Wednesday Racing Thread
Free for all subscribers - F1 is the primary topic but all are welcome
Raise your hand if you thought Lewis Hamilton had a chance of winning the Hungarian GP.
Honestly, my hand is about halfway up, because there was nothing particularly artificial or unconvincing about Hamilton’s pole lap — and if what Max Verstappen said in the post-qualifying interviews was true, Red Bull didn’t seem to have a workable setup in Hungary. Surely Lewis would drive out of DRS range with a brilliant start then play defense for 65 laps while Verstappen squabbled with a pair of remarkably rapid McLarens. Without being sarcastic or disrespectful, few people are as good at starting in front of the field as Lewis Hamilton. And the Red Bull has been weak when the lights go out, no matter who is driving it.
Ah, but Red Bull’s been working on that weak spot, as ably demonstrated in the first lap. As is my custom here, I’ll offer a few random observations:
I’ve been hard on Oscar Piastri this year but he certainly took a bold start. Compared to Lando, however, Oscar is hard on his tires and perhaps a little bit down on confidence. His post-race interviews made it plain that he holds himself responsible for falling off the podium. That much self-awareness is rare in a young F1 driver. So maybe we will see great things from him soon.
How was Sergio Perez the Driver of the Day for going 9th to 3rd when George Russell went 18th to 6th, and likely would have had 5th in a 73-lap race? Conspiracy theory time: Mercedes is closing ranks against Princess George to focus on Hamilton. Certainly there was little to zero thought given to putting George in the right spot during Q1. Perhaps Lewis made it clear that he wouldn’t renew his contract unless the playing field got a solid tilt in his favor.
Conspiracy theory time part 2: Gosh, they really gave Yuki Tsunoda a bad strategy and some slow pitstops, didn’t they? Whatever helps sell that Danny Ric merchandise, I suppose.
My heart breaks for Zhou Guanyu. There’s nothing as terrible as qualifying well then having your race immediately fall apart. It doesn’t even look like it was his fault.
Aston Martin should, I don’t know, make the car better or something. This has “Brawn F1” written all over it in terms of across-the-season performance.
In a world where Max Verstappen didn’t exist, this would be the most interesting F1 season in a very long time. Literally anything can happen from the 2nd spot on the podium all the way to the back of the grid. The order shakes up massively in every race. Backmarker teams are finishing in the top 8, Ferrari is self-destructing to the point where both drivers are running their own strategy from the cockpit.
If I you asked me to predict who else besides Max could win this year, I’m not sure I’d have an obvious choice. Lando? Lewis? Fernando?
The other guys
This week has been too busy for me to catch up on what’s happening elsewhere in motorsport, so as always please feel free to start the discussion below.
0-I was confident that Max / Red Bull would win on Sunday, because it was much warmer in comparison with Saturday; recall that the cars are in parc ferme after qualifying. The Mercedes cars ran with aggressive (i.e., limited) bodywork cooling and so had to turn down the engines when it was warmer. That also meant that Max’s setup favored the race, whereas Merc’s favored qualifying. Max lost the pole by .003 seconds and beat Lewis by 39 seconds in the race.
1-Zhou Guanyu is likely set to lose his seat next year, as the Frankenstein monster of Sauber-Audi-Alfa is set to lose the Alfa Romeo sponsorship ($15MM / year), and the team will be owned 50-50 by Finn Rausing (Sauber) and Audi / VW. Rausing is reportedly unwilling to fund the shortfall from the departing Alfa Romeo sponsorship, coupled with the likely poor Constructors Championship finishing order. Which means a pay driver next to Valtteri.
2-Alonso / Aston Martin claim that the Pirelli tire change at Silverstone favored McLaren and Mercedes and disfavored Red Bull and Aston Martin…
3-Strong rumors that Otmar Szafnauer - coincidentally the subject of this week’s F1 Beyond The Grid podcast - will not be the Alpine team principal for much longer.
OT- Sinead O’Connor RIP. May flights of Angels carry her home.