Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying: Formula One – live
Key events
There are bigger problems in F1 than one man and his straight-line speed: the whole grid has had problems caused by the new formula. The problem was exposed again at Silverstone and Spa, two classic circuits that were diminished by the lack of corners to recharge the electrical power, and Lando Norris has been speaking out:
“The thing that’s a shame is that Formula One’s gone too heavily led by the fact it’s a business nowadays and not how can you make the sport the best possible,” he said. “It’s how can you just make the most money as a business and that’s just not what it should simply be. That’s not how a sport should be run.”
As Giles Richards explains:
The use of an almost 50-50 split in electrical power and the internal combustion engine is understood to have been central in attracting manufacturers such as Audi and Honda into F1 this season. However, it has proved hugely unpopular with drivers, who now have to manage their use of energy rather than being able to race flat out and has introduced some variables into performance influenced by the algorithm that governs the deployment of electrical power.
Still, Audi’s presence has brought Allan McNish into the sport, and Giles has been chatting to the sportscar great:
Giles continued:
The shortcomings of the new regulations were shown starkly at the last two rounds at Silverstone and Spa. Both circuits are considered energy-starved, leading to a chorus of complaints over race weekends, and at Spa the lack of power left one of the great tracks an anodyne affair.
The good news for this weekend’s spectacle is that the Hungaroring’s twists and turns will offer mitigation, charging up the electrical power through the braking, meaning the straights are taken flat-out.
F1 has deigned to address Norris’s concerns:
A Formula One spokesman responded to Norris’s comments by saying drivers were listened to more than ever. “The sport on track is, and always will be, the priority,” he said. “Everyone has benefited from the commercial success of Formula One – the drivers included. Decisions are made for the best strategic outcome for everyone – the fans, teams and partners.” Reuters
The good news for Mercedes is that the problem has been fixed, it seems. Russell said as he prepared for the Hungaroring:
“I’m feeling good and glad there are some positive answers that have come back from the battery and it’s eyes forward now. These new power units are just exceptionally complex, and there was something deeply embedded in the calibration of the code that was almost impossible to see unless … you knew exactly what to look for. So I’m glad we have found it. Spa and Silverstone probably exposed the issue just because of the nature of the track.”
So two questions. Will Hungary see a swing back to Russell? And will it finally see the two Mercedes gaining comparable results? Send me your thoughts.
There’s 40 minutes till qualifying. The last few F1 races have brought to mind … cricket, such has been the scale of the swing we have seen, like Bob Massie on rubber and petrol.
The disparity in the fortunes of the two Mercedes means that only once in the last eight rounds have they finished within 10 points of each other, when George Russell was first and Kimi Antonelli third in Austria. In Japan the swing was an unlucky 13 against Russell. In Miami, with the sprint, it was 11. WIth the Canadian sprint it was 23, then 25 in Monaco. Then it was 18 in Russell’s favour in Barcelona and at Silverstone, either side of Austria, before last week’s 25-point swing to Antonelli after Russell’s first-lap exit at Spa.
In the Australian season opener, Russell was first and Antonelli second, with those placings reversed in Japan. Austria is the only full race since where the two cars of the constructors’ title leaders have finished within two places of each other. In 24 full races last season, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished within two places of each other 16 times.
At Silverstone Russell lucked into second place with Antonelli’s mechanical misfortune and was worried by his relative lack of straight-line pace, and that was what the Briton blamed for last Sunday’s Spa crash, rather than Lewis Hamilton for clipping him:
I exited the first corner 35% down … I got to the top of Eau Rouge with 0% battery and quite frankly it was dangerous.
I got swamped by three cars and I shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place, and that is why I am most angry. The incident with Lewis was a racing incident. He didn’t do it on purpose. He was more to blame than I, but he didn’t do anything reckless.
Toto Wolff backed Russell up, saying the problem was “100% on us. George has 100% our support.”
Preamble
Ready for one last F1 fix before the summer break? Tomorrow’s Hungarian Grand Prix is the last action for four weeks, as the circus crew head to the beach, the mountains or wherever for a well-earned rest.
Quite how restful the time off will be depends on what happens now – first in qualifying and then in the race. Will George Russell, in what was supposed to be his long-awaited year, put a dent in Kimi Antonelli’s substantial lead, to cut down on the sighing? Can Lewis Hamilton, in second place between the two Mercedes, build on a decent few weeks for Ferrari, which brought his first win in red, and head off with a smile?
Will Aston Martin’s upgrades suggest there is light at the end of the wind tunnel? What food for thought will Red Bull manage to give Max Verstappen, linked with a move away from the team and even the sport?
And how will the sport’s chiefs rest? There has already been a longer, unscheduled break in the schedule because the Saudi Arabian and Bahrain legs were (minor) casualties of Donald Trump’s Iran war. With the season due to wrap up with a second Middle East tour, in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, the prospects of further cancellations and possible additions to the season – Malaysia in October and Portugal in November – need discussing. And on top of that there’s the whole debate over the new formula, and the drivers’ dissatisfaction with the erosion of racing, which isn’t going away any time soon.
For now, all that will be determined is the grid for tomorrow’s race. Qualifying starts at 3pm; join me for the buildup from 2.15.
