipped onto a wet kerb. A lock-up. A movement of the steering wheel with a fractionally incorrect angle. But these have contributed to Bottas now being 62 points behind Hamilton, and with Mercedes making it clear that he and Esteban Ocon are under consideration for 2020 it raises the pressure on the Finn.
“That’s the thing in this sport, you try to be on the limit, calculating the risks, just enough,” said Bottas. “Pushing hard, trying to take the opportunities but trying not to f*** up like today. That’s how it goes. For sure when contract-wise you’re on the limit, it never helps. Some people might think some drivers perform better under pressure when things are on the limit but, for sure, for me it doesn’t help. I can’t say that going into Turn 1 I was thinking about it – I don’t think so… But I was very hungry for the win, not matter if there are contract talks or not. I wanted to win this race, so I took the risk. Today just didn’t go quite as planned, it could have been a lot different, we’re talking about centimeters here and there, so… that’s how it goes.”
Prior to Hockenheim the general consensus was that Bottas was relatively safe for 2020, but the last two events have undoubtedly left the door a little wider open for Ocon.
Those in need of a summer reset
Formula 1 has spent the last five months jetting across the globe, with 12 races having taken place across several continents and multiple time zones. The four-week break is an ideal time to reset, relax and reflect, with more than a few drivers and teams in need of a switch-off. Chief among those is Pierre Gasly, who has had a largely horrible first season with Red Bull to the extent that he is a smattering of points clear of lead midfielder Carlos Sainz Jr. Had Verstappen’s season started in Austria he would already be ahead of his team-mate. There is a talented racing driver in there somewhere and it is up to him, his crew and the wider Red Bull set-up to extract his potential. Renault entered 2019 aiming to close the gap to the top three teams but instead it holds a lacklustre sixth in the standings, with star recruit Daniel Ricciardo and perennial midfielder Nico Hulkenberg thwarted by the fluctuating pace and poor reliability of the R.S.19. The team has just 39 points. Hulkenberg’s blunt assessment of the team’s trajectory across the last 18 months suggests this is a team that has lost its way. Renault’s main challenger in 2018 was Haas but this year the team is still struggling to understand its VF-19, a car which may go down as among the most confusing in Formula 1 history. Romain Grosjean is running the Melbourne-spec car, Kevin Magnussen the current-spec car, and their session-by-session pace changes are causing heads to be scratched at Formula 1’s newest team. The temperature, and tyres, plays an influential factor, but the team has yet to reach a definitive conclusion on its direction, and that is among the biggest concern. And how much is down to the car, and how much to the driver? At the back, meanwhile, is Robert Kubica. He has been beaten by Russell in each qualifying session, usually by a comprehensive margin, and in race trim has typically played second-fiddle. He picked up a point (provisionally) at Hockenheim, but the fairy-tale return has had substantial troughs and very few peaks.
Those who have impressed
Aside from the obvious candidates – namely Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, who have operated on a level higher than anyone else – several others can head into summer in a buoyant mood. It has been a good half season for McLaren, which is firmly on an upward trend, with its MCL34 competitive at a variety of tracks. It is not just the pace of the car that has caught the eye, but the overall performance and slickness of the team – Lando Norris’ slow stop at the weekend not withstanding – as it has often come away scoring well even when it did not have the fourth-fastest car. Sainz Jr. in particular has had an outstanding campaign so far, confident in his position at the team – freed from the Red Bull scheme – and delivering repeatedly on Sundays. Kimi Raikkonen has slotted into Alfa Romeo with ease and has led the team’s charge more often than not in 2019. Team-mate Antonio Giovinazzi has a tough task, and a useful teacher, but Raikkonen’s displays this year have underlined that, approaching 40-years-old, he remains a formidable and inspired racer. And at the back of the field a note of praise for George Russell. After a horrible weekend at Hockenheim, by his standards, he was on the back of the midfield in Hungary, almost made Q2 (with his lap earning a round of applause in the press room) and then beat three rivals – including team-mate Kubica – in the race. A further weekend of understanding the updates Williams brought to Hockenheim yielded dividends but the biggest gain came in getting a better handling on Pirelli’s notoriously tricky rubber. If Russell, and Williams, can continue this sort of momentum then it should be in the mix more regularly, which would be a well-earned reward for both parties.
Seb cleans up
Formula 1 is not exactly an arena in which green credentials can be shouted, though the sport does try its best where it can. Teams have been trying to ditch plastic where they can, and save energy, while even the cars are among the most fantastically efficient in the world. But there are still drawbacks. During the TV pen on Sunday Sebastian Vettel noticed a water bottle rolling around the floor and took up a point with a handful of nearby journalists and producers. He had noticed the trend of plastic bottles and waste in the TV pen and was frustrated that it had been left in such a mess. A handful of people dutifully cleared up the press pen, filling a large (ironically) plastic bag with waste, and sent the picture to Vettel’s press officer to show a promise had been kept. Vettel is one of the few drivers who sees the bigger picture in the world and from now on, through his remark, the press pen will be kept cleaner and more environmentally friendly, with journalists switching to reusable bottles over plastic containers.
Summer break
Formula 1 is now on its four-week summer break (which is closer to three weeks), during which the factories must shut down for a 14-day period. It is a well-deserved period of rest for those who have been putting in gruelling hours at various locations across the globe. That’s not to say that those with active minds will not be sat around pondering front wing updates or bargeboard configurations! It has been a season so far with ups and downs, with some spectacular grands prix (and a few snooze-fests), and plenty of intrigue through the paddock. We’ll still be around through the next handful of weeks to keep you up-to-date across the summer period, with features, reviews and insight, and thanks for staying tuned to our little corner of the internet through the season so far.
