Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix Prediction: Can Hamilton end Verstappen’s domination?

After the race weekend held at Silverstone, the drivers and teams arrived at the Hungaroring where the Hungarian Grand Prix will be held. Silverstone again brought a few twists and turns in the racing pace, and we saw a new challenger to Red Bull, McLaren, who surprised all their opponents with a phenomenal performance. At the Hungarian Grand Prix, there are changes in qualifying, which is the first test edition of the current season, after which the teams will decide whether this format will be used for the 2024 season. In the first round of qualifying [Q1], the drivers look for further passage exclusively on hard tires. Those who enter the second qualifying session look for a further breakthrough on medium tires. The final part [Q3], the fight for pole position was fought on soft tires. In addition, drivers and teams will experience set reductions. From the previous 13 sets, they will have 11 sets available for the Hungarian Grand Prix. As for the expectations for the race weekend in Budapest, Red Bull has won all the victories in the ten weekends so far, so here they are also the first candidates for the top step of the podium, and their debut with new side panels is expected.

After Russell, Leclerc and Hamilton were the fastest in the training sessions, Lewis Hamilton in Mercedes was the fastest in very exciting qualifying with only three thousandths ahead of Max Verstappen in Red Bull. This is Hamilton's first pole position this season and his ninth at the Hungaroring, setting a record for the number of pole positions at one track! On excellent third position was Lando Norris in McLaren, and his teammate Oscar Piastri will share the second row with him after another excellent qualification for McLaren. They had a fantastic qualification in Alfa Romeo as well. Zhou Guanyu finished fifth, and Valtteri Bottas was seventh. Between them, Ferrari's Charles Leclerc took sixth place. Eighth was Fernando Alonso in Aston Martin. The ninth Sergio Perez should also be a little satisfied, at least after a long time he achieved a place in the top ten. Nico Hulkenberg in Haas is certainly satisfied with his tenth place.

Despite the fact that Silverstone is one of the most demanding tracks in the Formula 1 calendar, the Hungaroring is a different level. Slow corners, which are mostly connected by constant changes of direction (the straights are there just enough to lead to the next corner), should suit Ferrari and Mercedes more. This can be guessed from the analysis of the circuit of Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris at the last race in Silverstone. On every slower part of the track, Leclerc had a small advantage over Norris. But Norris in his McLaren surprised everyone with the performances and Hamilton called McLaren's performance last race a wake-up call, with technical director James Allison admitting that such an unusual step by the competition deserves more attention at Brackley on what McLaren has done with recent upgrades.

Hungary often has high temperatures both in the environment and on the track, since the race is held at the end of July, and the track is positioned in a place with little airflow. Budapest will be a challenge for the management of tire temperatures, as well as for the physical fitness of the drivers. The most common strategy at the Hungaroring is the one with two pit stops, and it is possible to go only once to change tires if the driver can keep one set of tires long enough. But last year, "everything happened" because of the safety cars. All eyes will be on McLaren tomorrow and of course on Hamilton vs Verstappen battle upfront. I think that it's better to bet on Russell who disappointed in the qualifications that he can end in the top 10 and gain points even though he starts as 18th.

OUR PREDICTION: Russel to finish in the top 10