Grand Prix 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

Following a week's break after the thrilling British GP, we're off to Hungary, which traditionally marked the final race before the summer holidays. However, with a reshuffle of the calendar, it's now the penultimate race of the first half, as Spa has been shifted from the first race of the second half to the last race of the first half, the Hungarian Grand Prix is often a captivating statistical event.

• Hungary hosted a Grand Prix within 12 months of receiving the green light after securing the rights from Bernie. They selected Mogyoród for its natural bowl shape, which offers spectacular views. Construction began in October 1985, was completed by July 1986, & the race took place on the 10th of August, 1986.
• The 1986, 1987, and 1988 races were the only F1 races to be held behind the Iron Curtain, a region Bernie Ecclestone was eager to include. & i believe only 1 of 4 major sporting events that took place behind the Iron Curtain. 1973 European Cup Final, 1980 Summer olympics & 1984 Winter Olympics
• The inaugural event attracted 200,000 fans, setting the highest attendance record for nearly a decade. It wasn't until 2014 that another race took place in the former Eastern Bloc, with the event in Sochi.
• The Hungaroring boasts the second-longest continuous streak of hosting F1, having been on the calendar since its inaugural race in 1986 & will continue to until 2032. The only circuit with a longer history is Monza.
• The Hungaroring also has a weird Knack of bringing maiden Achievements for drivers more than anywhere on the calendar. 8 drivers have taken either their Maiden win or Maiden Pole Position at this track Damon Hill, Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, Heikki Kovalainen, Esteban Ocon took their Maiden Victory & Thierry Boutsen, Max Verstappen, George Russell collected their 1st pole positions
• Interestingly if You win in Hungary you don't win the title only 3 drivers since the turn of the millennium have won at the Hungarian & the F1 title in the same season. M Schumacher, Hamilton & Verstappen

On this weekend another race where we go in where 7 drivers & 4 teams all arrive thinking they have a great chance of a victory. after 5 different winners in last 7 races & 4 different polesitters in the last 5 races, who saw this coming even in shanghai. The forecast predicts quite a hot weekend, with temperatures in the 30s and no chance of rain. However, social media videos suggest that there was an almighty storm yesterday that caused disruptions during setup.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1813597448264393122

https://twitter.com/x/status/1813848857559863689

 

[Il_leone]

Hamilton i would say has given back a podium to bottas.

but i am disappointed in lando like multi 21, i feel like there are ways to win & i might have been useless as an F1 driver as i wouldve been to nice for my good. but F1 fans dont forget we all still joke about Multi 21 or austria 2002. weve seen what defying team orders does gilles/ Pironi. Vettel/Webber Alonso/Hamilton. Vettel/Leclerc then theres Prost/Senna Hamilton/Rosberg & Verstappen/Riccardio for other reasons

i know its likely inevitable because close teammates in winning cars always end up hating each other. (is there a set that have remained friends) do you really want to ruin your friendship & have an enemy across other side of the garage for 7 pts.

But Lando should given it back alot earlier lap 55 or earlier then asked the team am i free to race then he couldve won it

This was going to stir up once Lando had the under cut.

Villeneuve and Scheckter got on in 79 but that was mainly GV lost one racd being on 3 wheels and his inexperience being only his 2nd full season

I am more interested in the mood in the Red Bull camp because its essentially Verstappen vs 6 cars and at least two are quicker than him. Doing sim races at night explains his explosive moods which was all to see

 

[cider_and_toast]

it is Newey who makes a difference

I've been wrong about Perez, I thought he was on the wrong end of the Red Bull Verstappen love in.

Turns out, the car hasn't been that great this season and the true level of performance is somewhere between Verstappen being better than it and Perez being worse than it.

 

[cider_and_toast]

If Norris hadn't ****ed the start up, he wouldn't have had to give the place back.

It's such an obvious area he needs to work on. I even took the piss about it yesterday.

 

[Il_leone]

I've been wrong about Perez, I thought he was on the wrong end of the Red Bull Verstappen love in.

Turns out, the car hasn't been that great this season and the true level of performance is somewhere between Verstappen being better than it and Perez being worse than it.

Still they said Newey leaving had no impact. Perez weakness was masked by a superior car.

 

[P1]

Hamilton i would say has given back a podium to bottas.

but i am disappointed in lando like multi 21, i feel like there are ways to win & i might have been useless as an F1 driver as i wouldve been to nice for my good. but F1 fans dont forget we all still joke about Multi 21 or austria 2002. weve seen what defying team orders does gilles/ Pironi. Vettel/Webber Alonso/Hamilton. Vettel/Leclerc then theres Prost/Senna Hamilton/Rosberg & Verstappen/Riccardio for other reasons

i know its likely inevitable because close teammates in winning cars always end up hating each other. (is there a set that have remained friends) do you really want to ruin your friendship & have an enemy across other side of the garage for 7 pts.

But Lando should given it back alot earlier lap 55 or earlier then asked the team am i free to race then he couldve won it

Agree. He should have given it up immediately so he could win it, or not given it up at all. As we have said before he needs to be more of a killer than he is right now.

BTW Hamilton's Bottas example is rare. He definitely has always had a killer instinct to do what is needed.

I thought Coulthard's commentary was telling. He did lose some motivation after he was forced to cede a victory to Hakkinen.

My view is different to others here. I think McLaren did the right thing with the undercut and they should have just owned it and not issued team orders. Or issued mild team orders like - Piastri - we have instructed Lando to let you by if you can get within DRS range. If I had been the McLaren race director I would have deliberately done an undercut and I would not have issued team orders, ensuring Lando maximizes championship points.

 

[Il_leone]

No one likes to be known as no 2

 

[Johnny Carwash]

You’d think that Hamilton leaving a gap as big as Max and Jos’s ego, that they would have collided. We are now witnessing the outcome, of the RedBull management being to scared to rein in Max Verstappen.

 

[Wombat]

I thought that McLaren created such an unnecessary problem for themselves. First, by that point in the race it was obvious that the Merc was no match at all for their cars so they could have just pitted their drivers in the normal order and let them have at it. Even if Lewis had managed to undercut Lando, the superior pace of the McLaren would have allowed Lando to reclaim the position without too much problem. The result, a McL 1-2 anyway, which is what they really wanted (and they would have had Max covered also).

However, with their insisting on pitting Lando first, here is how I (and I think most fans) would like to have seen it done. With Lando having made the undercut (which obviously was unfair to Oscar because the normal pit stop order was changed and this is what allowed the undercut) they could have told Lando to immediately give the position back to Oscar and that they would then be allowed to race each other when the following condition was met in order to rectify Oscar having been screwed over by the change in pit stop order. The condition: Lando was to drop back and restore the gap by which he had trailed Oscar when Lando made his pit stop. At that point, with the situation having been fairly reset to how it was before the unfair pit stop order change (though Oscar would have slightly fresher tires), they would then be allowed to race each other for the win (and there was still plenty enough racing laps left at that point). I think both drivers would have been fine with such an arrangement and it thus would have avoided creating any friction between their drivers and within the team and we fans would have enjoyed seeing them fairly fight for the win. Anyway, just an idea that I wish teams would consider (a little more imagination from the teams couldn't hurt) when similar such cases occur in the future.

 

[F1Brits_90]

You’d think that Hamilton leaving a gap as big as Max and Jos’s ego, that they would have collided. We are now witnessing the outcome, of the RedBull management being to scared to rein in Max Verstappen.

yesterday was fasinating because it was the 1st time ive ever heard. red bull have a go back at any driver. we've all watched on multiple occasions Vettel & Verstappen get away with murder down the years & be defended by the team.

 

[Il_leone]

yesterday was fasinating because it was the 1st time ive ever heard. red bull have a go back at any driver. we've all watched on multiple occasions Vettel & Verstappen get away with murder down the years & be defended by the team.

View attachment 17357

Yesterday Verstappen blamed everyone but himself. I would not be surprised if some people tendered their resignation because they ve had enough.

Its okay if you're winning but its when things are difficult thats when you need people around you

 

[cider_and_toast]

I didn't see the race which is probably a good thing as I'd be seething at McLaren right now but I have watched and re-watched the Verstappen/ Lewis incident.

To say that Lewis could have done more to avoid the collision (he probably could have turned hard outward at the last second) is victim blaming of the highest order and frankly a bloody joke.

You can see in this clip, there's room on the inside, more than a cars width and Hamilton takes the racing line. I think, though my peepers may be deceiving me, he actually slows up to allow Verstappen to pass across his nose.

Verstappen on the other hand arrives way too fast, make no effort to turn inside Hamilton and that's before he locks up. After he does lock up, he just points straight across the corner and after the lock up, still makes no effort to turn.

Absolutely, a 100 percent example of crash to pass.

As already mentioned above, Red Bull disowned that on the radio immediately when in the past there would have been politely worded radio responses aimed directly at the stewards office backing their guy up to the hilt.

Liberty through the FIA have got exactly what they wanted in allowing Verstappen to behave like a dick at every race. Netflix moments, clicks, likes and chat. How wonderful for them.

Verstappen is, was and always will be a plastic champion.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1815060491661873249

 

[Dirty_Camaro]

That was a bit spicy wasn't it... I'm not a fan of team orders, a la McL, but I think enough has been said about that on here.

What I did like witnessing was the obvious, and now very public, internal power struggle at RBR, with MV showing exactly what his critics have been saying about him for the past 2.5 seasons to be true; he is still the same hot headed racer that finds it difficult to race fairly at close quarters. His radio messages with Lambiase were embarrassing to say the least, and I expect that relationship to get more frayed in the coming races.

No one is bigger than the team, Norris showed that (eventually), unfortunately for MV he thinks the team is there to serve him and him alone. You don't get called childish by your race mechanic, only for it to be broadcast to the world, and expect to walk away unhurt.

 

[Il_leone]

i think people should see now Verstappen drives like he was in a computer game

The most absurd ruling until Max kills himself or someone sends him to hospital for good

 

[F1Brits_90]

i get that when your driving them cars at the limit there isnt much room for tactfulness but yeah he cross the line & you could see a crash coming at some point because he was driving angry. i enjoyed the "he moved under braking" radio message because his engineer must have been thinking come on. there seems to be an air of desperation between both Max & lando at the moment its clouding their thinkings

having slept on it, im still disappointed in lando. but mclaren cocked up shouldnt have put him that position, you have to pit Piastri 1st & its incredibly naive to think that a driver is going to give up a victory that they do or dont deserve. also andrea stella needed to be the boss there. reminded me "gentle parenting" you can start nice but at some point youve got to lay the law down, like ross brawn use to do when Hamilton & Rosberg had similar issue. he shouldve got on the radio & told lando that this is an order

 

[F1Brits_90]

with Hamilton i think him saying it was a racing incident influenced the decision but Verstappen hugely outbraked himself & Hamilton has to turn in at some point

 

[Il_leone]

with Hamilton i think him saying it was a racing incident influenced the decision but Verstappen hugely outbraked himself & Hamilton has to turn in at some point

more the fact it was not Norris he hit
Had it been right up the back I think it would have been a slam dunk penalty. When are the race stewards goimg to grow some balls about Verstappen's driving

 

[P1]

i get that when your driving them cars at the limit there isnt much room for tactfulness but yeah he cross the line & you could see a crash coming at some point because he was driving angry. i enjoyed the "he moved under braking" radio message because his engineer must have been thinking come on. there seems to be an air of desperation between both Max & lando at the moment its clouding their thinkings

having slept on it, im still disappointed in lando. but mclaren cocked up shouldnt have put him that position, you have to pit Piastri 1st & its incredibly naive to think that a driver is going to give up a victory that they do or dont deserve. also andrea stella needed to be the boss there. reminded me "gentle parenting" you can start nice but at some point youve got to lay the law down, like ross brawn use to do when Hamilton & Rosberg had similar issue. he shouldve got on the radio & told lando that this is an order

No he should have told Oscar this is a team order. They picked the wrong driver. There could be a real championship race here given what is happening at Red Bull. They need to behave like they are in a close fight for the driver's championship.

At the time I thought the decision for Lando to undercut Oscar was intentional. I thought wow McLaren is serious about the championship. It's a move we have seen Mercedes pull before to get Hamilton ahead on track. But then they proved themselves to be a bunch of clowns by issuing the team orders.

 

[Chris Tea]

Totally unfair to Oscar, but the truth is, at the moment, Lando is faster in the race and McL should have owned their decision and let Lando win.

 

[F1Brits_90]

No he should have told Oscar this is a team order. They picked the wrong driver. There could be a real championship race here given what is happening at Red Bull. They need to behave like they are in a close fight for the driver's championship.

At the time I thought the decision for Lando to undercut Oscar was intentional. I thought wow McLaren is serious about the championship. It's a move we have seen Mercedes pull before to get Hamilton ahead on track. But then they proved themselves to be a bunch of clowns by issuing the team orders.

there is still 11 races to go alot can change max still has to take that engine penalty & who knows what else

Totally unfair to Oscar, but the truth is, at the moment, Lando is faster in the race and McL should have owned their decision and let Lando win.

but if lando was faster why was piastri so comfortable for 45 laps he wasnt hassled at all. he shouldve try to make some moves on him. piastri got the gap up to 4.5 seconds lost a bit in traffic & then got the gap up from 8 tenths to 2.1seconds by the pitstop

Piastri did nothing wrong yesterday.

 

[Chris Tea]

there is still 11 races to go alot can change max still has to take that engine penalty & who knows what else



but if lando was faster why was piastri so comfortable for 45 laps he wasnt hassled at all. he shouldve try to make some moves on him. piastri got the gap up to 4.5 seconds lost a bit in traffic & then got the gap up from 8 tenths to 2.1seconds by the pitstop

Piastri did nothing wrong yesterday.

No, he did not, but in clean air Lando is faster and it's in the teams interest this season to favor Lando.