F1 Hungarian GP Review: Championship over?
1st August 2022Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the Hungarian Grand Prix, from 10th on the grid, to extend his lead by 80 points over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Ferrari have stepped on their own toes once again this season, and for the second time in a row. Leclerc’s long stint in France cost him the race win at Paul Ricard, two weeks ago, while a questionable strategy call costed him the race win in Hungary, last week. Is the championship over?
Mercedes’ George Russell secured his maiden pole position last week where the British driver pulled an extraordinary lap out of nowhere. This was later followed up by another double-podium finish for the Silver Arrows, for the second time in a row.
Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel made a shocking announcement, in the run up to the Hungarian Grand Prix, as the four-time world champion declared that he was to retire from F1 at the end of the season.
Ferrari’s second blunder
There’s that age old saying: ‘when it rains, it pours.’ This is definitely the case for Ferrari this season after they made their second blunder, in a row. While it can’t all be blamed on the strategy as Leclerc binned it early on in the French Grand Prix, they can still take their portion of blame.
This is their first championship, since 2019, where Ferrari are in contention for both the drivers and constructors titles. However, they have found themselves stepping on their own toes and gotten in their own way.
They looked to be in good form at the beginning of the season, taking two wins in the first three races. But now it’s just painful to watch which will feel even worse for the Ferrari-loving Tifosi. With an 80-point gap in the drivers standings, and a hefty 97-point deficit in the constructors it looks like the championship is now over.
Although it was reported Ferrari’s team principle Mattia Binotto was seen leaving his respective pit wall for a comfort break, I wouldn’t be surprised if – at that moment – Binotto wrote out his resignation letter. Either that, or it was already written out and just required his signature. At the end of the day, the buck has to drop at someone’s feet.
Mercedes: no title but race-win worthy
After the Hungarian Grand Prix, Mercedes (304 points) currently stand 127 points adrift of Red Bull (431pts) at the top of the table, in third place. However, a second-place finish in the constructors looks fairly attainable as the Silver Arrows only stand 30 points away from Ferrari who are second, with 334pts.
At this point, a ninth, consecutive, constructor championship win looks to be completely off the table. To secure the title, it would require the comeback of the last decade (2012-2021). On the other hand, while a title seems out of reach: a win is certainly not.
The Silver Arrows shocked the paddock, on Saturday, after what seemed to be a troublesome weekend for their drivers. Although George Russell failed to set any record sectors on his final Qualifying 3 run, the young Briton pulled a lap out of nowhere to secure his maiden pole position, and Mercedes’ first of the season, ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
Although the undercut – and the race strategy – didn’t work in Mercedes’ favour, they still managed to secure their second double-podium of the season, following their first in France two weeks ago.
Sir Lewis Hamilton Finished P2 ahead of Russell, in P3, which goes to show they have a relatively good car in race trim. Due to this, it feels like it is only a matter of time until they secure their first win of the season – especially if Ferrari keep getting in their own way.
The only problem for the Silver Arrows is that they will have to contend with a very fast Red Bull and a very fast Verstappen.
Sebastian Vettel
The four-time world champion shook a lot of people last weekend – me included, with his announcement. I genuinely thought the German driver still had a few more seasons in him. But, all good things must come to an end.
Fans will certainly remember their favourite moments which involved the #5 driver; checking on McLaren’s Lando Norris after his horrific crash at Spa-Francorchamps (last year), his four years of domination with Red Bull in the early 2010’s and, most recently, his growing relationship with Haas’ Mick Schumacher. As well as some iconic moments in commentary.
“But here comes Sebastian Vettel!”
– David Croft, Sky Sports F1 Commentator (Belgium, 2018)
Perhaps when he was let go from Ferrari, it brought on the inevitable and signalled the beginning of the end for Vettel’s time in F1. While, at the same time, not being able to mimic his sporting hero, Michael Schumacher, and win a world championship with Ferrari could’ve been one of those final nails in the coffin.
It will be sad to see the four-time world champion go but, at the end of the day, he’s got to do what is right for him. We’ve still got nine more races to watch Vettel doing what he enjoys.
That’s it for the article: F1 Hungarian GP Review: Championship over?! What did you think of the Hungarian Grand Prix? Let us know in the comments!
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Hi, I’m Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion.
I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I’ve loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.
Kamron Kent
Hi, I'm Kamron. I created ApexMotorsports.co.uk in the dying embers of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship. It allowed me freedom to write whatever I wanted to write about which was all things motorsports, my passion. I have put a lot of effort in over the years to keep this website in its best shape and I've loved seeing the brand grow consistently, month-on-month, year-on-year. My ambition is to keep watching this brand grow into a primary outlet of news for all things motorsports whilst fueling my desire to pursue a career in sports journalism, specialising in motorsports.