Analysis | Why Verstappen was satisfied after 11th place in Hungary

Strange session in Hungary

The second free practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix was a somewhat unusual session. The first free practice session was a washout, so teams normally use the time in FP2 entirely to test the new updates, setup and race pace. Nothing could be further from the truth, with everyone working a double agenda.

Nevertheless, everyone created time at the end of the second free practice to do a long run. Verstappen, who finished the second free practice in 11th place and only used one tyre set, was still very happy afterwards precisely because of this long run pace. Given the session's F1 data, this is not surprising either.

Why Verstappen is still positive

Driving five laps on the soft tyre, Verstappen is visibly faster than all his competitors. Verstappen's average is 1.23.335. Verstappen's pace is also characterised by going faster every lap. The Dutchman's fastest lap is a 1.23.1.

Although Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc drive a faster time of 1.23.0, they are nowhere near Verstappen's average over the entire run. Hamilton arrives at an average of 1.24.006 after his 12-lap run on mediums. Leclerc's five-lap stint on the soft tyre achieves an average of 1.23.626 but runs steeply uphill. So Ferrari's familiar tyre wear appears to be evident again in Hungary, in contrast to Verstappen's descending curve.

Ferrari are not the only team struggling with this, however, as Hamilton's run (and also George Russell's short run) are also characterised by steep curves. They start quite fast but go up in terms of times very quickly. This makes other teams interesting to keep an eye on as well.

Indeed, leaving aside Verstappen, it appears that there are still three teams knocking on the door for podium spots. Aston Martin has been good on circuits like this all season, and so it is no surprise that Fernando Alonso comes out on top again. With a 1.23.781, Alonso is faster on mediums than Hamilton in an 11-lap run. The consistency of that run is particularly impressive compared to Mercedes and Ferrari.

McLaren the big surprise

Two other outsiders for this weekend appear to be McLaren and Alpine. Alpine were expected to be quick after their good performance in Monaco. Esteban Ocon drove a 14-lap run on the medium tyre. In doing so, Ocon seemed to suffer a bit more wear and tear than Alonso but still came up with an average of 1.23.913, making him faster than Mercedes' long run.

The other outsider is McLaren. After updates, McLaren took a big step forward at Silverstone, but no one expected this to continue on the tight Hungaroring. Lando Norris, however, proved to be a match for Leclerc over one lap and also in the long run. Norris also runs 14 laps on the medium tyre and averages a 1.23.739. This only makes him slower than Verstappen and Leclerc. However, Verstappen and Leclerc both drove on the soft tyre and a much shorter run.

As expected, Verstappen seems to be the man to beat, but behind him, the battle is particularly interesting. McLaren look like the big surprise for now, although Norris' dropback at the end of the stint is something to watch out for. With the warm temperatures looming, Alonso is perhaps the biggest favourite for the spot behind Verstappen in that respect. Indeed, the Spaniard suffered the least wear and tear.

The biggest loser seems to be Mercedes. As expected, the Germans are struggling in Hungary. After Friday practice, not only Red Bull Racing, Ferrari and Aston Martin are ahead of Toto Wolff's team, but also Alpine and McLaren. Work to do, then.