Red Bull eye Hungaroring high
Red Bull fancy their chances in the heat of the Hungaroring this weekend but given that no driver has won in Hungary and gone on to take the title in the same season since Michael Schumacher in 2004, Lewis Hamilton will not lose too much sleep about that.
While the prospect of a Daniel Ricciardo or Max Verstappen victory is of little real concern to Mercedes’ championship leader what really matters is beating Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel before Formula One heads into the August break.
Hamilton came away from an epic German Grand Prix win last Sunday having turned an eightpoint deficit into a 17-point lead but he knows the stars were aligned for him in that race and a hurting Ferrari will come back strong.
“It’s usually not our strongest track,” said Hamilton, who has won a record five times at the circuit outside Budapest but never in a championship year.
“Red Bull ... will be very quick, I’m sure, in the next races where it is really strong for them. So it should be a closely matched race.”
Australian Ricciardo, whose new deal with Red Bull is expected imminently, took engine penalties in Germany for tactical reasons to give himself the best shot in Hungary.
That backfired as he retired from the race but the team say there should be no further penalties for a tight and twisty track that suits their car’s characteristics more than most.
Verstappen is a point behind his team mate.
Vettel, who crashed out in Germany while leading on a slippery track, will want to atone for his dramatic error and he too has plenty of reason to be confident.
The German has won two of the last three races in Hungary, including last year, and his car has the performance to worry Mercedes.
“Hungary will see another tough fight with both Ferrari and Red Bull. It’s a high downforce track and on paper they should both be very fast in Budapest,” Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said. Lewis Hamilton has won a record five times in Hungary. Vettel has won two of the past three for Ferrari.
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen has made more podium appearances (eight) in Hungary than any current driver.
It has been 14 years since the winner in Hungary also won the championship in the same season. The last was Schumacher in 2004.
The lowest winning start in Hungary was Jenson Button’s victory from 14th on the grid in 2006.
Vettel and Mercedes’ Hamilton both have four wins so far this season. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo has two and Max Verstappen one.
Raikkonen has now gone 105 races since his last win, in Australia in 2013.
Hamilton has a record 76 career poles, Vettel 55.
Verstappen, at 20 years old, can still become the youngest ever pole sitter this season. The current youngest is Vettel, who did it at the age of 21 years and 72 days.
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Hamilton has 125 career podiums and is second on the all-time list behind Schumacher (155). Vettel has 105, Raikkonen 98.
Hamilton leads Vettel by 17 points.
Hamilton’s win from 14th place in Germany was the first time he had won in F1 from lower than sixth on the grid. Only 14 races in F1 history have been won from 14th or lower.