Formula 1 – Hungarian Grand Prix: George Russell leads the corners ahead of Ferrari, Max Verstappen X!

Surprise day! After Nicholas Latifi (Williams)’s best time in the rain, on a regular basis, after a good fight against Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) and all the big names on the grid, George Russell (Mercedes) finished first in the Greater Hungary. Grand Prix, Saturday at Hungaroring, in drought; On one of the tracks that seemed his least favorable in the W13, fond of big fast curves and necessarily less comfortable in the tight turns of the Hungarian gate.

And then Mercedes had a terrifying day on Friday, turning their Silver Arrow into a veritable laboratory of comprehensive testing, with 2023 more to be seen than qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix…

Russell’s last insane roll

Teammate Lewis Hamilton, an eight-time Magyar event winner, had his interest nonetheless by sounding the charge in the first quarter, but we thought his best time was just accidental, and that the top players in the 2022 season would quickly regain control. This has also been the case since Max Verstappen dominated Q2 and was forced out of the game in Q3 due to an engine problem that deprived him of power in his crucial career.

Sergio Perez is still struggling on the other Red Bull, and this year’s thirteenth place looked promising for a Scuderia man. But something has completely changed, with the track drenched in rain and the ground temperature around 25°C lower than the day before. Can an outsider stand out and reveal themselves? Honestly, no one thought of that. However ! These changes in driving conditions were enough to change the paperwork, possibly exceeding the capable W13 of anything. It’s often the worst, and perhaps the best in the end.

After the first round of qualifying, the hierarchy looked in place, with Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) taking first at 1’17” 505, and only at risk against Charles Leclerc, third at 0″ 480, with a desire to reshape himself. At the moment, it looks like George Russell (Mercedes) couldn’t get the Spaniard’s ‘Rosa’ in money time, with 0’463 delays to fill it up.

But the young England player was still under pressure, and while his prestigious teammate missed the opportunity, the former Williams driver cut an amazing lap at 1’17” 377, grabbing his first pole position for 0″ 044 against Madrid. Real feeling.

A severe blow to Verstappen and disappointment to Leclerc

With a cry of joy, George Russell welcomed his first major Formula 1 achievement, happy to show the end of the tunnel to the Grays who had long been surprised by a single seat taken from the “porigine”, and notably unsteady. How about Sunday? The 105th Polish man in Formula 1 history refused to stand out for his first victory. And he might be right, with two hot Ferrari drivers, Charles Leclerc taking third on the grid, not without showing his disappointment. With 63 points to make up, Monaco certainly missed a mark on Saturday, given the problems their rival, world number 1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull), only ten, faced.

However, this does not mean that the driver from the emirate will not look in the mirrors of his home on Sunday, when the match kicks off. The somewhat insane scenario of this qualifying session has given him ambitious contenders: Lando Norris (McLaren), Esteban Ocon (Albin), Hungary 2021 winner, Fernando Alonso (Alpine) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes). Not to mention Max Verstappen (Red Bull), the vengeful who is always capable of anything. But their technical staff will have to solve another DRS problem and devise a strategy to allow him to quickly beat Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) and Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) his predecessors on the grid.

A big task in the Austrian team’s perspective, which probably goes hand in hand with the complex race plan that will be drawn up for Sergio Perez, 11. At least, there doesn’t seem to be a real threat pointing beyond the RB18s, nor Guanyu Zhou (Alfa Romeo) nor Kevin Magnussen (Haas).