Who will take pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix? On Saturday (4 p.m. / Sky) it could be turbulent in qualifying, because after hot summer days it should rain or even thunderstorm on the course near Budapest.
That should mess up the tableau. Last year, Frenchman Esteban Ocon clinched his first career win in a chaotic Grand Prix.
farewell tour
Sebastian Vettel's retirement announcement is the dominant topic in the paddock. Without exception, all pilots regret the farewell of the four-time world champion after the current season. "We will miss him after so many years. He is a great champion and also a great person with very strong values," said ex-champion Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard from Alpine also wished to continue seeing Vettel in the paddock in the future. The 35-year-old Vettel from Aston Martin wants to take care of his wife and three children from the end of November.
title fight
Never before has a driver led so clearly in the world championship standings at this point in the season and then not ended up becoming world champion. So Max Verstappen can calmly tackle the remaining ten World Championship races - or not? "I don't look at the points, I only look at the next race," said the Dutch Red Bull star. He is 63 points ahead of second-placed Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari, who wants to keep fighting hard and was already very strong in training on Friday. "I believe in it to the end," Leclerc said of his chances for the title.
On the lurk
Will the Hungary specialist interfere in the battle for victory? With eight victories and eight pole positions, nobody has been as successful at the Hungaroring as Lewis Hamilton. Three third places in a row and most recently a second place in France indicate a very clear upward trend for the Mercedes star. Team boss Toto Wolff prefers to continue to stack low before the 13th of a total of 22 races of the season, as the upgrades on the Silver Arrow did not ignite as desired. Things didn't go well for his drivers at the start in Hungary either. "We know that we still have a lot of work ahead of us," said Austrian Wolff.
Not optimal
In the hunt for world championship points, Mick Schumacher is at a disadvantage in the team-internal Haas stable duel. The German still has to make do without any technical improvements to his car at the Hungaroring this weekend. The Dane Kevin Magnussen, on the other hand, gets an update because he is ahead of Schumacher in the World Cup standings. The team from the USA had not managed to produce enough components for both cars. This is also due to Schumacher's accidents at the start of the season, which made the mechanics significantly more work.
Off on vacation
After the Grand Prix on the outskirts of Budapest, Formula 1 is taking a good three-week break from racing. It won't continue until the end of August in the Belgian Spa. A demanding program with races in Singapore, Japan, the USA, Brazil, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates follows later. "The first few weeks of the second part of the season will be tough," said Günther Steiner, Haas team boss. Kicking off with three Grands Prix in three weeks in Europe before the world tour continues.
