Race Report by Aramco

HungaryHungary

2022 season

Sebastian led Lance to bring home a hard-earned point for the team in the final race before the summer break as both drivers climbed up the order at the twisty Hungaroring.

2022 season

Hungarian Grand Prix circuit figures

Number of pitstops

Longest stint (laps)

307

Total laps in Hungary

1345

Total km in Hungary

Fastest lapM:S.MS

1.22.824

Sebastian

1.22.437

Lance

Max speedKM/H

305.2

Sebastian

301.6

Lance

I was very close on the final lap, but I needed just one more corner to make a move on Ocon.
Sebastian Vettel

Hungarian GP

Sebastian Vettel

"We had to fight hard for a point today and we came close to a second point when I was chasing down Esteban [Ocon] in the final laps.

"The team switched cars because I had a better opportunity to catch Esteban, but obviously the Virtual Safety Car hurt us and we ran out of time. I was very close on the final lap, but I needed just one more corner to make a move.

"Overall, it was a fun race with lots of fights and overtakes. The middle stint was a bit difficult, but the balance was better for the third stint on the Mediums.

"The race pace was competitive, once again, so improving our Saturday performance needs to be a focus for the second half of the year."

I think I drove a strong race... There are plenty of positives to take away from today.
Lance Stroll

Hungarian GP

Lance Stroll

"I think I drove a strong race today. Into the final stint, Sebastian was on the Medium and I was on the Soft – I did not have another Medium left, and he could make that tyre last a little bit longer.

"The Soft was the wrong tyre in the circumstances, sadly, but these things happen in racing. I had fun racing into the top 10. When I came up to pass Daniel [Ricciardo], I gave him room on the inside at Turn Two, but I think he was struggling for grip on the Hard tyre and went a bit too deep.

"That is how it goes sometimes. We seem to have better pace on Sundays than we do on Saturdays, so we need to look at that. But there are plenty of positives to take away from today."

We showed today how hard we can fight – both drivers were relentless.
Mike Krack - Team Principal

Hungarian GP

Mike Krack

"Lance drove a strong race – he managed his tyres well, pulled off some great overtaking moves when it really mattered, and did a great job to close on [Valtteri] Bottas and move into the points.

"From 10th, we instructed him to chase down Ocon; with a handful of laps remaining, and with Sebastian showing greater overall pace on the Medium tyre, we switched cars.

"Our intention was to switch the cars back if Sebastian could not snatch ninth position, but, in the end, it was too close to safely make the change – Sebastian crossed the line just 0.143s behind Ocon.

"I know Lance will be disappointed, but it was worth the roll of the dice to try and increase today’s points tally. Taking home one world championship point is little reward for a job well done.

"We showed today how hard we can fight – both drivers were relentless, our race pace was strong and our strategy allowed us to pick off the cars ahead of us.

"Everyone has worked tirelessly and I am extremely proud of our entire organisation. We will come back with fresh focus and look forward to the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of August."

Your guide to Hungary

With Cognizant

Insight and Speed

Overtaking

The Hungaroring is one of the toughest circuits to pass on in F1. The key overtaking points are down into Turn One or Two – 94% of overtakes occur there. DRS is also hugely beneficial down the long straight into T1, with 86% of passes assisted by it.

Strategy

Pirelli is bringing the C2, C3 and C4 tyres for the second weekend in a row. Despite high tyre degradation, this is usually a one-stop race due to the importance of track position. However, there can be room to switch to a two-stop strategy if the opportunity presents itself.

Safety Cars

The chance of a mid-race Safety Car is less likely than it may appear. The past five races have only had very early interventions. The Virtual Safety Car has only been used twice – both in 2018. This makes it difficult to incorporate Safety Car interventions into race strategy.

With SentinelOne

Unlocking the Lap

Turn Four, an uphill fast left-hander with a blind exit, is one of the hardest corners on the lap. The kerb on the entry can unsettle the car if it is used too much. The exit is also tricky and is an area where drivers can easily fall foul of track limits.

Shortly after this is the Turn Six-Seven chicane – one of the slowest points on the track but also one of the trickiest. A quick flick to the right and the left, it is easy to overshoot the braking zone, which exacerbates each turn. And the grassy run-off is easy to clip on the right…

The long 180-degree right-hander that closes the lap (Turn 14) has traditionally been a tough corner through which to follow another car. With this year’s ground-effect rules, it should make things easier – and promote passing into Turn One. It is another corner where track limits can come into play.