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Lando Norris won the
Hungarian Grand Prix. The British driver finished ahead of Max Verstappen
and Kimi Antonelli. The victory came thanks to a three-stop strategy, making
the most of a final stint on Soft tyres, while the other two drivers on the
podium completed only two pit stops during the race.
Norris started
on Mediums before completing two further stints on Hards. Taking advantage
of a Virtual Safety Car period, the world champion made an additional pit
stop and fitted Soft tyres.
Verstappen, by contrast, stayed out on a
set of C5s, completing the final 29 laps on that compound. However, he was
not the driver who extracted the most mileage from the red-marked tyre: that
distinction went to Fernando Alonso, who completed 34 laps on the Soft
compound.
Lance Stroll completed the highest number of laps on the
Medium, using the same set for 29 laps, while Arvin Lindblad reached 49 laps
on the Hard. All three compounds were used extensively throughout the race,
providing a range of strategic options.
Twelve drivers opted for a
two-stop strategy. These included both Mercedes and Red Bull pairings, who
started on Medium tyres and then switched to Hards for their remaining two
stints, with the exception of Verstappen, who completed his final stint on
Softs.
Five drivers, meanwhile, finished the race with a three-stop
strategy, including both Ferrari drivers, who started on Softs, ran the
middle phases of the race on the C3, and took the chequered flag once again
on the C5. Bortoleto and Lindblad were the only two drivers to make a
one-stop strategy work, the former following a Soft-Hard approach and the
latter a Medium-Hard strategy.
The race took place in warmer
conditions than those recorded yesterday: track temperatures exceeded 49°C,
while ambient temperatures peaked at 34°C. Antonelli now leads the
championship with 219 points, followed by Hamilton in second on 169.
Pirelli will remain in Budapest for two days of testing on Tuesday and
Wednesday, carrying out development work on next season’s tyres together
with Alpine, Audi and Aston Martin. The latter, unlike the other two teams,
will be on track only on the opening day.
DARIO MARRAFUSCHI –
PIRELLI MOTORSPORT DIRECTOR
“Today we witnessed a wide variety of strategies, with every team able to
make use of the full range of compounds available. The impression is that
each team managed to identify the most effective combination to maximise the
characteristics of its own car.
These were precisely some of the
objectives we had set ourselves during the development phase. To create a
range capable of adapting as effectively as possible to cars that have
followed different development paths, offering greater strategic variety and
enabling even the softer compounds to be used effectively.
Several
teams made extensive use of the C5 today, which this year has once again
proved to be a genuine race tyre and not just an option for fast laps on
Saturday. This is demonstrated by the Soft stints of more than 29 laps
completed by as many as five drivers.
In the end, the race was
contested between one-stop and three-stop strategies. Among the top teams,
only Ferrari chose to start on the Soft and, by bringing Hamilton into the
pits at the first available opportunity, effectively triggered the sequence
of pit stops among its rivals, prompting several others to converge on a
two-stop strategy.
This approach offered greater tactical flexibility
and a faster ability to react in a race made particularly complex by traffic
and the high number of backmarkers to manage after each pit stop.
While Ferrari demonstrated particular effectiveness in extracting
performance from the red-marked tyre, Mercedes appeared to base its approach
around the Hard compound, which was also selected for the final stint. It
was a decision taken shortly before the Virtual Safety Car, which instead
gave others the opportunity to make an additional tyre change.
Despite the high temperatures, degradation across all three compounds
remained broadly in line with expectations. Drivers mainly had to manage the
rear tyres, the principal limiting factor in the traction phases, without
significantly compromising race pace, thanks in part to the circuit's
continuous evolution throughout the day.”
Formula 2
By the narrowest of margins, Noel Leon claimed victory in the Formula 2
Championship Feature Race at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Kush Maini finished
second, while Rafael Camara crossed the line in third place. Leon started on
the Soft compound before switching to the Medium on lap 16. Maini and Camara
adopted the same strategy, making the move to the Medium on laps 21 and 20
respectively. Nikola Tsolov heads into the summer break leading the
championship standings on 167 points, ahead of Gabriele Minì in second place
with 147 points.
Formula 3
The Formula 3 Championship Feature Race at the Hungaroring was won by
Freddie Slater. Ugo Ugochukwu finished second, while Brando Badoer secured
the final podium position in third. Thanks to this victory, Slater has
extended his advantage in the championship battle and now holds an
eight-point lead over Ugochukwu, who sits second in the standings. The next
round of the Formula 3 Championship will take place at the Italian Grand
Prix at Monza.
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