Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature 30/70 In the final straight, DRS opens again and Russell continues to hold off his rival. Leclerc has the newer tires and may choose to bide his time. 29/70 Leclerc chases Russell and another gap opens up, only to close once more. Just five seconds between the top four, Hamilton lost that pace.
Leclerc takes over Russell for the lead!
28/70 Russell opens the door and Leclerc looks to go through, but great defensive work from Russell closes the door again. This showed Russell’s talent. NOT this time. Updated at 2.45pm BST 27/70 Russell seems to be losing some time and may be struggling with his tyres, as does Hamilton. Leclerc rips, Sainz a bar between him and Verstappen. 26/70 Leclerc closes in on Russell, gap now less than a second, DRS spectrum rising. Big test for the youngster. 25/70 Hamilton’s brakes locked up as he set up a fast opening sector. The Ferrari team says the race is “tough on the tyres”. 24/70 Leclerc sets fastest lap as Verstappen rages after Sainz. We may soon see a battle between Verstappen and Leclerc, as has been the norm this season. Ocon and Alonso’s Alps then tangle, and in comes Ricciardo, reading their move, also in tenth. There is bad blood in the Alps team. 23/70 Leclerc is warned by his team not to rip the balls off his tyres. He is the type of driver that requires such a warning. 22/70 Russell pulls ahead of Leclerc, but Leclerc will race ahead of Sainz. This is a result of Leclerc’s speed and a rather bad pit for Sainz. Alonso has used the hard tyre, which gives everyone else a driver. George Russell leads after his first pit stop. Photo: Darko Bandić/AP Updated at 14.37 BST 21/70 Verstappen makes his way through the field and moves into fourth after passing the Alpine cars of Alonso and Ocon. Leclerc pitches, and continues to psychics. 20/70 Hamilton pits and drops to seventh. Russell is second, and only Leclerc from the top will enter. 19/70 comes Perez, from third, as Russell sets the fastest lap and moves into third. Leclerc flies up, trying to stay away so he can pit and stay in front. Verstappen is seventh after his pit stop and Perez is back in 10th. Red Bull has work to do. 18/70 Sainz’s pit is slow, and then Russell passes Ocon and stays ahead of Sainz, with those in front still pitting. Mercedes were lucky, their pit was slow. 17/70 Russell pitches, so does Verstappen. Russell returns to the race in sixth and stays ahead of Alonso before coming in for Ocon in the follow-up. Hamilton is third but will surely pit soon, and Ferrari will soon follow suit. 16/70 Stephen Harris, probably not from Iron Maiden, gets in touch: “It’s so refreshing to see so many drivers who can win and look with him this year I’m not against Hamilton but his wins have put me off the F1”. It’s been a good race so far, the top three so close, and now Hamilton and Verstappen are chasing each other. 15/70 Russell’s tires start to slow him down, pit time? Norris pitted and the Merc team can follow suit. 14/70 Up front, the Ferraris of Leclerc and Sainz are taking it easy, not putting too much pressure on Russell. 13/70 Verstappen complains. “Failure 20,” is the word. Hamilton takes off in front of him. Perez passed Norris in the same DRS fashion. 12/70 Hamilton passes Norris, using DRS, and then, from the same track, Verstappen passes Norris. So the battle for fourth will be between Hamilton and Verstappen. Hammo’s job is to hold Max up to keep him away from the Mercedes ahead, Russell’s. Max Verstappen moves up to fifth. Photo: Lisa Leutner/Reuters Updated at 2.25pm BST 11/70 Verstappen closes in on Hamilton, who is frustrated by Norris. and I can’t make the move. 10/70 Hamilton chasing Norris, DRS soon to be at the fore, with Norris’ soft McLaren tires perhaps struggling in these conditions. 9/70 Perez passes Ocon to take seventh, the Red Bull team is flying very well. Hamilton chases after Norris to try and claim fourth place. 8/70 Verstappen has gained four places, as has Mick Schumacher, in 11th. Russell’s Mercedes has a 2.2-second lead over Sainz and Verstappen is a similar distance behind Hamilton in fifth. 7/70 Verstappen passes Ocon and is sixth. Russell is informed from his garage that it won’t rain for the next half hour. The black cloud has passed. Currently. 6/70 Sainz sets the fastest lap as he chases down Russell’s Merc, which will have to go through heavy defensive work very soon. Kevin Magnussen was asked to take care of something hanging from his car. 5/70 Verstappen spots a gap and passes Alonso and now targets Ocon. 4/70 Some talk that Russell cut Sainz off at that start, but the verdict is that he did nothing wrong. Verstappen, in eighth, has Ocon and Alonso in front of him. 3/70 From this virtual safety car, Russell showed off his driving skills in speeding away from his pursuers, in a not unlike manner when he stole third from Paul Ricard. Sergio Perez complains to Red Bull about his engine. 2/70 Verstappen managed to pass team mate Perez, and took advantage of those around him grunting. Alonso is not happy with Ocon. Russell leads Sainz, Leclerc and Norris, Hamilton fifth.
Turn off the lights!
1/70 We’re leaving. Russell starts well and holding off Leclerc and Sainz is on his tail. He remains in the lead and someone has left the track. Verstappen also moves up the field. Pierre Gasly crawls out of the pit lane and there is a virtual safety as Alex Albon hits Lance Stroll. Russell held off Sainz with a very defensive move and now has to defend further. George Russell leads the start followed by the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz. Photo: Darko Bandić/AP Updated at 14.16 BST George Russell may spend a long time on the grid, with Nicolas Latifi, always Latifi, going late. No sign of rain yet. The Hungarian GP has been won from pole 16 times out of 37 total races in Budapest. No pressure, George Russell. This can be difficult for those who wear hard tires. Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal, has just suggested that rain is coming and as soon as he does, the rain falls in Hungary, a big black cloud over the track. This is where the variables come in. And here is the Hungarian national anthem, Himnusz, sung by a singer and a piano. A winded Max Verstappen on his attempt to get on the podium: “It will be very difficult, but we will do it.” Max Verstappen enters his Red Bull. Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images Updated at 13.49 BST The cars are being loaded into their starting positions and George Russell, on pole, was speaking on Sky F1. The biggest challenge is managing the tires and trying to make the most of each lap. There are no guarantees. Having the two Ferraris around us means they can do whatever they want, but I’ll go as fast as I can. Ferrari have a better chance than us, but we start from a better position. The cars are out of their garages and onto the track in front of the grid. There are few headwinds and tailwinds out there. This is a classically difficult track, with such a long straight. Lewis Hamilton has won eight times here, it’s a place for a calm head with some sharp corners, particularly from the start. A reflection of Lewis Hamilton’s car heading towards the grid. Photo: Lisa Leutner/Reuters Updated at 1.40pm BST A reminder of the driver’s championship standings
- Max Verstappen – 233 points 2. Charles Leclerc – 170 points 3. Sergio Perez – 163 points 4. Carlos Sainz – 144 points 5. George Russell – 143 points 6. Lewis Hamilton – 127 points 7. Lando Norris – 70 points 8. Esteban Ocon – 56 points 9. Valtteri Bottas – 46 points 10. Fernando Alonso – 37 points 11. Kevin Magnussen – 22 points 12. Daniel Ricciardo -19 points 13. Pierre Gasly – 16 points 14. Sebastian Vettel -15 points 15. Mick Schumacher – 12 points 16. Yuki Tsunoda — 11 points 17. Guanyu Zhou – 5 points 18. Lance Stroll – 4 points 19. Alex Albon – 3 points 20. Nikolaos Latifi – 0 points 21. Nico Hulkenberg – 0 points
There is a chance of rain for this match, and that brings additional intangibles. Lewis Hamilton was considered the best driver in the wet. Is this still the case? #F1 #BBCF1 #HUNGARIANGP 🇭🇺 SUNDAY 1/2: It was a wet morning at the Hungaroring, with ~7mm of rain falling since 6am. (now 9am local). As some forecast models indicated, the clearance of the low pressure was slow. Consequently, uncertainty about the conditions per start race » — Ian Fergusson (@fergieweather) July 31, 2022 Reminder of what happened last week at Paul Ricard, where Max Verstappen was the beneficiary of a Charles Leclerc mistake, one the Ferrari driver admitted was his fault. This was the week that Sebastian Vettel announced that this season would be his last. Vettel’s decision to retire was not a huge surprise when it was made ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian GP. The 35-year-old has been on a roll in recent years after 15 years in F1, securing 53 wins, behind only Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton. He had a carefree air that suggested F1 had ceased to be the center of his universe. Indeed, as he grew his hair out and sported a tousled beard, Los Angeles-era Jim Morrison was more than a little laid back. Without Mr Mojo’s extra pounds of course.
Massi received death threats after the Abu Dhabi decision
Sacked Formula 1 race director Michael Massey…
