Qualification at the 13th stage of the season in Budapest was absolutely unexpectedly won by George Russell in a Mercedes. Both Ferrari drivers are in the top three, although this time Sainz is ahead. Verstappen is only tenth due to power loss.
A very unexpected result. On Friday in training, the German team was just nowhere. Hot weather destroyed their tires, the balance was terrible. But as soon as it got cold and rainy in Budapest, the guys from Brackley perked up.
George Russell didn’t set the absolute best sectors in the final attempt, but he lapped at a very high level, and that was enough to snatch what seemed to be a guaranteed pole position from the riders in red overalls. The Briton was ahead of Carlos Sainz by half a tenth.
But that’s not all. The Mercedes could have taken the entire first row, but Lewis Hamilton didn’t have the DRS wing flat open at the right moment: “I tried to open the DRS and it didn’t work – a bit of bad luck. Feelings in the car are excellent. Of course, pole position or a front row start was achievable. It would be amazing to bring the team to the front row, but this happens , ”- conveys the words of the seven-time champion Motorsport.com .
As a result, Hamilton took only seventh place, and on the track in Budapest it is incredibly difficult to overtake. So the chances of breaking into the top 3 are not too great. But Russell starts from the first position and will try to keep behind the faster competitors.
Ferrari again do not take chances
On the one hand, starting from the second and third positions is a good starting point. On the other hand, the Reds were supposed to beat all competitors in one wicket, but let one of the Mercedes go ahead.
If Sainz was generally satisfied with the performance, then Charles Leclerc could not contain his disappointment: “ Of course, I am a little disappointed with the results of the qualification, even though my main rival in the championship starts from the end of the top ten, ” Leclerc said in an interview after the session. – This was supposed to be our stage, everything foreshadowed that we would dominate here, but in the end we failed to take pole position. Today the conditions on the track and the weather have changed a lot compared to Friday. As a result, I simply could not bring the tires to optimal working condition. Because of this, I didn’t feel confident in the car and couldn’t attack at the limit .”
But in the race, Ferrari still has an excellent chance of winning the double. The speed of the reds is higher than that of the “silver arrows”, so if the riders do not make a mistake, the equipment does not fail, and the strategists do not once again make a laughing stock of themselves, the chances to get ahead of everyone in the race are quite high.
Verstappen failed technique
Max Verstappen on Friday complained about the lack of pace, and Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko was horrified by Ferrari’s pace in the race simulations. Everyone in Milton Keynes said they couldn’t beat the Reds.
But on Saturday it got a little colder, and Red Bull went. In qualifying, Max was consistently among the leaders and had to compete for pole position. But in the very last attempt, the engine suddenly lost power, which is why the rider could not show the result.
Tomorrow the Dutchman will start from the 10th position, so it will be extremely difficult to break even into the top 3. For Max, the purpose of the stage will most likely be to minimize losses. By the way, his partner Checo Perez did not get into the third qualifying segment at all and starts 11th.
The leaders of the middle group took advantage of the mistakes of the tops
Lando Norris performed very well , who once again jumped above his head, and climbed to fourth place. Yes, Verstappen, Hamilton and Perez were lucky with problems, but Lando again gives the result exactly when it is needed.
No less successful was the session of the Alpin car, although this has more likely become a tradition. Esteban Ocon fifth, Fernando Alonso sixth. The French team is battling McLaren for fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship, so a heated battle is expected between Lando, Esteban and Fernando on Sunday. And the leaders will break behind, so the race promises to be very exciting.
