Formula 1, Round 13: The 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix

We’ve hit the halfway mark in the 2024 season, and what a ride it’s been! With six different winners in the first 12 races and four teams battling it out regularly, there’s plenty to chat about as we gear up for the final double-header before the summer break at the Hungaroring for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Budapest – Hungaroring Stats

When was the track built?

• Construction began in 1985.
• The track was race-ready just nine months later.
• Initially, the Hungarian government considered reviving the old Nepliget park circuit in Budapest but opted for a purpose-built facility instead.

When was its first Grand Prix?

• The first Grand Prix was in 1986.
• Nelson Piquet won the inaugural race, famously overtaking Ayrton Senna’s Lotus from the outside to take the lead.

What’s the circuit like?

• The Hungaroring is often compared to a karting circuit due to the lack of straights.
• Several series of corners necessitate Monaco levels of downforce.
• A well-sorted chassis is more beneficial than horsepower due to the short straights.
• Drivers relish the challenge, with finding a good rhythm being key to setting fast lap times.

Are Mercedes Back?

This isn’t quite the question we were asking before the British Grand Prix, even though Mercedes had won the previous race in Austria. That win came largely due to George Russell capitalizing on a collision between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris at the Red Bull Ring.

But Silverstone was a different story. Mercedes locked out the front row with a stellar qualifying performance, ran one-two for a significant portion of the race before the rain hit, and then Lewis Hamilton clinched his first win since 2021, marking back-to-back victories for the team.

Both Russell and team principal Toto Wolff are convinced that the pace shown in Great Britain is solid proof that Mercedes have a car capable of competing for regular wins again, taking on the likes of Red Bull and McLaren. And Hungary is one of two races where Mercedes are expected to bring further upgrades, according to Wolff’s comments last weekend.

On top of that, the Hungaroring was where Hamilton last secured pole in 2023, giving the seven-time world champion a chance to match his new record of nine wins at one circuit (he’s at eight in Budapest, having reached nine at Silverstone). It could be another strong weekend for Mercedes.

McLaren’s Quest for the Missing ‘winning’ Piece

While Mercedes’ success at Silverstone and Hamilton’s excellent performance to win such a topsy-turvy race grabbed headlines, there were some big questions hanging over McLaren.

Early pit stop decisions cost Oscar Piastri significant time, dropping him out of the podium fight when he had been running a solid second. Then, the final stop for Lando Norris saw McLaren fit soft tyres that degraded too quickly, rather than the new set of mediums they had saved.

This choice was especially painful because the medium tyre was one that neither Mercedes nor Red Bull had, yet McLaren didn’t capitalize and had to settle for third and fourth.

Since Norris’s win in Miami back in May, McLaren has been in contention for victory in Imola, Canada, Spain, and Austria, but they’ve fallen short each time. The biggest gap to the winner in those four races was just 3.8 seconds in Canada, showing how close McLaren really is.

Sometimes, teams can do everything right and still lose out by a tiny margin, but it’s the instances where mistakes have cost them a win that McLaren will be keen to clean up, building more confidence in their race strategy and execution.

Ferrari’s Chance to Strike Back

Given how unpredictable this season has been, it feels almost strange to talk about McLaren’s struggles when they’ve made such progress, and then turn to the even bigger frustrations at Ferrari.

After Monaco, things looked so promising. Charles Leclerc won his home race from pole, and an upgrade introduced in Imola seemed to be working well. There was even a possibility that Ferrari could take the lead in the constructors’ championship in Canada, with Leclerc closing in the drivers’ standings…

Instead, Leclerc has only scored 12 points in the four races since, and Ferrari are now 71 points behind Red Bull and only seven ahead of McLaren.

The triple header was particularly tough as updates brought to Spain didn’t deliver the expected on-track performance. However, Ferrari has now had a week to analyze the data and figure out how to get more out of their car.

With two very different tracks coming up in Hungary and Belgium, Ferrari has an opportunity to get back on track over the next two weeks.

Sergio Perez Under Pressure

With such an intense fight at the front this year, every team is facing challenges, but perhaps none more so than Red Bull with Sergio Perez’s form.

Perez started the season strong, with three second-place finishes and one third in the first five rounds. But as McLaren, Mercedes, and Ferrari have become more competitive, Perez’s results have taken a hit.

In the last six races, including a Sprint in Austria, Perez has scored just 15 points. Meanwhile, Max Verstappen has racked up 119 points in the same period, keeping Red Bull comfortably ahead in the constructors’ championship.

Team principal Christian Horner has made it clear that Red Bull needs Perez to score more heavily and consistently as soon as possible, with the next two weekends being crucial before the summer break.

A good performance in Budapest could ease some of the pressure on Perez. He has shown strong form at the next two venues, finishing third in Hungary last year and second at Spa-Francorchamps for the past two seasons.

Driver Market Movements

If Perez continues to struggle, he could become a key player in potential driver market movements over the summer break, despite signing a new contract earlier this season.

Elsewhere, there are known vacancies for 2025 at Mercedes, Red Bull, Haas, Alpine, Sauber, and Williams. With one seat available at each of these teams, the next two weeks are a prime time for meetings and deals to be finalized.

After an unusually early start to the silly season this year, the period before the summer break is often when more movements occur, as many teams and drivers aim for clarity about their plans for the following year.

Carlos Sainz is central to many discussions – a situation extended by Toto Wolff’s suggestion that he could still be interested in him for Mercedes. Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo, Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, and Logan Sargeant are all waiting to find out (or announce) their futures.