Lewis Hamilton said Ferrari “must fight for victory” at this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, while McLaren boss Andrea Stella expected the Scuderia to be “very competitive”.
Ferrari and Mercedes have each picked up two wins in the last four rounds, but the Silver Arrows have been dominant at a commanding pace for much of the season.
Kimi Antonelli, who is currently 45 points ahead of Hamilton and 50 points ahead of George Russell in the Drivers’ Championship, looked in flying form in Belgium last weekend, overturning the misfortune of being unable to get under the virtual safety car to beat Charles Leclerc on Sunday.
However, Ferrari was closer than expected at Spa-Francorchamps, which bodes well for the Hungaroring as the track has a lot of corners and is in Ferrari’s hands.
“I think in Hungary and the Netherlands you will see Ferrari going back to being the fastest car you can see in the corners. The competition is very strong,” Stella said. Sky Sports F1.
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Lewis Hamilton was further left frustrated by his performance over the weekend as he finished fourth in Belgium despite being handed a five-second penalty for an opening-lap collision with George Russell.
Hamilton has taken a record eight wins at the Hungarian Grand Prix but has not challenged for a title since winning the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix last month due to five-second penalties in the last two races.
“I’m hoping we can be (competitive). I’ve got to come this week properly and see if I can deliver the way I can deliver in Budapest,” he said.
“We must come and fight to win.”
Why Ferrari is the team to beat in Budapest
The Ferrari has been the benchmark in cornering this year, with its main weakness being its powerplant. Although it has recently closed its losses to Mercedes and Red Bull.
While the last two tracks, Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps, had long flat sections and relied on powerful powerplants, Hungaroring focuses mainly on the chassis.
Energy deployment or lack of it won’t be an issue, so the car with the best chassis will be powerful, so Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandok thinks we could see a repeat of Hamilton’s victory in Barcelona.
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Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton takes his first win in red at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
“If you look at the trends throughout the season, Ferrari were behind Mercedes, except at Barcelona where Lewis Hamilton was on pace to beat Mercedes.” Chandhok said.
“I think Ferrari will be very strong (in Budapest). We saw in Barcelona that the aerodynamic package and Ferrari’s cornering speed are very strong.”
Sky Sports F1‘s Bernie Collins added: “Hungary and Zandvoort (the first race after the summer break) are both tracks where we have not tested the straight-line performance of this car or any car. It is a downforce circuit where we try to get the most out of the car when going through corners, and this will promote Ferrari.”
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Lewis Hamilton watches his first Ferrari win from the cool-down room with George Russell and Lando Norris at the Barcelona-Catalunya GP.
Vasseur, Leclerc ignore Ferrari opportunity
There were similar expectations that Ferrari would qualify for the Monaco Grand Prix in June, only for Antonelli to convert pole position into victory.
“I think it’s very difficult to predict the performance level of any team. I remember well what the overall feeling was before Monaco, but when we got there we performed worse than everyone expected, so I think we have to be careful,” Leclerc said.
“We just have to do our homework like we do at every other track. What we did particularly well over the last two weekends was making sure we maximized our package, and that’s the mentality we need to have in Budapest, not thinking about expectations.”
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Charles Leclerc won the British Grand Prix after the safety car was redeployed at the last minute for the final lap.
However, Ferrari upgraded the car after Monaco, further improving its cornering performance. Nevertheless, Ferrari team leader Frederic Vasseur is also living up to expectations.
“I think everyone will bring upgrades, but we don’t know the performance picture. Everyone is pushing,” he said.
“A lot of work has gone into managing the tires, preparing them, setting them up and executing the track layout. “I think if we do it with the same qualifications as we did this weekend, it will pay off, but that’s not a given. It’s not a given, it’s not a given to anyone else. Every weekend we start from scratch.
“Of course on paper layouts like Silverstone and Spa will be a little more difficult than others, but on the other hand they don’t shine in Monaco, which means you have to keep pushing to keep the same approach and never think it will be easy because it’s never easy.”
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Take a look back at some of the most dramatic moments from the Hungarian Grand Prix over the years.
Sky Sports F1 Hungarian GP Schedule
Thursday, July 23
2 p.m.: Driver press conference
5pm: Paddock Uncut
Friday, July 24th
8:50 AM: F3 practice
10am: F2 practice
12:00 PM: Hungarian GP Practice 1 (session starts at 12:30 PM)*
1:55 PM: F3 qualifying
3pm: F2 qualifying
3.45pm: Hungarian GP practice 2 (session starts at 4pm)
5:15 PM: F1 Show
Saturday, July 25th
9 AM: F3 Sprint
11.15am: Hungarian GP practice 3 (session starts at 11.30am)
1:10 PM: F2 Sprint*
2.15pm: Preparing for Hungarian GP qualifying*
3pm: Hungarian GP Qualifying*
5 PM: Ted’s Qualified Laptop*
Sunday, July 26th
7:35 AM: F3 Feature Race
9:05 a.m.: Porsche Supercup
10:20 AM: F2 Feature Race
12.30pm: Building up to the Hungarian GP: Sunday Grand Prix*
2pm: Hungarian Grand Prix*
4pm: Hungarian GP reaction: checkered flag*
5 PM: Ted’s Note*
*Applies to Sky Sports main event as well
Formula 1 heads straight to Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix, with all sessions broadcast live on Sky Sports F1 from this Friday. Stream Sky Sports NOW – No Commitment, Cancel Anytime
