If a casual viewer had asked me whether it is worth watching the Hungary GP a week ago I would have said probably not. But here we are a week later and as it turns out, I shouldn’t have been so pessimistic! In fact, we’ve had 3 fantastic races all for different reasons. Hungary wasn’t as thrilling as Austria or Germany but still entertaining and worthy of 2 hours of your time.
I can’t help but think that if Lewis was on pole it would have been a different (and boring) race. He seemed to have pace in hand to close up to Max as he pleased, sitting back only to preserve his tyres and manage temperatures of car components.
When Lewis did try to take the lead, Max maintained held firm with some very fair defensive moves. I was actually pleasantly surprised that Max didn’t call upon some of his questionable tactics of previous years. He seems to have grown into a very strong and mature driver.
The final few laps were very entertaining. Should Red Bull have pitted Max for a second time after Lewis and Mercedes rolled the dice?
And then there is Ferrari… Were they even in that race? I don’t know where it’s all gone wrong after pre-season testing. It’s another year to forget for the Italian outfit. Maybe they’ll do better at Monza where straight line speed plays more of a part. If it wasn’t for the underperforming Bottas and Gasly, Ferrari would be 3rd in the Constructors Championship already. They look set to lose that to Red Bull eventually anyway based on current form.
Speaking of Bottas and Gasly, too many lacklustre performances may well mean they lose their seats to more deserving drivers such is the cutthroat business of racing these cars. Sounds like if anyone is going to replace Bottas it’s Ocon, but I’d like to see Russell in a better performing car to see what he’s really capable of. He’s made mince meat of Kubica but how good is he after his rallying incident?
Further back I particularly enjoyed the Torro Rosso boys showing the Haas boys how to do battle cleanly with your teammate, and McLaren continuing their good run of form.