Reconnaissance rounds
With overcast skies, light drizzle and a cool track, everyone took their laps on the grid. The Red Bull drivers – Verstappen starting 10th, Sergio Perez 11th – planned to start on the hard tire as the basis for a one-stop strategy. On the computer that seemed to be the fastest way to the flag given that they would be stuck between slower cars for much of the first stint. Verstappen and Perez drove their reconnaissance laps on a set of old soft tyres. They were surprised at how little grip they had in cool and windy conditions, how hard it was to get the tires up to temperature. If the soft was like that, the hard would definitely be devastating, both drivers said. READ MORE: Verstappen recovers from P10 to win Hungarian GP as Mercedes secure double podium Red Bull didn’t hesitate to respond – and the one-stop plan was thrown into the bin. They started with the soft – the easiest of the three tires to warm up to, even if it was still hard – and two stops. Because the combination of soft and medium didn’t have enough range to go 70 laps with a single stop. Verstappen had to fight his way back to the field in the early stages The hard tire would later prove disastrous when Ferrari fitted it to Charles Leclerc’s car at their second stop. It was slow and did not reach the correct operating temperature in these conditions. Alpine attempted a one-stop strategy on the hard and slipped from fifth and sixth on the grid to a distant eighth and ninth at the end. Avoiding this tire was the most important factor in Verstappen’s victory in this race.
Verstappen’s skills
But even with the right tyre, Verstappen still needed a mixture of patience, raw pace and racing to win from 10th. In midfield through the first two corners, Verstappen was cautious, making sure he didn’t take any damage. “It’s the first time I’ve seen him be careful,” Horner said. This meant he came up behind the two Alpes of Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso and it took him a few laps to find a way past them both. This put him on the tail of the fifth-placed Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, who had slotted in behind the McLaren of Lando Norris so far. READ MORE: ‘We made all the right calls’ says Verstappen as he spin-and-wins in Hungary to extend lead to 80 points However, Norris’ soft tires were beginning to fade, allowing Hamilton and Verstappen to overtake him in quick succession on lap 12. Red Bull put on a strategic masterclass with perfectly timed pit stops
Strategic determination
Verstappen was initially able to close Hamilton’s car on a medium tyre, but as Verstappen’s softs began to fade, the decision was made to bring him in to put low pressure on the Mercedes. This was Round 16 and Verstappen had a string of psychics for his mid-term. Mercedes left Hamilton out, meaning Verstappen would inevitably be in front after Hamilton pitted. But Mercedes were trying to maximize how fresh Hamilton’s tires would be in the second stint. It was at this point that Red Bull brought in Perez to apply low pressure to Hamilton. Mercedes could not afford to drop Hamilton behind two Red Bulls so he lapped after Perez, minimizing his tire shift to Verstappen in just three laps. READ MORE: ‘It was a disaster’ – Leclerc ‘very disappointed’ with P6 finish in Budapest as he picks out what cost him chance of victory Having overtaken Hamilton, the next task would be to catch and push the two Ferraris and George Russell’s leading Mercedes into the race. But there was a hitch: Verstappen was going to have to nurse a slipping and overheating clutch.
Checking a car problem
“Max had to deal with a clutch problem and the temperatures were a bit out of control. So after that first stop we had to keep him off the back of Carlos Sainz for a while,” explained Horner. For 15 laps, Verstappen simply held his ground, a few seconds behind Sainz, keeping the gap to the lead at around 7 seconds.
Hungarian Grand Prix 2022: Max Verstappen regains normal 360-degree spins
With the temperature under control and a revised set-up controlling clutch slip, Verstappen was let off the leash near the end of the second stint. He closed in on Sainz and once he was in restricted access, he was brought back on. That was Round 38.
Although Ferrari kept Sainz out as he tried to run enough to be able to enter the soft for his final stint, Mercedes were forced to field Russell on the following lap in an attempt to retain track position. Ferrari fielded Leclerc in response to seeing Mercedes prepare to stop Russell.
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Verstappen’s amazing out-lap
Russell was unable to maintain track position over Verstappen in the second pit stops despite being 2 seconds ahead because Verstappen’s pace was incredible. It took him 1m 39.455s. By comparison, Russell’s outside lap was 1m 42.258s and Leclerc’s 1m 45.325s on the disastrously hard-to-warm-up hard tyre. Verstappen was helped by team-mate Perez – who had yet to make his second stop – by pushing Verstappen aside on the outside lap without delay. Verstappen gave a post-race hat tip to Red Bull chief strategy engineer Hannah Schmitz That stunning burst vaulted past Verstappen and Russell. He was now able to chase down the hard-wearing Ferrari of Leclerc. “I could see he was struggling badly in the hard ones,” Verstappen said later. He chased him down and passed with the help of DRS on Lap 41. A 360-degree spin by Verstappen at Turn 13 later in the lap allowed Leclerc to make a repast. But it only took a few laps before Verstappen was able to make the final decisive move on the struggling Ferrari. FACTS AND STATS: Verstappen responds to Red Bull’s best-ever comeback win That left only Sainz, who leads the race but still needs to make his second stop. A pit stop costs around 20 seconds here – and Verstappen’s pace, along with Sainz trying to beat the life of his tyres, meant Max was only 13 seconds back. As soon as Sainz pitted, Verstappen would take the lead and that’s how the win unfolded.
They think on their feet
“There was a bit of drizzle, a strong wind and temperatures that were down 20 degrees from where we were on Friday,” Horner said. “So the variables were significantly different. And I think that’s where you have to think on your feet. And that’s where I think the team did a great job today, turning from the fastest race to what was theoretically the fastest race.”
