The Thick of It (But Only in Some Aspects)
An expletive-free recap of an expletive-filled 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix
Formula One is back! The Hungarian Grand Prix last weekend provided yet another race filled with fireworks, this time with plenty of f-bombs to go around. And at the end of it all, we got our seventh different race winner this season! Here’s how Round 13 of what we can now definitely call an entertaining season played out:
McLaren finally get their 1-2. They still found ways to mess it up.
Oscar Piastri: 1st (Qualified 2nd)
Lando Norris: 2nd (Qualified 1st)
Oscar Piastri is a Formula One race winner! McLaren have their first 1-2 finish since the 2021 Italian Grand Prix! If you follow Formula One and/or read Omakase Formula (if it’s the latter, thank you so much), you’ll know this was a question of when and not if. But this might go down as one of the most awkward team 1-2 finishes in recent memory. And that’s just because it’s pretty much impossible to top Malaysia 2013.
It all went wrong when it came time for the second round of pit stops. Piastri had ran wide earlier in the race and saw the lead he had held and built up since the first corner of the first lap dwindle to less than two seconds. At that stage of the race, McLaren should’ve pitted him first. Even though he would technically relinquish the lead, Hungaroring’s abrasive track surface meant that undercutting (pitting before other cars in order to gain track position on newer tires while your opponent is on older tires and still needs to pit) would lead him to regain the position once Norris came into the pits. After those final stops, they would allow both cars to battle it out and let the better driver on the day win.
But this is McLaren, so exactly none of that happened.
The team elected to pit Norris first and reassure Piastri they’d swap positions once Piastri had pitted. I know what you’re probably thinking. For the record, everyone watching was probably thinking the same thing. McLaren, however, don’t seem to have a very good grasp of Formula One history despite being one of its key players. So, they let the ghost of Malaysia 2013 run rampant. After his second pit stop, Piastri ran wide again and Norris built up a 6 second lead. At that point, it was clear Piastri couldn’t catch up. But the team needed Norris to yield because that’s exactly what they’d already promised Piastri would happen.
Now imagine you’re Norris. You’re second in the Drivers’ Championship, leading a race the championship leader is struggling in, and clearly lapping faster than your teammate in second place at that point. Would you yield just because your team told you to?
Understandably, Norris was reluctant. At first, he said he would yield if Piastri caught up. Once that was out of the question, he rightfully pointed out the team was responsible for this situation and that they should’ve pitted Piastri first. Across twenty increasingly uncomfortable laps, the whole world listened in as McLaren begged and then emotionally blackmailed Norris into conceding the position, which finally occurred on Lap 68 of 70. The ghost of Malaysia 2013 may have been vanquished, but the awkwardness of the entire situation clouded what should’ve been a celebratory moment for both McLaren and Piastri and led to a lot of unfair hate directed towards Norris.
And because McLaren are an ambitious team and want to be on top, it won’t come as a surprise they were also the ones who gave themselves a run for their money in the cringe department. Remember when I said history didn’t seem to be their forte? After the race, McLaren’s social media team uploaded a (now deleted) post celebrating the “youngest 1-2 finish in Formula One history.” Except it wasn’t. Nor was it the youngest 1-2 by a team in history. In fact, it wasn’t even the youngest 1-2 in McLaren team history. At least this fiasco was one they could laugh off.
Lewis Hamilton is the main character at Mercedes once more
Lewis Hamilton: 3rd (Qualified 5th)
George Russell: 8th (Qualified 17th)
Another week, another milestone for Lewis Hamilton. This podium finish made Hamilton the first driver in history to have 200 podiums. You read that number correctly. Avengers take note: with how Hamilton collects milestones left and right I’m certain he would’ve gotten six Infinity Stones in less time than it took Thanos to snap his fingers.
After being caught out by the red flag that came up during qualifying when Sergio Perez crashed, George Russell was forced to start the race from 17th. That he brought the car up to 8th by the end of the race on a track that has limited overtaking opportunities means he should still feel good about his weekend.
Ferrari stop the slide, but the real tests lie ahead.
Charles Leclerc: 4th (Qualified 6th)
Carlos Sainz: 6th (Qualified 4th)
Ferrari recorded their best result as a team since Monaco back in May. It’s a much needed morale boost given all the issues they’ve experienced the past few weeks. However, they shouldn’t feel like they’ve righted the ship just yet. Unlike the commentators, I wasn’t shocked by the pace Ferrari showed in Hungary. After all, their car right now shines best in slow, twisty circuits. It’s why they finished 1-3 in Monaco, and it’s why they were always primed for a decent showing in Hungary provided they had no unlucky breaks.
The problem for Ferrari is that you can’t be a truly competitive team if your car is only truly competitive at some types of tracks, especially when it’s a type of track that’s rare on the calendar. Expect Belgium this weekend to be a better barometer for where Ferrari really are at right now. Reports show they’ve brought upgrades to the car, so here’s hoping these upgrades are actually upgrades this time.
Max Verstappen’s patience with Red Bull boils over.
Max Verstappen: 5th (Qualified 3rd)
Sergio Perez: 7th (Qualified 16th)
After weeks of complaining about the car, Max Verstappen gave us his best Malcolm Tucker impression in Hungary (this is also your sign to watch The Thick of It, a show that takes swearing and turns it into an art form). In expletive ridden radio message after radio message, Verstappen made his thoughts on the car’s problems (lack of pace, poor turn-in) and Red Bull’s strategy for the race (they let Verstappen be undercut by Hamilton even though the car lacked the pace to catch the Mercedes) crystal clear. The frustration boiled over on Lap 63, when Verstappen dived down on the inside heading into Turn 1 in an attempt to get past Hamilton. He locked up, resulting in wheel-on-wheel contact that briefly saw Verstappen go airborne. Miraculously, both cars were able to finish the race. But the desperate attempt only ruined Verstappen’s race even more as the incident allowed Leclerc to pass him.
Verstappen’s outburst is a sign he’s feeling pressure, both because Red Bull have legitimate challengers this season and because he feels like he’s at the limit of what he can do to keep the team in front. What it isn’t, as some commentators tried suggesting, is the sign of someone who didn’t get a good night’s sleep because he was up participating in endurance sim racing.
At least Verstappen got some help from his teammate this time. After crashing out in qualifying and amplifying the questions surrounding his future at Red Bull, Sergio Perez put together a solid race to finish 7th. He hasn’t quelled the storm, but he’s at least shown he is still capable of delivering the high-quality drive Red Bull expects from its drivers.
Ricciardo’s fight for a seat gets screwed over by RB’s strategy.
Yuki Tsunoda: 9th (Qualified 10th)
Daniel Ricciardo: 12th (Qualified 9th)
Spare a thought for Daniel Ricciardo. It’s no secret he’s fighting for his future in Formula One, so every race is a crucial one for him. By qualifying ahead of his teammate, Ricciardo positioned himself to have a solid race weekend. But strategy matters in Formula One. And just like what happened at McLaren and Red Bull, it threw a wrench in the best laid plans. Instead of playing their own game, RB decided to try and play the games of Williams and Haas. Ricciardo (who started on medium tires) got passed by Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen (both on soft tires) at the start. But instead of keeping him out when the other two drivers pitted early, RB opted to subsequently pit Ricciardo despite there not being a need to. And by switching him onto the same hard tires as the other two, they guaranteed him staying stuck behind those cars for a good chunk of the race. RB could say they won the battle given Ricciardo eventually passed both Albon and Magnussen, but in the grand scheme of the wars being waged by both the team and Ricciardo it’s hard to see how this decision benefits anyone in the long run. The team lost the ability to fight for more points, and Ricciardo lost another opportunity to prove he belongs in Formula One.
Aston Martin are technically a top half team. It certainly doesn’t feel that way.
Lance Stroll: 10th (Qualified 8th)
Fernando Alonso: 11th (Qualified 7th)
Aston Martin are still 5th in the Constructors’ Championship. That means they’re technically in the top half of the standings. But the gap on track between them and the top 4 is massive: Mercedes (currently in 4th) have 241 points on the season. Aston Martin? 69.
If anyone’s laughing at that, I sure hope it isn’t someone on the Aston Martin team. This is the most open Formula One season in years. Out of the eight drivers in the top four teams, seven of them have won a race in 2024. A season like this is the kind of opportunity Aston Martin needs to show they’re a serious force to be reckoned with. And results like the one they got in Hungary show just how laughably behind they still are.
A loud week for Kevin Magnussen overshadows a quiet week for Haas.
Nico Hulkenberg: 13th (Qualified 11th)
Kevin Magnussen: 15th (Qualified 15th)
Hungary was a quiet weekend for Haas, which wasn’t entirely unexpected. Remember, this is Haas we’re talking about. That’s not to say this race should detract from the solid season they’re having so far. It would be unwise to say the boulder’s rolling back down the hill.
Unfortunately for Kevin Magnussen, it appears as if his own boulder is set to finally roll back down. Speculation in Hungary was rampant that Haas would be replacing him next season, and those rumors were confirmed a few days ago with the announcement Esteban Ocon would join Ollie Bearman at Haas next season. There’s still a chance he could secure one of the remaining open seats, and Magnussen’s also no stranger to bouncing back to Formula One after being dropped. But at 31 years old and with a CV that shows plenty of experience but few results (his only career podium is a 2nd place finish in his debut Grand Prix at Australia in 2014), it would be a big ask for any team to opt for him. Magnussen’s recent comments on his future do suggest he’s at peace with the possibility his time at the pinnacle of motorsport might be coming to an end, so it’s nice to see that if he does go out he’s doing so with his head rightfully held high.
Williams’s gamble backfires.
Alex Albon: 14th (Qualified 13th)
Logan Sargeant: 18th (Qualified 14th)
Williams came into Hungary knowing they had to roll the dice given the track and conditions didn’t suit their car. Despite starting Albon on softs and pitting both cars early, the undercut didn’t work out for them. Albon was disadvantaged by the team’s decision to revert to a two-stop strategy after he’d already used up the tires, and a late pit stop to switch Sargeant onto the softs was too little, too late.
The real difference for the two Williams drivers? At least Albon’s secure in the knowledge he’ll still be in Formula One next year.
Alpine and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Weekend: Part 2.
Esteban Ocon: 18th (Qualified 19th)
Pierre Gasly: DNF (Qualified 20th)
The results speak for themselves. I know I said before that Gasly won the French civil war at Alpine, but right now it looks like Ocon’s move to Haas next season means he might get the last laugh. Ocon is no longer the only one to depart Alpine too: the team announced earlier this week Team Principal Bruno Famin will leave the team next month.
Yes, Sauber still exist.
Valterri Bottas: 16th (Qualified 12th)
Zhou Guanyu: 19th (Qualified 18th)
No, they still haven’t scored any points this season.
Miscellaneous Musings:
I know I said I’d try my best to remain unbiased when it comes to teams and drivers. But I never said I’d do that for tracks. Hungaroring, for all intents and purposes, is largely a glorified go-kart track. It’s relatively slow and twisty, and would be a lot more boring if it weren’t for the fact the track surface is so abrasive tire strategy comes into play and provides opportunities for overtaking (as you’ve probably realized from reading this post). On the other hand, the next race in Belgium is arguably my favorite race of the year, largely because of the brilliance of the track it’s held on.
Stay tuned for a companion episode of sorts to this post! I can’t say much just yet, but I can promise it’ll be incredibly mouth-watering.