The Hungarian Grand Prix left negativity and resignation to Ferrari fans.
\nA GP that we can define as a real failure given the results of Friday and Saturday.<\/p>\n
Redbull was not at the top: Sergio Perez hadn’t feeling with the car and Max Verstappen had complained of a problem with the Power Unit in Q3. The conditions were certainly good for Ferrari, one step away from a front row lockout in qualifying (not reached due to a great lap by George Russell). It seemed to be a one-way race, with the threat quite far away, since the Redbull drivers had opponents ahead of them who were not easy to overtake such as Alonso and Hamilton.<\/p>\n Still, the race provided surprises. Verstappen and Russell were the first ones to stop, while Leclerc and Hamilton delayed their pit stops. The strategy was therefore decisive for the final result of the race, which was totally overturned. Team principal Binotto declared that strategy was not a determining factor, or at least not as much as the car, which he said was not fast enough to win the GP. Surely the summer break will be a valuable opportunity to reflect on the many mistakes made by the Ferrari team in the first part of the season.
\nThese premises had in fact given a hope of a comeback in the standings to the Ferraristi<\/em>.<\/p>\n
\nOn Sunday the top 10 grid was therefore as follows:
\n1 Russell 2 Sainz 3 Leclerc 4 Norris 5 Ocon 6 Alonso 7 Hamilton 8 Bottas 9 Ricciardo 10 Verstappen.
\nOn the 11th<\/sup> position we find Sergio Perez, who unexpectedly went out in Q2.<\/p>\n
\nThe choice of tyres played a fundamental role in the outcome of the race, influencing it enormously.
\nRedbull, McLaren and Russell opted for a soft tyre start, while the Ferraris and Hamilton preferred the medium compound.<\/p>\n
\nA few positions lower down we find Alpine, who after fitting the hard tyre at the pit stop, showed a drastic worsening in performance. Despite this, Ferrari chose the hard tyre for Leclerc’s car. Charles inevitably had difficulty defending its position and was forced to make another pit stop after a few laps due to the poor performance of the hard tyre.<\/p>\n
\nMax Verstappen won, followed by Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.
\nThe Scuderia<\/em> from Maranello therefore finished the race with a fourth and sixth place respectively with the Spanish and Monegasque driver.<\/p>\n
\nThis was a contrasting opinion to that of Charles Leclerc, who said he was inevitably disappointed with the outcome of the race.<\/p>\n
\nAt SPA-Francorchamps we will find out whether these three weeks of holiday (not exactly for the engineers in Maranello) will have borne fruit.
\nCharles Leclerc, meanwhile, said he is ready and willing to start racing again to put behind him the disappointments that have come so far.<\/p>\n