Scuderia Ferrari failed to deliver impressive performances in Hungary once again. Nothing went according to plan, and once more, as seen in many other races during the 2023 Formula 1 season, the Prancing Horse has to settle for positions in the midfield. The atmosphere is far from joyful, and disappointment is clearly visible on the faces of the Maranello team members. After the pleasantries, let’s dive into a detailed analysis of the 11th round of the 2023 racing campaign, which is dominantly ruled by the mighty Max Verstappen and his Red Bull.
Hungarian GP 2023/1st stint: Carlos Sainz opts for Soft tires and executes a good strategy for Ferrari
For the start, most of the leading drivers chose the medium tire compound, which proved to be consistent over long distances, considering its performance was quite similar to the Soft compound. Among the few who preferred the red-banded Pirelli tires was Carlos Sainz, who, starting from the back of the grid, relied on the extra grip to gain positions. And it worked.
Looking at the table below, we notice that in general, all drivers preserved a fresh set of Hard tires for the race. No intact Medium or Soft tires remain. This indicates that the teams decided to keep multiple options open, even though they were likely to go for a double pit stop. It’s important to note that the track temperature was nearly 50°C today, putting the thermal degradation resistance of the tires to a severe test.
From the early laps, Max Verstappen aimed to escape after taking the lead. Lewis Hamilton found himself behind the two McLarens, and after a few laps, he was advised to create space to cool down the brakes. The overheating brake system also complicated tire management.
Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection! Click here to enter the F1 online Store and shop securely! And also get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!
Analyzing some numbers from the first stint based on the following graph, Max Verstappen stands as the reference once again. Lando Norris and Sergio Perez performed at a similar level in the first stint, with the Mexican running on Hard tires. This indicates that the RB19 was unreachable for everyone, and the victory wasn’t solely a result of a strong combination of car and driver. Lando trailed the race leader by about 6 tenths on average, managing to be just over a tenth faster than Lewis Hamilton.
The seven-time F1 World Champion, in fact, should have aimed to keep the McLarens behind during the first stint since, as we’ll see later, the papaya-colored cars suffered a significant drop in performance towards the end of the race. Only then would a podium have been possible for the Mercedes man. But, of course, speaking in hindsight is always much easier.
Hungarian GP 2023/2nd stint: McLaren struggles on Hard tires
The first to pit was Carlos Sainz, who was under pressure from Sergio Perez. Starting on Softs, the Spaniard did a good job extending the tire’s life, stopping a few laps away from those who began on the yellow compound. He got a fresh set of Hard tires to cover most of the race. On the following lap, Lewis Hamilton also pitted, as he was struggling against the two McLarens on Medium tires. He, too, received an intact set of Hard tires.
Hungarian GP 2023: Ferrari trailing by 0.3 seconds against direct competitors. Late hard tire choice for “safety.”
Subsequently, even the McLarens, starting with Norris, made their switch to the white-banded Pirelli tires to avoid a potential undercut from Hamilton. However, the British driver from Mercedes found himself lacking performance in the early laps after the pit stop and lost a few seconds compared to the two McLarens.
Furthermore, Lewis Hamilton faced some issues related to the temperature of his power unit. Bonington from the pit box communicated that the major losses occurred in the straights and the section connecting turns 11 and 12, where he had problems throughout the Hungaroring weekend.
Shortly after, it was Charles Leclerc’s turn, and six laps later, Max Verstappen pitted, a clear sign of better tire management. Sergio Perez, starting on Hard tires, switched to Mediums, trailing behind Carlos Sainz, who was the first Ferrari driver to pit to defend against the Mexican.
Charles found himself behind Sergio Perez due to a slow stop. Perez easily passed both Ferraris and set his sights on Lewis Hamilton, who, still on Hard tires, had an excellent pace compared to the two McLarens ahead. The white-banded tire was perhaps not entirely understood by the Woking team, as they pushed hard to activate it quickly, unlike Hamilton, who remained more conservative.
Hungarian GP 2023/3rd stint: Ferrari chooses Hard tires instead of Medium
In McLaren’s case, they tried to quickly get rid of the non-functioning Hard tire. They called Piastri to the box to switch to Mediums, hoping to take advantage of the on-track battle between Hamilton and Perez. Nevertheless, the Mexican returned to attempt an undercut on the British Mercedes driver, also opting for used Medium tires. Two laps later, Norris also received a new set of Mediums.
The Ferraris also made their second stop, both choosing the Hard tire. Speaking with Sainz after the race, he mentioned to Formula One Technical Analysis that he would have preferred Mediums, but the team decided to go with the harder tire for both drivers as it would be a long stint, and they didn’t want to run out of tires with only a few laps to go.
Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen stayed out longer. However, Lewis started struggling with overheating rear tires, resulting in relatively slow lap times. He tried to stay out, hoping for a Safety Car/Virtual Safety Car to have a very short final stint where he could push easily for a few laps. Verstappen, once again, was the last to make the second stop and switched to the yellow tire.
Towards the end, Oscar Piastri couldn’t utilize the Medium tire as effectively as at the beginning of the race. Generally, both McLarens took a step back with less fuel onboard. To clarify what happened on the track, let’s observe the graph below summarizing all the strategies used.
The first thing that stands out is how Max Verstappen won the race already in the first stint, where he extended his lead over his direct rivals for several laps. From there on, it was just a matter of managing the advantage. Extending the life of a tire means having a fresher tire in the next stint. Additionally, we note that Ferrari’s decision to start Carlos Sainz with Soft tires was spot on, as explained by F1 expert Alessandro Arcari for FUnoanalisitecnica.
This allowed him to recover many positions lost in qualifying. Besides this, we see that Charles Leclerc’s race was similar to the McLarens when analyzing the laps they pitted for tire changes. In fact, today, the red car was not far from the papaya-colored one and Mercedes.
Ferrari was 2/3 tenths off Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton. Compared to Max Verstappen, the comparison is now entirely irrelevant, as on average, Ferrari lost a full 8 tenths per lap. The RB19 is undoubtedly the dominant force of this championship, but a fierce battle ensues behind. Based on the data, Mercedes confirms as the second force, but they didn’t materialize their result on track today. McLaren is currently one-tenth behind the German team, and as soon as the Brackley squad falters, Norris and Piastri will be there to seize the opportunity.
Leave a Reply