F1 2020 Hungarian Grand Prix

© J. Francois Barnard – July 19, 2020

It is our third back-to-back race this year, and no one is complaining. F1 pilots, teams, and fans are just too grateful to have a racing season restored to us! The Formula 1 Aramco Magyar Nagydíj 2020 race was held on July 19, 2020, at the Hungaroring in Hungary.

During the practice sessions, it was clear that the Mercedes engines were again dominating the racing season. The first practice session ended with Hamilton first, Bottas second, and Pérez third. The second practice was wet, and Sebastian Vettel showed some spark in his Ferrari. Bottas and Sainz followed him. The third practice session ended with Bottas ahead of Hamilton and Pérez.

Qualifying started under the threat of an imminent rainstorm, and the teams sent their drivers as quickly as possible. The rain blew away, and the Hungaroring's tyre grip increased dramatically. Q1 produced some surprises though. For the first time in his illustrious career, Räikkönen was knocked out of Q1 for the fourth consecutive race. Conversely, both Williams drivers made it through to Q2!

Q2 saw Albon struggling with his Red Bull's handling, failing to get through to Q3. Latifi was also knocked out, but he could celebrate the highest grid position in his career.

Mercedes locked out the front row with Hamilton one-tenth ahead of teammate Bottas. Racing Point saw to a pink lock-out of the second row with Stroll third and Pérez fourth. Next, were the Ferraris of Vettel and Leclerc, which made us wonder if their strength would be returning from here on?

Photo credit: Racing Point

Max Verstappen's history with this track made him a contender for a win, but whatever ailed Albon must have hit him too. He could only manage the seventh place, ahead of Norris and Sainz's McLarens. Gasly took the tenth position.

It rained before the race, and the track was still damp. The weather wizards forecasted more rain, and the teams got dressed in intermediate tyres - except for Magnussen who tried on full wets. En route to the grid, Verstappen slipped off the track and damaged his front wing and the suspension. The mechanics quickly repaired his car, and he could start from his original grid position. During the formation lap, both Haas cars came into the pits for slicks.

Before the lights went out, Bottas erroneously moved slightly, reacting to the lights on his steering wheel instead of the actual lights. The movement was too small for the sensors to pick it up, and the stewards did not penalise him. However, it did unsettle him, and he lost four placed in the first lap.

The track was drying fast and all cars, except those from Haas, came in to change to slicks. The Haas cars were running in third and fourth place.

Lewis Hamilton was flying, and by lap nine he was already seven seconds ahead of second-placed Verstappen.

In the midrace, Leclerc and Vettel started to march their Ferraris backwards instead of forwards. Bottas duelled with Leclerc on lap 9 and 10, getting past him on turn one. Vettel lost the eighth place to Albon in his Red Bull after running wide in turn 12. By lap 25, Vettel's Ferrari was the only one in the top ten. Leclerc dropped out of the points.

Towards the end of the race, Hamilton was so far ahead of Verstappen in second place that he could pop into the pits for soft tyres to do the fastest lap for an extra point. He set a time of 1:16:627.

On the final lap, Bottas was trying hard to get past Verstappen, clearly having a faster car, but Verstappen kept his elbows out, and he could not get past.

Both Haas drivers received a ten-second penalty for their breach of the rules regarding the radio messages instructing them to pit for slicks during the formation lap. The stewards saw those messages as "aiding the driver" while the rules say the drivers should complete the formation lap unaided. It was a shame because they needed those points badly.

It promoted a few other drivers, though.

The final race classification: