THE MAIN EVENT

Once derided as being like Monaco but without the proximity of walls, or yachts of hangers-on, the Hungaroring has come into its own in the hybrid era as drivers try to muscle heavier cars on more sensitive tyres around a layout which rewards momentum and punishes errors. It might be F1’s slowest permanent track but preserving speed through it is one of the principal challenges.

Theoretically the Hungaroring should reward the cars with superior slow-corner performance, but the longwheelbase Mercedes has been in the ascendant here for the past three outings. Perhaps that might be about to change as Red Bull asserts itself once more?

2020 RACE RECAP

Round three in 2020 and a rare instance of a race being brought forward in this disrupted year, the Hungarian GP was shaped by rain in qualifying and on race day. Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas made it a Mercedes 1-2 in qualifying ahead of the Racing Points of Lance Stroll and Sergio Pérez, while Max Verstappen could only manage seventh – and then crashed on his way to the grid.

Red Bull repaired Verstappen’s car just in time and, as Bottas and Pérez fluffed their starts, Max rocketed through to third as they reached Turn 3. Drying conditions dictated a change to slicks but Max was fast enough on his in-lap to relieve Stroll of second. There was no touching Hamilton, though, who was far enough ahead to pit for softs late on and bank the extra point for fastest lap.

KEY CORNER: TURN 14 Balancing entry and exit speed against lateral slip in a fourth-gear, 180-degree corner is tricky enough – even more so when it feeds onto a circuit’s only meaningful straight with an overtaking point at the other end.