03/08/2025
NEWS STORY
Readers of a certain vintage may remember the 1990 event here, when Thierry Boutsen scored an against-the-odds victory by maintaining station and simply not allowing any one to pass, much like Gilles at Jarama almost a decade earlier, and let's not forget Ayrton holding off a frantic Nigel at Monaco.
While everyone focusses on the run to the first corner, the fact is that being one of those circuits where it is notoriously difficult to overtake, Charles Leclerc could take a leaf out of Boutsen's playbook, or indeed that of the former Ferrari legend, today simply by applying the 'they shall not pass' mantra.
It's a pity that Lewis won't be there to help him, but at present the seven-time champion has his own issues with which to deal.
Of course, there is that long run to Turn 1, and these days there is also the question of strategy.
Having taken a shock pole, a shock win might be too much to ask for, but surely nobody would deny Charles and his team something today.
Whatever the Monegasque does the McLaren pair will continue their championship battle, and while victory will either close or open the gap at the top, there is also the psychological effect of going into the break with a win.
George has looked good all weekend, while teammate Kimi was one of those caught out be the ever-changing conditions yesterday, conditions that caught out many including the McLaren pair.
Then there's Aston Martin, and at a time Lewis is suggesting that he's 'past it', fellow veteran Fernando demonstrates that there remains plenty of life in that particular old dog.
Where this weekend's revival comes from, nobody knows, but with Adrian on the payroll we can take a guess.
Gabriel qualifies ahead of his teammate and indeed Max, the Brazilian continuing to impress in the Stake, while Lawson gets the better of his teammate once again. Credit also to Oliver, who starts just ahead of Lewis.
Having taken on a new engine overnight, Yuki will start from the pitlane, the Japanese driver facing a long, frustrating afternoon.
There has been talk of rain, indeed a repeat of the changing conditions witnessed in Belgium, but this does not now appear to be the case. That said, there was a brief shower early this morning, following overnight rain, and as we saw yesterday, if only with the wind and track evolution, things can change... quickly, and while it is bright and sunny at present there are some very dark clouds in the distance.
Consequently, a two-stop strategy using mainly hards and mediums is clearly the fastest. The one-stop running mediums and hard could work for those in the midfield aiming to extend their stints by managing thermal degradation, and hoping for significantly lower temperatures than those seen on Friday and yesterday morning.
Among the two-stop options, the strategy involving all three compounds cannot be ruled out, starting on softs to try and make up places early on and then potentially exploiting clean air after the first pit stop, something that Lewis might consider. Finally, as we know, overtaking is far from easy here and the undercut is highly effective.
While the McLaren pair have one set of fresh hards each, the Ferraris, Mercedes and Max have two, each has one set of fresh mediums.
Talking of Max, while we have learned never to write him off, looking at the RB21 this weekend even the lowest step on the podium appears to be one step too far.
Air temperature is currently 22 degrees C, while the track temperature is 38 degrees, cooler than Friday and Saturday. There's a strong headwind into Turn 1.
The pitlane opens and Bortoleto leads the way, followed by Piastri, Hamilton, Lawson and Hadjar.
All are starting on mediums bar Hamilton and Gasly who are on hards and Sainz, Hulkenberg and Albon who are on softs. Fresh rubber for all bar Alonso and Stroll.
They head off on the formation lap, all get away cleanly.
The grid forms.
They're away! Leclerc gets away brilliantly, while Norris moves right across the track in order to get on the inside of Piastri into Turn 1,
However, the Briton loses out and as Russell is on the outside of Piastri heading into the opening corner, Alonso is on the outside of Norris.
Round they go and as they come out of the hairpin Russell falls behind Piastri while Alonso is on the inside of Norris for Turn 2. Through Turn 3 and Alonso remains ahead of Norris who has dropped from third to fifth in three corners. Indeed, Bortoleto is all over the McLaren driver.
At the end of Lap 1, it's Leclerc, Piastri, Russell, Alonso, Norris, Bortoleto, Stroll, Lawson, Verstappen and Bearman. Verstappen is down to ninth and Hamilton down to 14th.
Verstappen passes Lawson for 8th.
At the start of Lap 3, Norris passes Alonso into Turn 1 as Verstappen subsequently passes Stroll for seventh.
Leading by 1.6s, Leclerc posts a new fastest lap (22.495).
Verstappen is all over Bortoleto. "Let's get through these ASAP," the Dutchman is told.
Bortoleto has been noted for making a false start, as has teammate Hulkenberg.
4.2s down on Norris, Alonso leads a DRS train that essentially comprises the rest of the field.
"Mate, my hand is ****, I took all the gravel," complains Hadjar. The RB driver got a load of gravel thrown up by a car he was following at the start.
No further investigation of Bortoleto's start.
Piastri is asked if a one-stop is possible. "Difficult to know," he admits.
Hulkenberg gets a 5s time penalty for a false start.
"What's going on with these cuts," asks Leclerc, though it isn't clear what he is referring to.
"We need to get past Russell," Norris is urged.
After 12 laps, Alonso has dropped 10.8s behind Norris. Antonelli and Hamilton remain thirteenth and fourteenth.
Colapinto pits at the end of Lap 13.
Next time around Ocon and Albon stop, followed by Sainz at the end of Lap 15.
"We think the wide line in Turn 2 is better," Norris is advised.
"Use the pace, start to push," Piastri is told as Alonso suddenly up his pace.
Verstappen pits at the end of Lap 17, the Dutchman rejoining in 16th, behind Hulkenberg and ahead of Sainz.
"Polan A minus 5," Norris is told. "Box to overtake this lap," his teammate is told.
Piastri pits at the end of Lap 18 and rejoins in 5th ahead of Bortoleto.
"Box, box," Leclerc is told as Ferrari react to Piastri's undercut. Russell also pits.
Check out our Sunday gallery from the Hungaroring here.
Leclerc rejoins in third ahead of Piastri, while Russell is sixth behind Bortoleto.
As Piastri is told that Leclerc may struggle with warm up on his out lap, Verstappen posts a new fastest lap (21.388).
Leclerc passes Alonso for second, 12.4s down on Norris, as Russell makes short work of Bortoleto.
Antonelli pits at the vend of Lap 21, as teammate Russell posts a new fastest lap (20.850).
"Keep talking to us about the tyres," Norris is urged.
Hamilton is all over the rear of tenth-placed Hadjar.
Verstappen passes Hulkenberg for 13th. Moments later he passes Gasly. Next up is Hamilton.
Despite his progress, Verstappen feels the strategy is wrong.
Piastri asks if a one-stop will work. "Difficult," he is told.
At the start of Lap 26, Russell finally passes Alonso on the run to Turn 1. The Mercedes driver is now 7s behind Piastri.
"Bit of a sitting duck behind these guys," says Hamilton as Verstappen closes.
"I can feel what we discussed before the race," says Leclerc, "we need to discuss before doing those things."
"Forty laps on the hard tyre... up for it," Norris is asked. "Why not," he replies.
"We are going to lose the race with these things," says Leclerc, "we are losing so much time."
As Gasly and Hulkenberg battle for 13th, Hamilton and Verstappen appear to touch causing the Ferrari driver to go wide.
Norris is told that Leclerc will be with him within three laps.
Replay shows that Hamilton and Verstappen did not touch.
Bearman pits at the end of Lap 30, rejoining in 20th.
Norris pits at the end of Lap 31, rejoining in fourth, 8.2s down on Rusell and 0.9s ahead of Alonso.
Alonso has yet to pit, as have Bortoleto, Stroll and Lawson who are following him. Hadjar, Hamilton and Gasly - in tenth, eleventh and twelfth - also have yet to stop.
Gasly pits at the end of Lap 32 as Norris falls 9.4s behind Russell but 3.4s clear of Alonso.
Hadjar pits at the end of Lap 34 as Norris posts a new fastest lap (20.752).
"Do you think you can get to the end on another hard," Piastri is asked. "Yes," he replies. Leclerc is likely to follow the same strategy, which will play into Norris's hands.
That Hamilton/Verstappen incident is under investigation.
Colapinto makes his second stop at the end of Lap 36 as Norris posts another fastest lap (20.557).
Stroll finally pits at the end of Lap 37. He rejoins in 12th, just ahead of Albon.
"These are good lap times, keep banging them in," Russell is told. "Just let me drive," he replies.
"Keep the focus," Norris is told.
Alonso pits at the end of Lap 39, rejoining in eighth, ahead of Hamilton, as Piastri is asked if his priority is Leclerc or Norris. "Lando," he replies without hesitation.
Leclerc pits at the end of Lap 40, after McLaren sold Ferrari the dummy. Bortoleto and Lawson also stop.
Stroll passes Hulkenberg for ninth as Norris closes to within 1.4s of Russell who is 9.3s down on the race leader.
Verstappen laughs when told that he might be left out there until the end. "It's not going to be easy," he says.
"I'm happy to extend," says Russell as Ferrari prepares for Hamilton's second stop.
Russell pits at the end of Lap 43, the Mercedes driver rejoining in fourth.
Norris is now second, 8.9s down on his McLaren teammate. He has done 13 laps on his hards while Piastri has done 26 laps.
Antonelli makes a nice pass on Sainz for tenth, as Piastri pits. The Australian rejoins in third, 5.3s down on Leclerc. The McLaren is on fresh hards while the Ferrari driver's are 5 laps old.
"Let's do everything we can for blue flags," urges Norris, "let's be a little more proactive."
"This car is broken, I've got no grip at all," says Bearman, who is told that he does indeed have damage to the rear of his car.
Verstappen pits at the end of Lap 49 as Bearman appears to retire.
Piastri closes to within 1.4s of Leclerc who is 8.2s down on Norris.
Hamilton passes Gasly for fourteenth.
"There's going to be a lot of traffic to go through, we've going to have to look after the front-left," Norris is told.
Piastri makes a clean move on Leclerc out-braking the Ferrari heading into Turn 1, emerging 8.5s down on his McLaren teammate.
Hamilton passes Sainz for 12th.
"We've lost all competitiveness, it's just undrivable," complains Leclerc. He is 4.8s down on Piastri and just 3.9s ahead of Russell. "You just had to listen to me and I would have found a different way managing these issues," he adds. It's a miracle if we finish on the podium."
On Lap 55, both McLaren drivers post PBs.
4.3s ahead of Piastri, the next back-marker that Norris has to deal with is seven-time world champion, Hamilton.
Russell is just 0.631s down on Leclerc. Albine moves aside as he is passed by the Ferrari and the Mercedes.
After 60 laps it's: Norris, Piastri (+ 3.5s), Leclerc (+ 15.4s), Russell (+ 0.6s), Alonso (+ 37s), Bortoleto (+ 3.9s), Stroll (+ 2.3s), Lawson (+ 1.7s) Verstappen (+ 0.4s) and Antonelli (+ 9.5s).
Russell makes a move on Leclerc at the start of Lap 61, but the Ferrari driver slams the door.
"That was moving under braking," complains Russell.
Next time around Russell makes another move and this time Leclerc does visibly move under braking, nonetheless the Mercedes is through.
"That's a penalty," demands Russell of the second incident.
Check out our Sunday gallery from the Hungaroring here.
"Traffic is going to ruin my race," says Norris as he closes on the battle between Antonelli, Hadjar and Hamilton for tenth.
A cheeky, opportunistic move sees Sainz take 15th from Gasly, as his Williams teammate also passes the struggling Alpine driver.
At the start of Lap 66, Piastri is just 0.6s down on his teammate. Leclerc has dropped 6.2s behind Russell.
Gasly gets a 10s time penalty for causing a collision with Sainz.
At the start of Lap 69 Piastri makes a move in Turn but locks-up, giving his teammate some much appreciated breathing space. That was close.
"Remember how we go racing," Piastri is told.
At the start of final lap Piastri isn't close enough as Leclerc gets a 5s time penalty for driving erratically.
Norris takes the flag, followed by Piastri. Russell comes homer third, ahead of Leclerc, Alonso, Bortoleto, Stroll, Lawson, Verstappen and Antonelli.
Hadjar is eleventh, ahead of Hamilton, Hulkenberg, Sainz, Albon, Ocon, Tsunoda, Colapinto and Gasly.
"Really happy with the race today," says Russell. "So happy to be back on the podium, as it was a bit dicey with Charles at some points.
"If you commit to a dive bomb and the driver in front moves, there's not much grip," he adds. "I think we made slight contact, but pleased to make the move."
"I pushed as hard as I could," says Piastri. "When I saw Lando going for a one, I knew I'd have to overtake on track, which is easier said than done around here. Today, we were just on the wrong side of it.
"He didn't have much to lose so it wasn't a huge surprise," adds the Australian, "I don't know if trying to undercut Leclerc was the right call in the end."
"I'm dead, I'm dead!" says Norris. "It was tough," he adds. "We weren't planning on the one-stop at the beginning but after the first lap it was our only chance to get back into things.
"I was pushing flat-out, the perfect result today. I didn't think it would get us the win, I thought it would get us into second as I knew the pace was good.
"It's always a bit of a gamble," he admits, "it requires good laps and no mistakes.
"We are fighting hard, both of us. It is tough but fun racing with Oscar."
In the cool down room Piastri is sitting alone. He is eventually joined by his teammate and Russell.
"Oh my god," say the McLaren pair as they watch the Russell and Leclerc battle. "He didn't drive like that with me," says Russell as he views Piastri's overtake of the Ferrari driver.
As they watch Piastri's failed attempt on Norris, Russell laughs: "Why didn't you T-bone him?"
"That would've been great," replies Norris.
Definitely not what we'd hoped for. A sad end to Leclerc's day which is set to last long into the night as he and Ferrari perform the post-mortem.
A bold gamble by Norris in terms of strategy, and one which promised a barn-storming finish. However, as is so often the case, those promises come thick and fact but eventually fail to deliver.
As much as it is disappointing for Leclerc (and Piastri), Alonso will be delighted, as will Bortoleto and Stroll.
Another good result for Lawson while Verstappen is reduced to the role of bit player, though at least Antonelli gets a point.
Once the circus resumed in four weeks the focus for moist is going to be next season, with upgrades few and far between.
With that in mind the focus will obviously be the title battle, though a few teams and drivers have points to prove.
Will Mercedes keep us waiting for an 'announce' or will they put George out of his misery before he heads off on holiday, and could there be any other 'announces' in the coming weeks.
Enjoy the break.
Check out our Sunday gallery from the Hungaroring here.