Author: Shubham Dharmadhikari

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Formula 1

Hungarian GP Review: Piastri’s First Win, Monza 2021 Remake and Perez Struggles

Hungarian GP Review: Piastri's First Win, Monza 2021 Remake and Perez Struggles

Oscar Piastri became the fifth Australian to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix and gave us the seventh different race winner of the year at the Hungarian GP. As Mercedes and McLaren continued their upward trend, Verstappen and Redbull lost ground in both the championships. Here’s a recap of what happened this weekend.

Read the Hungarian GP Preview here.

Free Practice

Source: Formula 1 via Twitter(now X)

Although there were heavy rains at the Hungaroring leading up to the weekend, the first practice session started on a completely dry track with track temperatures touching 50°C. Moving toward the summer shutdown, many teams had brought upgrades to this race; some worked, some didn’t. While both Aston Martin drivers complained about the car’s performance, Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu made it to the top 5 on the timing sheets. Kevin Magnussen, who announced that he would not be racing with Haas next year, had brake issues, finishing nineteenth, just ahead of Ferrari junior Ollie Bearman, who was sitting in for Hulkenburg for his rookie practice session. Sainz topped the session for Ferrari, with a time of 1:18:713 on the soft tyres.

The second practice was quite eventful for Scuderia Ferrari, but not in a way they would’ve liked. The Italian outfit has not had the best of races lately and was looking to make a comeback in this race, but it was made difficult by Charles Leclerc who spun and crashed out of turn four, damaging the left rear of his car. Another driver to spin out of turn four was Zhou Ghuany who nearly collected Sergio Perez as well. Norris topped the second practice with a time of 1:17:788, followed by Verstappen and Sainz.

Saturday was a bit cooler than Friday and it seemed to suit the Mclaren cars as they finished first and second. Tsunoda, Ricciardo, and Albon were having a good day as all three finished in the top 10. On the contrary, 8-time Hungarian Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton had a spin and managed to finish only the tenth fastest. His teammate George Russell managed to finish fourth behind Verstappen. Norris extended his streak from FP2 as he finished fastest with a time of 1:16:098.

Zhou spins and Perez avoids collecting him. Source: Formula 1 via Twitter(now X)

Qualifying

Qualifying started in dry conditions, but there were intermittent showers throughout Q1 and Q2. The rain was not heavy enough to send any of the drivers out on the intermediate tyres. As the track was drying out in Q1, the session was brought to a halt by Perez as he crashed into the wall and brought out the red flag. This comes at a time when Perez is delivering back-to-back poor performances and has the pressure to improve his results to keep the Red Bull seat. Another surprise exit out of Q1 was Russell, who took the blame for his exit on the team radio.

The other Mercedes of Hamilton was on the cusp of getting knocked out in Q2. He just made it through to Q3 in P10 by one-hundredth of a second ahead of Hulkenberg. Both the VCARBs made it to Q3 along with the Astons and the Mclarens. Verstappen also went through in P2 behind Norris

After everyone except Ricciardo had had their first runs in Q3, Norris was on provisional pole. As drivers were setting their second flying laps, Tsunoda crashed out in turn 12, bringing out the red flag with just over 2 minutes to go in the session. After the red flag period ended, Norris maintained the pole position with a time of 1:15:227, and Piastri qualified second, making it an all-Mclaren front row. Verstappen and Sainz shared the second row, followed by Leclerc and Hamilton.

McLaren locks out the front row. Source: Mclaren F1 via Twitter(now X)

The Race Start

After qualifying 20th, Pierre Gasly started the race from the pit lane as he took some power unit parts from outside the allocated pool. At lights out, Verstappen, Piastri, and Hamilton all got a good start but Lando made a poor start from pole. Going into turn one, Piastri took the lead, and Verstappen went off the track and joined in front of Norris. Later, upon intervention from the Red Bull team, Verstappen gave the place back to Norris and took third place ahead of Hamilton. As Verstappen and Russell were starting out of place, they started on hard tyres, with a plan to go longer than everyone in the first stint. Their race didn’t go as per plan initially, as the undercut was much more powerful than the overcut. But over the race duration, they managed to make it to the points-paying positions. Both of them scored 6 points as Russell pitted towards the end and took the point for the fastest lap.

Verstappen goes wide into turn 1. Source: Formula 1 via Twitter(now X)

Old Rival Lock Horns Again

Verstappen and Hamilton were battling each other for the final podium place right from the race start. In the first round of pit stops, Hamilton successfully undercut Verstappen and took third place. But later, with fresher tyres, Verstappen managed to get back past Hamilton. In the second round of pitstops, Hamilton again tried to undercut Verstappen and even succeeded. This time, Verstappen stayed for more laps and came out with a larger tyre delt on Hamilton. With the tyre advantage, he got past Leclerc and in no time was onto Hamilton’s rear wing. Verstappen had been having balance and braking issues throughout the race. It became clear that this frustration was bothering his race craft when he dived down the inside of Hamilton, lost control of the car, and made contact with Hamilton. This contact launched the Red Bull in the air and he later went off the track. After this incident, Verstappen lost a place to Leclerc and finally finished fifth as Hamilton secured the podium place.

Verstappen and Hamilton collide. Source: Formula 1 via Twitter(now X)

Ferrari was quite anonymous during the race and finished fourth and sixth.

Multi 21 at Mclaren

After the first round of pit stops, Piastri was comfortably leading the race from Norris. During this period, he made a mistake and lost some time to Lando. When Hamilton pitted to undercut Verstappen, Mclaren pitted Lando first to cover off Hamilton, but he ended up undercutting Oscar and getting the race lead. Mclaren had initially told Piastri that Norris would give him the place once he pits, but he was having difficulty catching up to Lando as he made one more error in the process.

Piastri dips his wheels in the gravel while chasing Norris. Source: Formula 1 via Twitter(now X)

When Lando was told to give the place back, he didn’t oblige initially, as he too was closing the gap to Verstappen in the drivers’ Championship by winning the race. After much convincing and pleading, he gave the lead to Piastri who won a Formula One Grand Prix for the first time in just the second year of his F1 career.

Piastri wins his first F1 GP. Source : Mclaren F1 via Twitter(now X)

Gasly was the only DNF from the race as he had to retire his car due to a suspected hydraulic leak. Russell took the point for the fastest lap and Piastri was voted as the driver of the day.

Championship Standings After The Hungarian GP

Drivers’ Standings after the Hungarian GP. Source : Formula 1 via Twitter(now X)

Tems’ standings after the Hungarian GP. Source: Formula 1 via Twitter(now X)

Next Up

Formula 1 heads to the iconic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps for the second race of the doubleheader. You can watch all the sessions live in India on F1TV and Fancode.

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Formula 1

Formula 1 British GP: Another Chapter in Verstappen vs Norris?

As the Verstappen-Norris rivalry reaches its boiling point, the British GP will be crucial to see how the two drivers react to the Austria incident on and off the track going forward. Mercedes and McLaren will hope to continue their upward streak while Ferrari will try to return to being competitive.

Read the Austrian GP Review here.

Know The Circuit

The British GP has been on the F1 calendar ever since the inception of the championship in 1950. From 1950 to 1986, the venue rotated between Silverstone, Brands Hatch and Aintree. In 1987, the event permanently settled at the Silverstone Track. The site of this circuit was used as an airfield by the RAF between 1943 and 1946.

Layout of the Silverstone track
Credits: formula1.com

Silverstone is one of the most famous circuits on the F1 calendar. In recent years, it has produced some memorable racing moments like Hamilton winning the race on only three wheels in 2020, the Hamilton – Verstappen crash at the Copse corner in 2021, the horrific crash of Zhou Ghuanyu and Sainz’s first F1 victory in 2022.

This track has two DRS zones, but unlike most tracks on the F1 calendar, the pit straight is not one of them. The second sector consists of some famous high-speed corners like Copse, Maggots and Becketts, and Chapel. Watching the drivers swiftly making their way through this section is a treat for the eyes. The old pit straight or the Hanger Straight is the second DRS zone of the circuit and ends in the Stowe corner which gave us the three-car battle between Hamilton, Leclerc, and Perez in 2022. The 2024 British GP will be 52 laps around this 5.891 km track.

Will Redbull Domination Return?

In the last few races, Redbull hasn’t been performing at the same level as that at the start of the season. McLaren has started catching up in the Constructors’ Championship. In the last 5 races, McLaren has scored 131 points while Redbull has scored only 107 points. The two factors responsible for this are the progress that McLaren is making and Checo’s consistently poor performances for Redbull. This weekend, it would be interesting to see if Redbull can outscore Mclaren and extend their lead in the Constructors’ Championship which is now down to 87 points.

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Mercedes and McLaren Improving

Leading to their home race, both, Mercedes and McLaren have shown significant progress in their pace. McLaren has consistently been on the podium for the last seven races and now poses a considerable threat to Red Bull in the Constructors Championship. The Woking outfit has brought arguably the fastest car to the track in the last couple of races.

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Meanwhile, Mercedes have also been making their way up the field. They are now closer to the sharp end of the field as compared to the start of the season. They are showcasing their progress by achieving pole positions, podiums, and, now, even a win in Austria. Promising performances from these teams only mean an exciting Championship battle, come the end of the season.

Farrari Woes

As Mercedes and McLaren continue to show improvements, Ferrari seems to have dropped away since their outstanding performances in Monaco and Australia. They are having trouble regarding the on-track pace as well as the strategy department. If they do not get their act together, their Championship hopes may not last for long.

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Benchmark for Backmarkers

Haas and RB have pretty much been setting the benchmark for the rest of the teams with Haas scoring double points in the Austrian GP and Ricciardo scoring for RB. Even Alpine has been scoring points consistently in recent races. Williams has been on the back foot while Sauber remains the only team yet to score points.

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Actually, there is a marginal pace difference in these teams, but the midfield is so close, that everyone has to be on their A-game to take away some points from a weekend. This is what provides for exciting racing throughout the field. Let’s hope that this wheel-to-wheel action continues at Silverstone as well.

Schedule and Where To Watch

All sessions this weekend can be watched on F1TV as well as Fancode. The timings of the sessions are given below in IST.

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Formula 1

Max Verstappen Triumphs in Canada as Red Bull Bounces Back: 2024 Canadian Grand Prix Review

(Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool)

The 2024 Canadian Grand Prix delivered a thrilling spectacle filled with unexpected twists and standout performances. In a weekend marked by unpredictable weather and high stakes, Red Bull sought redemption after a challenging outing in Monaco. Max Verstappen secured a commanding victory for Red Bull. McLaren’s Lando Norris came in second after leading the race briefly. Mercedes took home their first trophy of the season as George Russell came in third. However, Ferrari faced a tough weekend, with both cars failing to finish the race.


Free Practice
Mercedes-powered cars led all three practice sessions this weekend, suggesting Red Bull was on the back foot.

Photo credits: Formula 1

Free Practice 1
There was heavy rain before the start of the first practice session, causing a delay in the opening of the pit exit as there was a lot of standing water on the newly resurfaced track. Hamilton was the first driver to explore the track on the green walled intermediate tyres almost halfway into the session.

A short while later, Sauber driver Zhou Guanyu aquaplaned out of turn 4 and collided with the wall, bringing out the red flag. For this session, the number 31 Alpine was sporting 61 as Jack Doohan replaced Esteban Ocon for the first of the year’s two mandatory FP1 rookie sessions. With 5 minutes to go in the session, drivers put on some slick tyres only to find out that the track wasn’t dry enough for the dry tyres. Multiple drivers including Verstappen, Leclerc, and Ricciardo went off the track attempting to find the limits. Mclaren’s Lando Norris set the fastest time of the session of 1:24:435 on the slick tyres while Carlos Sainz set the fastest lap on the intermediate tyres which was 3 seconds off the pace of Norris.

Photo: Formula 1


Free Practice 2
All teams were keen on getting some dry running after a wet FP1, except Ferrari, who sent Leclerc out on intermediates even before the rain hit the track with around 20 minutes to go. The highlights of the session included Alex Albon narrowly avoiding colliding into the ‘Wall of Champions’ and Leclerc taking his Ferrari for a spin in the turn 10 hairpin. The fastest lap of the session was set by last year’s podium finisher Fernando Alonso with a time of 1:15:180 on the soft tyres.


Free Practice 3
The final practice was the first completely dry session of the weekend, resulting in the teams making up for the lost dry running in the first two sessions. The session was briefly halted by the red flag brought out by Zhou Ghuanyu who crashed for the second time this weekend, this time out of turn 2, into the pit exit. A driver who just avoided an incident was Charles Leclerc who corrected a slide out of the final chicane. Verstappen and Albon were not so lucky as they both gave a tap to the ‘Wall of Champions’. Seven-time Canadian GP winner Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time of the session at 1:12:549.

Verstappen brushes the ‘Wall of Champions’. Photo: Formula 1


Qualifying
Qualifying was probably the most anticipated session of the weekend as the pecking order was not exactly clear after the 3 practice sessions.

Q1 began under dry conditions, but rain was expected sometime in Q2. Defending champion Max Verstappen set the fastest time in Q1 while his teammate Sergio Perez, whose 2-year contract extension with Red Bull was announced earlier that week was P16 and eliminated in Q1 for the second race running. Others eliminated in Q1 included both the Saubers, Hulkenberg, and Ocon, while Sargeant advanced into Q2.

The surprise eliminations in Q2 included both the Ferraris with Leclerc in 11th and Sainz, one worse in 12th. There were some spots of rain in Q2 and Q3 but nothing that would cause tyre changes.

Q3 was neck to neck with Russell and Verstappen setting the same fastest time of 1:12:000 and 3-tenths of a second covering the top seven. Russell was on pole as he set the quickest time before Verstappen who qualified second. Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, and Daniel Ricciardo completed the top 5.

Comparison between quali laps of Russell and Verstappen. (Image credits: Formula 1)


The Race
Everybody started the race on the intermediate tyres except both the Haas cars of Magnussen and Hulkenberg who chose the full wets. The Saubers started from the pitlane as they made setup changes after qualifying.

The entire grid made a tentative start owing to the wet conditions with the top four maintaining their positions and Hamilton and Alonso making up a place each. The first lap saw only one incident as Perez made contact with the Alpine of Pierre Gasly, which was deemed as a racing incident by race control, and no penalties were awarded.

Russell leads Verstappen at the start (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool)

The initial conditions proved to be conducive to the extreme wet tyres. Kevin Magnussen made up 11 positions in the first seven laps and his teammate Nico Hulkenberg made up 9 places, but as the track began to dry out the wet tyres began to fall off due to overheating and both the teammates began conceding places. On lap 8, K Mag made a pitstop for intermediate tyres, but a slow pitstop meant all the progress he made earlier became redundant.

In the full wet condition at the start of the race, Russell and Verstappen were pulling away from the Mclarens of Norris and Piastri, but as the track started drying, the Mclarens found some pace and Norris, with DRS enabled, made moves on the Russell and Verstappen, inheriting the lead of the race. Russell also lost out to Verstappen on the 21st lap.

On the 25th lap, Sargeant spun his Williams and crashed into the wall, bringing out the safety car. Verstappen and Russell pitted on lap 26 for new inters and Norris had to go around one more time before pitting as he had crossed the pit entry by the time the Safety Car was deployed. In this case, the undercut worked and Norris narrowly lost the lead of the race to Verstappen, rejoining the race in P3 behind Russell.

Verstappen managed to keep the lead of the race on the safety car restart but further down the field, Albon pulled off a spectacular double overtake for P9 on Ricciardo and Ocon in the span of a single chicane.

Leclerc had to retire the car on lap 34 as a result of some power unit issues he had been having since the start of the race. As the track dried out, the leaders were the last three cars to make the switch to the slick tyres. They made their stops on lap 45 and 46 with Verstappen maintaining the lead of the race. On lap 53 out of 70, Perez had to retire with a broken rear wing after he crashed on his own. The next lap saw two more retirements as Sainz spun and took out an unfortunate Albon with him, bringing out the safety car. Multiple cars pitted under the safety car.

The last laps of the race saw some hard racing from Piastri, Russell, and Hamilton with Russell and Piastri even making contact once in the final chicane. The last retirement of the race took place on the 66th lap as Tsunoda dropped it out of turn 8 while racing with Esteban Ocon. Verstappen took the chequered flag for his 60th win in F1, followed by Norris. Russell finished P3 to take the first podium of the season for Mercedes and Hamilton and Piastri rounded up the top 5. Hamilton set the fastest lap on the last lap and Norris became the Driver of the Day which is decided by fan voting.

“It was a pretty crazy race” -Verstappen.

“A lot of things were happening and we had to be on top of our calls. I think as a team we just did really well today, we remained calm, and I think we pitted at the right time. Of course, the Safety Car worked out nicely for us, but even after that I think we were managing the gaps quite well. I loved it – that was a lot of fun. Those kinds of races, you need them once in a while!” said Verstappen.

Point scorers from the Canadian GP. – (Image: Formula 1)
Championship Standings

Verstappen extended his championship lead at the top while Leclerc scored 0 points allowing Norris to close the gap to him.

Top 10 driver standings after Canadian GP – (Image: Formula 1)



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