Last year’s Hungarian grand prix at the Hungaroring brought about rain which made for an exciting first few laps. What can be expected this weekend for the last race before the summer break?
Will Lewis Hamilton win back to back races after his home win in Silverstone and claim a record breaking 9th Hungarian grand prix win? Or will we see a revival from the RedBulls seeking to wreak vengeance after the controversial first lap incident between the championship contenders?
The weather is looking somewhat similar to last year’s race with hot temperatures, around 30 degrees, including a roughly 50% chance of rain for the feature race.
This could bring into play many interesting aspects of tyre strategies as we saw last year with Hamilton pitting after only completing 3 laps on intermediates and deciding for medium slicks for his second stint.
RedBull will be chomping at the bit for more points this weekend after the major crash in Silverstone that lead to a hefty repair fee of 1.8 million GBP (3.6 million NZD). Additionally, Perez performed rather underwhelmingly and finished a disappointing 16th last time out only helping to divert the point for fastest lap from the Mercedes drivers.
The new RedBull chassis and repaired engine of Max Verstappen will be tested in FP1 on Friday afternoon.
Max Verstappen has left the crash behind him, mostly disregarding the post-race politics involving RedBull chief Christian Horner who is now extending the investigation of the crash to possibly extract more of a punishment for Mercedes.
The FIA has since moved the implementation time of new rule changes on pitstops to the following Belgian grand prix after the summer break. The association consulted with the 10 teams and agreed that during the COVID era it was difficult for crew members to travel between race weekends to the factories for further training and adaptations in line with the changes.
The pit stop rule changes are supposed to make pit stops safer for all teams which means slowing down pit stops and decreasing the amount of automation involved.
With the possibility of rain, the drivers with rallying backgrounds and formula 1 race experience usually shine in the opening laps. This could hugely benefit drivers such as; Sainz, Stroll, Bottas, Raikkonen, and of course Hamilton.
The Hungarian track involves plenty of bends, limited straights, and is particularly heavy on the brakes.
Will we see a diverse podium to shake up the points haul before the summer break, or will it be a 9th record Hungarian GP win for Sir Lewis Hamilton?
We can’t wait to find out!
Featured image: getty images