Hungarian GP: Grade School Vibes Only

But We Have a Season on Our Hands Now!

Objectively speaking we have had a great Formula 1 season so far. After Oscar Piastri’s win yesterday, 7 different drivers have won in 13 races. Between Red Bull, McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari, the only driver not to win a race from the top four teams is Checo Perez. Haas is on a heater currently 7th in the constructors, and 9 out of 10 teams have points in the Championship. With the exception of Monaco, over the last few races when we tune in, we truly have no idea who was going to come out on top. 

However, going into Hungary, pundits talked about how hard it is to overtake. It sounded like we were in for more Monaco than Silverstone in terms of race strategy and excitement. 

Boy were they wrong. 

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Oscar Piastri led most of this race, but then was pitted after Lando who was running in 2nd, trying to cover a potential charge from Lewis Hamilton. This put Oscar behind Lando in a move that was done by the team. After some incredibly awkward radio messages, Lando seemingly begrudgingly let Oscar by to allow the Australian to have his first ever Formula 1 win. It was awkward, but this was on the team. McLaren finished 1-2 and are now just 51 points off Red Bull in the Constructors Championship.

Lewis came in 3rd, and of the people atop the racing grid, complained the least. But he still wasn’t very happy with his car, even if he managed to fight off Max Verstappen in the quicker Red Bull over and over. This would be Lewis Hamilton’s 200th podium, and he is now ahead of Checo Perez in the Drivers’ Championship in 6th.

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Speaking of Max, someone was a very grumpy boy yesterday. He was complaining on his radio the entire race. Whether it was a car set up or strategy, he was not a happy panda. He was noticeably frustrated and cursing up a storm. It all came to a head later in the race when trying to pass Lewis he locked up his brakes, failed to turn, and the back of his car was sent airborne as Lewis tried to avoid him and turn into turn 1 which Max failed to do. When Max tried to get on the radio to complain about it, his team basically told him to shut it, almost like they were putting him in timeout after having a tantrum for the entire race. 

This was as bad a race I have seen from Verstappen in a while, and now the Driver and Constructors Championships are in play. He and the Red Bull team need to tighten things up if they hope to secure both again. 

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Further down the grid and not publicized too much was drama at Aston Martin. From what I gather, Fernando Alonzo was told to let Lance Stroll through so he could try to overtake Yuki Tsunoda. It was then relayed that if Lance failed to overtake, then the place would be given back. 

Lance did not overtake, and the place was not given back. Fernando was visibly upset at the end of the race, and I am sure that’s a debrief that should be interesting to say the least. Aston Martin failed to do what McLaren barely managed to do at the front of the grid which was make their drivers follow team orders. 

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The race was not all a shambles and drama though. Ferrari were mostly drama free and collected neat points to keep them in slight contention for the Constructors Championship only 67 points off Red Bull. 

Checo Perez and George Russell both had excellent recovery drives after Checo’s crash and bad fuel management for Russell had both out of position on the grid. 

For the first time in a long time, one could honestly say Checo was the best Red Bull driver on the day, and it wasn’t even close. 

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This was one of the most exciting Formula 1 races in a while, and it shows that there seems to be a potential changing of the guard in terms of who has the best all-around team. McLaren have a real chance to catch Red Bull now in the Constructors Championship, and Max isn’t going to run away with the Drivers’ Championship. Ferrari aren’t far off in terms of points, and while Mercedes are likely too far behind to aim for the top this year, they look to be a factor in every race moving forward. After Spa we get a breather before the final stretch of races, and I think the drivers will be very happy to have that long break.

But for now, I hope that everyone got a hug, juice boxes, and orange slices after that race. I’d say they were sorely needed.

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