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Key events
As “a lap from nowhere” is always a possibility, there is no truly reliable guide to qualifying. And remember, Mercedes have taken pole position for every main race (Antonelli 6, Russell 4). But FP3 suggested they have a battle on their hands.
Lando Norris saw off the challenge from Ferrari to finish fastest in final practice for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton was quickest at the Hungaroring on Friday, but he ended the last running before qualifying 0.117sec behind Norris’s McLaren.
Hamilton ran wide at the chicane after beating Norris’s first sector to suggest there will be more to come from the seven-time world champion in qualifying.
Kimi Antonelli finished a distant 13th on Friday but the championship leader returned to set the third-fastest lap, just 0.129 sec off the pace. Charles Leclerc was fourth for Ferrari, while George Russell’s troubles appear to have carried over to Hungary.
Russell said Mercedes had solved the engine glitch which scuppered his previous outing in Belgium. However, he was six tenths slower than Norris and nearly half a second back from his teammate, Antonelli. PA Media
Also of interest is that two Aston Martins in 17th and 18th, rather than at the back, and Alonso within 0.5 of 13th.
1 Lando Norris McLaren 1:17.939
2 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.117
3 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +0.129
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.352
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.499
6 George Russell Mercedes +0.602
7 Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.717
8 Isack Hadjar Red Bull +1.004
9 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +1.149
10 Nico Hülkenberg Audi +1.221
11 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi +1.399
12 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1.784
13 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls +1.956
14 Franco Colapinto Alpine +2.116
15 Esteban Ocon Haas +2.356
16 Oliver Bearman Haas +2.373
17 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +2.454
18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +2.994
19 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac +3.360
20 Carlos Sainz Williams +3.467
21 Alexander Albon Williams +3.574
22 Sergio Pérez Cadillac No time
There was no Antonelli in FP1 as Frederik Vesti had a run-out and, as frequently happens in such situations, the Italian was feeling his way a little in FP2. He and Russell were not alone in finding life difficult when the wind got up, while for fans of prancing horses it will have been pleasing to see Charles Leclerc and Hamilton in the top three both times, with the latter third then first and the former first then second:
1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:18.729
2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.148
3 Lando Norris McLaren +0.499
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.692
5 George Russell Mercedes +0.933
6 Isack Hadjar Red Bull +1.071
7 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +1.312
8 Oscar Piastri McLaren +1.372
9 Nico Hülkenberg Audi +1.396
10 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls +1.524
11 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi +1.745
12 Esteban Ocon Haas +1.828
13 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +1.964
14 Pierre Gasly Alpine +2.087
15 Oliver Bearman Haas +2.221
16 Alexander Albon Williams +2.244
17 Carlos Sainz Williams +2.697
18 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac +2.713
19 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +2.990
20 Sergio Pérez Cadillac +3.063
21 Franco Colapinto Alpine +3.063
22 Lance Stroll Aston Martin DNS
While Mercedes have been fixtures of a sort at the front of the grid, Aston Martin have been largely glued to the 11th row. There was the false start over signing with Honda while unaware their former title-winning power-unit team had been disbanded, and that cannot easily be fixed. But there are 16 upgrades to the car for this weekend and maybe a glimmer of hope.
Sure enough, though it’s hard to judge on free practice, especially with five reserve drivers having a run in the first session, Fernando Alonso came in a promising 13th. However, Lance Stroll had a suspension failure and wound up missing FP2 as a result.
Here are the full FP1 timings:
1 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:19.075
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull +0.484
3 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +0.543
4 Isack Hadjar Red Bull +0.922
5 George Russell Mercedes +0.991
6 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi +1.285
7 Frederik Vesti Mercedes +1.392
8 Nico Hülkenberg Audi +1.548
9 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls +1.685
10 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +1.791
11 Lando Norris McLaren +1.949
12 Esteban Ocon Haas +1.976
13 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +2.475
14 Pierre Gasly Alpine +2.629
15 Alexander Albon Williams +2.744
16 Leonardo Fornaroli McLaren +2.815
17 Ryo Hirakawa Haas +2.926
18 Sergio Pérez Cadillac +3.014
19 Paul Aron Alpine +3.093
20 Colton Herta Cadillac +4.043
21 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +4.396
22 Carlos Sainz Williams +4.659
There are bigger problems in F1 than one man and his straight-line speed: the whole grid has had problems caused by the new formula. The problem was exposed again at Silverstone and Spa, two classic circuits that were diminished by the lack of corners to recharge the electrical power, and Lando Norris has been speaking out:
“The thing that’s a shame is that Formula One’s gone too heavily led by the fact it’s a business nowadays and not how can you make the sport the best possible,” he said. “It’s how can you just make the most money as a business and that’s just not what it should simply be. That’s not how a sport should be run.”
As Giles Richards explains:
The use of an almost 50-50 split in electrical power and the internal combustion engine is understood to have been central in attracting manufacturers such as Audi and Honda into F1 this season. However, it has proved hugely unpopular with drivers, who now have to manage their use of energy rather than being able to race flat out and has introduced some variables into performance influenced by the algorithm that governs the deployment of electrical power.
Still, Audi’s presence has brought Allan McNish into the sport, and Giles has been chatting to the sportscar great:
Giles continued:
The shortcomings of the new regulations were shown starkly at the last two rounds at Silverstone and Spa. Both circuits are considered energy-starved, leading to a chorus of complaints over race weekends, and at Spa the lack of power left one of the great tracks an anodyne affair.
The good news for this weekend’s spectacle is that the Hungaroring’s twists and turns will offer mitigation, charging up the electrical power through the braking, meaning the straights are taken flat-out.
F1 has deigned to address Norris’s concerns:
A Formula One spokesman responded to Norris’s comments by saying drivers were listened to more than ever. “The sport on track is, and always will be, the priority,” he said. “Everyone has benefited from the commercial success of Formula One – the drivers included. Decisions are made for the best strategic outcome for everyone – the fans, teams and partners.” Reuters
The good news for Mercedes is that the problem has been fixed, it seems. Russell said as he prepared for the Hungaroring:
“I’m feeling good and glad there are some positive answers that have come back from the battery and it’s eyes forward now. These new power units are just exceptionally complex, and there was something deeply embedded in the calibration of the code that was almost impossible to see unless … you knew exactly what to look for. So I’m glad we have found it. Spa and Silverstone probably exposed the issue just because of the nature of the track.”
So two questions. Will Hungary see a swing back to Russell? And will it finally see the two Mercedes gaining comparable results? Send me your thoughts.
There’s 40 minutes till qualifying. The last few F1 races have brought to mind … cricket, such has been the scale of the swing we have seen, like Bob Massie on rubber and petrol.
The disparity in the fortunes of the two Mercedes means that only once in the last eight rounds have they finished within 10 points of each other, when George Russell was first and Kimi Antonelli third in Austria. In Japan the swing was an unlucky 13 against Russell. In Miami, with the sprint, it was 11. WIth the Canadian sprint it was 23, then 25 in Monaco. Then it was 18 in Russell’s favour in Barcelona and at Silverstone, either side of Austria, before last week’s 25-point swing to Antonelli after Russell’s first-lap exit at Spa.
In the Australian season opener, Russell was first and Antonelli second, with those placings reversed in Japan. Austria is the only full race since where the two cars of the constructors’ title leaders have finished within two places of each other. In 24 full races last season, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished within two places of each other 16 times.
At Silverstone Russell lucked into second place with Antonelli’s mechanical misfortune and was worried by his relative lack of straight-line pace, and that was what the Briton blamed for last Sunday’s Spa crash, rather than Lewis Hamilton for clipping him:
I exited the first corner 35% down … I got to the top of Eau Rouge with 0% battery and quite frankly it was dangerous.
I got swamped by three cars and I shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place, and that is why I am most angry. The incident with Lewis was a racing incident. He didn’t do it on purpose. He was more to blame than I, but he didn’t do anything reckless.
Toto Wolff backed Russell up, saying the problem was “100% on us. George has 100% our support.”
Preamble
Ready for one last F1 fix before the summer break? Tomorrow’s Hungarian Grand Prix is the last action for four weeks, as the circus crew head to the beach, the mountains or wherever for a well-earned rest.
Quite how restful the time off will be depends on what happens now – first in qualifying and then in the race. Will George Russell, in what was supposed to be his long-awaited year, put a dent in Kimi Antonelli’s substantial lead, to cut down on the sighing? Can Lewis Hamilton, in second place between the two Mercedes, build on a decent few weeks for Ferrari, which brought his first win in red, and head off with a smile?
Will Aston Martin’s upgrades suggest there is light at the end of the wind tunnel? What food for thought will Red Bull manage to give Max Verstappen, linked with a move away from the team and even the sport?
And how will the sport’s chiefs rest? There has already been a longer, unscheduled break in the schedule because the Saudi Arabian and Bahrain legs were (minor) casualties of Donald Trump’s Iran war. With the season due to wrap up with a second Middle East tour, in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, the prospects of further cancellations and possible additions to the season – Malaysia in October and Portugal in November – need discussing. And on top of that there’s the whole debate over the new formula, and the drivers’ dissatisfaction with the erosion of racing, which isn’t going away any time soon.
For now, all that will be determined is the grid for tomorrow’s race. Qualifying starts at 3pm; join me for the buildup from 2.15.
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