2024 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix Highlights

Scuderia Ferrari HP leaves the 2024 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix with 20 points in the bag courtesy of a fourth-place finish for Charles Leclerc and a sixth for Carlos Sainz. So, the podium was just out of reach at the end of one of the most thrilling races ever seen at this circuit in its 39 years on the calendar, proving that Formula 1 is in great shape.

The race. Carlos’ race was somewhat compromised by dropping to seventh off the line, while Charles could get away well, tailing Lewis Hamilton at the first corner in fifth place. Sainz soon passed Fernando Alonso to get back to sixth, and both Ferrari drivers could go longer than others on their first stint. Leclerc was the last of the leaders to pit to switch from Medium to Hard tyres and even led for a few laps. On the hardest compound, the Monegasque was, for a long time, the quickest driver on track so that he could fight with Hamilton and Max Verstappen for third place behind the two McLarens. This three-way fight continued after the pit stops when Charles reverted to Mediums. On lap 56, the Dutchman got ahead, but seven laps later, the Red Bull driver collided with Hamilton, which put him behind Charles. Sainz finished behind the reigning world champion, having had a linear and solitary race once he had retaken sixth place.

One more before the break. The world championship continues at a breakneck pace with one last effort before the holidays, the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps next weekend.

Carlos Sainz #55

It’s a tough race for me. The start could have been better, and it’s crucial here in Hungary. That compromised the first two stints, as I had to overtake cars to get to P6, and from there onwards, it was quite a solitary race. In the last stint, I could push a bit more after extending with the Hard tyre, but overall, as we saw yesterday, we lacked pace compared to the cars at the front this weekend.

Belgium is an entirely different track, and we have to think about what approach we want to take with the car to finish the first half of the season with a good team result.

Charles Leclerc #16

We turned it around today. We had a solid race, with the correct tyre management and a good pace. A P4 differs from the desired result, and we know we have lots of work ahead. However, we were in better form than expected.

It’s difficult to overtake on this track, and we had to manage overheating. Being just behind Lewis (Hamilton) on the last stint was tricky. We took all our opportunities today, and it’s good to bring home these points for the team.

Frédéric Vasseur – Team Principal

First, congratulations to McLaren on its great weekend in the Grand Prix, an excellent advertisement for Formula 1. On our side, we had a good fight with Mercedes and Red Bull. We got the most out of our package this weekend. We have made a good step in the car’s driveability, but now we need to come up with a step forward in performance to close the gap of two to three-tenths to McLaren.

Charles got a good start moving up a couple of places early on. We had a solid pace in the middle stint on the Hard tyre, while it was a bit more difficult at the end on the Medium. With Charles, we tried to undercut Verstappen, but Hamilton pitted simultaneously, so we were blocked behind him.

Carlos didn’t have the best of starts, and then he had quite a solitary race, bringing home the best result in the circumstances. If we look at the points scored, we were second today behind McLaren. Of course, we cannot be happy just with this, but we are back on the right track.

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