Hungaroring Tag

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Antonio Giovonazzi’s unofficial lap record at the Hungaroring lasted exactly one day, as Mercedes junior George Russell edged ahead with a stout 1:15.575 on the hypersoft tires as the final in-season test of 2018 came to an end. Russell just beat out Kimi Raikkonen in the Ferrari to set the fastest time of the day by less than a tenth of a second. The two traded fast times for much of the afternoon session until Raikkonen failed to match Russell’s pace on the softest compound. JakeRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Sauber reserve driver and Ferrari junior Antonio Giovinazzi set the headline time today at the Hungaroring when he slapped a set of hypersofts on his SF71H and broke Sebastian Vettel’s track record by over half a second. His 1:15.648 lap was two and a half seconds faster than second place man Marcus Ericsson in the Sauber C37, but it was overshadowed by our first look at what the new 2019 front wings will look like. Red Bull, Force India and Williams all brought prototype front wingsRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The Hungarian Grand Prix has been dominated by the likes of Ferrari and Red Bull in recent years, an anomaly on the calendar, but a chaotic, rain struck qualifying gave us a Mercedes front row lockout and a poorly executed race on the part of Ferrari gave Lewis Hamilton a surprise victory. The race was full of tension, controversy and excitement from the get go. From Red Bull suffering another Renault power unit failure for Max Verstappen, to his team mate Daniel Ricciardo’s heroic overtakes thereRead More

By FIA Lewis Hamilton took his fifth win of 2018 with a comfortable drive to victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix, as Sebastian Vettel survived a late collision with the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas to take second place ahead of Ferrari team-mate Kimi Räikkönen. In the later stages of the race Bottas was then involved in a second collision, with red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo and eventually finished fifth behind the Australian. At the start, Räikkönen made the best start, but though he tried to pass polesitter Hamilton on theRead More

By FIA Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel edged Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas to top the final practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix, but there were spins for both Bottas and team-mate Lewis Hamilton during an up and down session for Mercedes at the Hungaroring. On Friday the Silver Arrows almost a second of Vettel’s pace on ultrasoft tyres and while Bottas got to within a tenth of a second of the German in FP3’s qualifying simulations, both Mercedes drivers struggled for grip, with Hamilton at one stage suggesting that he couldn’t competeRead More

By FIA Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel went quickest in the second free practice session for the this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, finishing just 0.074s ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen. Verstappen’s team-mate Daniel Ricciardo finished in third place ahead of the second Ferrari of Kimi Räikkönen. Mercedes, meanwhile, continued to struggle for ultimate pace, with championship leader Lewis Hamilton fifth, over seven tenths of a second behind Verstappen, Valtteri Bottas took sixth place, a full second behind the leading Red Bull. Verstappen led the way in the early part ofRead More

By FIA Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo went quickest in a tight opening practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix, edging Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel by just under eight hundredths of a second, with Max Verstappen third, just 0.009s behind the German. Though the gap was slim, both Ricciardo and Verstappen set their best times of the session on Pirelli’s soft compound tyres, while Ferrari’s best laps were posted on the ultrasoft tyres. Ricciardo’s session-topping time came in the final half hour of running and his time of 1:17.613, eclipsed Vettel’sRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor The Hungarian Grand Prix was Formula One’s first race behind the Iron Curtain and has taken place every year since 1986 at the Hungaroring in Mogyorod. This year marks the 32nd consecutive running of the Grand Prix which makes it one of the longest running events on the F1 calendar. The tight, twisty track features lots of elevation changes that reward high downforce cars and drivers who give complete commitment. The hot temperatures Hungary experiences this time of year also come into play to make the raceRead More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor Williams Martini Racing has narrowed down its driver search for Lance Stroll’s 2018 partner to three, according to Motorsport Magazine. Current pilot Felipe Massa, who has been with the team since 2014 despite an initial planned retirement prior to the team losing Valtteri Bottas to Mercedes, is said to still be a possibility for the Grove-based outfit. However, the plan is to test out Paul di Resta and Robert Kubica before settling on the 2018 seat. For di Resta, who serves as the team’s reserve driver,Read More

The final day of testing in Budapest was a tale of a remarkable return and an impressive arrival, as Robert Kubica returned to F1 testing for the first time in six years to set the day’s fourth fastest time, while 17-year-old Lando Norris finished in second place, just two tenths of a second behind pacesetter Sebastian Vettel. Driving for Renault, Kubica, who had not driven a contemporary F1 car since suffering serious arm injuries in a 2011 rallying accident, set a best time of 1m18.572s to finish fourth on theRead More