The Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix, at the Hungaroring, brought one of the most atypical qualifications of the season. Ferrari dominated free practice on Friday, Nicholas Latifi surprised by setting the fastest time with Williams in a third practice marked by heavy rain and, already in qualifying, George Russell stole the pole position to Carlos Sainz even when he fell apart.
Thus, the 24-year-old Briton won the first pole of his career, becoming the 105th driver in Formula 1 history to lead a Grand Prix, and he had a golden opportunity to seek victory in a race in which Leclerc started from third position, in which Hamilton started from the 7th. º and in which Verstappen did not pass the 10th position. In the antechamber on Sunday, both Verstappen and Pérez made changes to Red Bull’s engine components: without penalties, as they remain within the limits imposed by the FIA for the entire season, and after the Dutchman complained of a lack of power at the end of qualifying.
It was late in the day: George Russell secures his first career pole position at the Hungarian GP
“I wasn’t even thinking about myself, to be honest. But for Mercedes, as a team, it’s huge. This Friday was probably our worst Friday of the entire season. We were all here until 11 at night thinking. Morale was very low, we felt very lost. go back and grab the pole position 24 hours later is an amazing feeling because I know what we went through last night. And I know that qualifying doesn’t give you points but to have this result, for all of us, is really gigantic”, said George Russell, this Saturday, just after qualifying.
However, this Sunday, the threat of rain continued: with the Grand Prix starting at 2:00 p.m., the weather forecast in the Hungarian circuit area pointed to the possibility of heavy rain at 2:30 p.m. Early on, Russell held the lead despite Sainz’s charge into the first corner and kept the lead, even gaining a comfortable lead over the Ferraris after the end of a car insurance caused by a collision between Magnussen and Ricciardo that left some debris on the track. Hamilton gained two positions at the start of the race, moving up to fifth, and Verstappen also started this kind of comeback, going into lap 10 already in sixth place and chasing down the Briton.
LAP 9/70
Ah, the open road!
Russell leads, Sainz two and a half seconds behind. #Hungarian GP #F1 pic.twitter.com/7wSS9wJFY3
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 31, 2022
George Russell was the first of the forwards to stop, to fit medium tyres, and although he left the Ferraris behind, he regained the lead after stops by Sainz and Leclerc and also by Hamilton and Verstappen. After reminding the team that he was faster than his partner, that is, that he was the one who had to launch himself for victory, Leclerc began to pressure Russell through the DRS and to scout overtaking attempts, eventually taking the lead on lap 30.
Further back, Verstappen decided to stop before his rivals to finally take advantage of stops by Sainz, Russell and Leclerc a few laps later to gain a few seconds. Red Bull’s strategy worked and the Dutchman, at a time when he had already gained more positions, moved ahead of Russell and behind Leclerc, even achieving first place in the race with the valuable help of Pérez, who delayed the Monegasque on the finish straight.
LAP 41/70
Championship rivals battle it out on the main straight as Verstappen overtakes Leclerc #Hungarian GP #F1 pic.twitter.com/jlpN1MnJvI
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 31, 2022
Verstappen still risked it all with a spin, losing the rear of the car at Turn 13 and letting Leclerc pass, but he caught the Monegasque again using DRS and didn’t let go of the lead. In a Grand Prix where he started tenth, The Dutch driver took advantage of Red Bull’s virtually perfect pit stop strategy and won in Hungary on a true day of champions, reinforcing his lead in the overall standings. Hamilton and Russell completed the Mercedes podium, Sainz was 4th and Leclerc did not go further than sixth, with Pérez finishing between the two Ferraris.
MAX VERSTAPPEN WINS!!!
Hamilton sits second with teammate Russell coming home in third#Hungarian GP #F1 pic.twitter.com/axK773gQQq
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 31, 2022
RACE CLASSIFICATION (LAP 70/70)
P10 begins, P1 ends: which drive from @Max33Verstappen ????????????#Hungarian GP #F1 pic.twitter.com/qQp0ZJFCom
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 31, 2022
Source: Observadora
