The transition of two-time world champion Fernando Alonso to the Aston Martin Formula 1 team in place of Sebastian Vettel, who announced his retirement at the end of the current season, has been in the spotlight since the Hungarian Grand Prix. AFP highlights five highlights worth talking about as the World Cup enters its annual summer break.

Ferrari problems

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto has faced mounting pressure following a recent setback at the Hungarian Grand Prix as Ferrari started Sunday’s race from second and third, with Spain’s Carlos Sainz and Monaco’s Charles Leclerc, but ended up finishing fourth and sixth.

On the other hand, Dutch world champion Max Verstappen and his Mexican teammate Sergio Perez moved from tenth and eleventh to first and fifth, showing teamwork and smart strategy.

Red Bull leads the Constructors’ standings with 431 points ahead of Ferrari (334) and Mercedes (304).

Although Ferrari had the fastest car for most of the season, especially in testing, it squandered that advantage due to bad strategic decisions, driver errors, engine failures and other technical problems, and a lack of consistency and reliability.

Former British Formula One Sky Sports analyst Johnny Herbert called Ferrari’s latest setback “embarrassing”.

The Italian team asked Leclerc, who was 80 points behind in the championship race, to stay on the track on mid-range tires while he led 30 laps back before being called to the pits, he switched to solid tires and rolled back. tournament table.

Binotto remained calm and blamed the unexpected drop in car and tire performance, but promised a series of detailed reviews.

Mercedes restoration

Mercedes bounced back from a rocky and uneven start to the season by renaming seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton not only to revive his belief that he could take his 104th career win, but also to challenge for the driver’s title for a record eighth place. time.

The 37-year-old Briton, who has made five consecutive podiums this season, including two consecutive runners-up, has confirmed that the team is coming back as a competitive force.

“Of course, if we continue at the same pace in the second half of the season, we can start to fight other guys,” Hamilton explained.

Transfer Alonso lights up the season

Alonso’s quick move to replace Vettel has sparked speculation amid expectations of more heat in the driver’s market in 2023.

The first vacant place in the Alpine team, where the obvious candidate is the Australian reserve driver Oscar Piastre, winner of the Formula 3 World Championship in 2020 and the Formula 2 World Championship next year. The young driver, led by former Red Bull driver and compatriot Mark Webber, is one of the next big talents.

There may also be another vacancy at Williams as Canadian Nicholas Latifi’s contract expires this year. Williams may be interested in Piastre if he is not picked up by the Alpine team, or Mercedes reserve driver Nick de Vries.

The Dutch driver excelled in test races with Williams in Spain and Mercedes in France. Also among the candidates with low chances is the name of the British reserve pilot Williams Jamie Chadwick, who this season dominated the only women’s championship, but this move can not be successful.

The future of Germany’s Mick Schumacher, son of legendary seven-time champion Michael, remains another contentious issue as his contract with Haas expires this year.

rejection problem

While the drivers take their holidays to European beaches, many teams will continue to work on resolving the rebound problem that has affected many cars this season.

The FIA ​​intends to introduce measures to address the problem and protect drivers starting with the Belgian Grand Prix, but some teams, notably Red Bull, are still opposed to any changes affecting the ground effect formula introduced this season.

Red Bull has built a car less prone to these problems and the results are commendable.

Team boss Christian Horner has warned that there could be controversy in the team’s technical service center if new rules are introduced midway through the season.

bad behavior

The offensive behavior of some fans in past races and on social media has caused a huge backlash in the Formula 1 world.

Because of this, campaigns were launched to have it dismissed, but there were persistent reports of abusive behavior and videos on social media showing allegations that Verstappen fans had burned Lewis Hamilton-related merchandise at the Hungarian circuit.

“This is unacceptable,” Verstappen said, adding: “I certainly don’t agree with that because it’s disgusting.”

Recent events in Austria-Hungary have followed others, with some driver fans sarcastically cheering and ridiculing drivers who have been involved in accidents.