For me, the symbol of the Hungaroring will always be a water heater, emblem of the technology of real socialism, which remained for years and years, even after it was opened to the West, in the toilets of the press room. But if we talk about dictatorships & kindred, that of Verstappen, even before Red Bull, has very few precedents in the history of F1. It almost seems that the driver and the car (in the sense of design) challenge each other every time to find new limits. Certainly there is that, in the race, the RB19 could definitely double everyone, if it had two Verstappen to drive it. But I doubt it’s an ‘easy’ single-seater, otherwise Perez too, who partially redeemed himself today, would be more consistent.
The mouths of truth
I have seen a lot of attention around modified air intakes. The fact that there have already been several interventions in this area shows how much confidence you have a priori, i.e. even before taking them to the track, in planned developments which in theory would be useless, given that the two world championships are already in your pocket. However, with regard to the inlets, the saying ‘size doesn’t matter’ is valid (I still remember that Enrico Cardile was amazed seeing those of the SF70, then convinced himself that they would work). When it comes to cooling, a parameter for understanding real efficiency is to see how much the bodywork is opened (the famous ‘gills’) on the tracks where, due to heat on the ground or air density, critical values are reached in operating temperatures.
Whoever starts on pole… doesn’t win
With all this, this time he had achieved pole position Hamilton. And I can imagine how many old guard observers immediately assumed that Lewis already had half a victory in his pocket, based on the mummified prejudice of the “in Hungary you can’t surpass yourself”. But 1990 with the irredeemable Boutsen cap is one thing, today’s racing with today’s tires is another. More than making a mistake at the start, it seems to me that Ham succumbed to his obsession with keeping an eye on Verstappen, not taking into account the possibility that someone was keeping the innermost trajectory, closing off any reactionary ambitions. This someone was there today McLaren. We knew that post-Silverstone prudence (“In Budapest we won’t be as fast”) was clever pre-tactical by Andrea Stella and company. In fact, the MCL60 cannot be called 61 because it would spoil the anniversary celebration, but it is a project turned inside out with a long run-up, starting from winter. The pilots are thinking of the rest: Norris is a solid realitybut I’m afraid those who criticize the strategy that favored him over the first stop are right Plates. Oscar in turn is a product by Marx Webber (and therefore Flavio Briatore, who will never say so, at least not immediately). Zak Brown has also invested in him because an Australian rider helps keep the GP in Melbourne, but it’s certainly not a bad investment, even if today he suffered from inconstancy in his pace, ending up losing the podium. In my very personal ranking of values, however, I keep the McLaren second ahead of the Mercedeswho without Russell penalized by the new qualifying format (?) could have done even better.
Ferrari, quantity and not quality
If we then arrive at the fourth force, we necessarily arrive at the Ferrari. I am sure that Fred Vasseur, who is neither stupid nor needlessly proud, will think three times before declaring once more on the eve of a GP that ‘this track is more suitable for us‘. Jean Todt did not want to hear about more or less favorable circuits already in the 90s. Seen from the outside the characteristics of the SF-23, I was afraid of the last corner all under acceleration, which weighs heavily on the tyres; and perhaps I was not wrong. I don’t think I’ll say it from today: there was no need to get excited with a simple count of developments. If you read ‘Ferrari, evolution on the bottom’ and then read ‘it’s the fifth this year’, you’ve already understood that it is not the quantity that counts, but the quality. Race conduct in Budapest was also lacking, with the pit-stop error costing 9″ in Leclerc’s stop and Charles’ too much enthusiasm in returning to the pits, getting 5″ for excess speed. Sainz continues to bite the brakes, but this time apart from starting him on the Soft tires there wasn’t much to invent, given that on the track he was having a tremendous effort to defend himself.
These are things already on Diego’s agenda Ioverno, problems to get your hands on right away, because there was a time when Ferrari dominated even in pit stops and it’s not a distant time. Then I hear that still on the subject of race management, the tasks remain divided in a somewhat cumbersome way, with Iñaki Rueda who still controls part of the strategies from home. Nothing against the person, but is it the best system? The real positive thing about this season (the only one, perhaps) is that a little at a time the ghosts in the closet are coming outthe legacies of the past left there for too long, the “it’s always been like this” which are the first cause of immobilism. McLaren is demonstrating that change is possible. If not this year, then next. The fans are now, unfortunately, used to it.
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