LIVE | The Hungarian Grand Prix: Car Verstappen is repaired!
- GPblog.com
It's race day! After two races on the Red Bull Ring, Formula 1 has moved to Hungary for the third round of the 2020 F1 World Championship. There will be one race at the Hungaroring before moving to Silverstone for another double-header at a single circuit. Lewis Hamilton starts from pole for the 90th time in his career, alongside his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.
Mercedes are fast in any colour
Mercedes left Austria with two victories and a generous lead in the championship. Barring any retirement, it seems like they'll be striking another important blow in Hungary. During the free practice sessions, they seemed to be unstoppable and in qualifying, nobody could get close to the black cars of Hamilton and Bottas.
Should Hamilton go on and win the Grand Prix, the Brit will record his eighth victory in Hungary. A victory that will equal Michael Schumacher's record of most victories at a single circuit. The seven-time world champion set his record at Magny-Cours.
The only team that seems close is Racing Point. Their car has been renamed the 'pink Mercedes' this season and will cross the Hungaroring track at a speed that is closest to Mercedes. Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez lock-out the second row of the grid.
Red Bull Racing has to fight for P5
Behind the Mercedes, there's an interesting fight going on. A battle that Max Verstappen probably didn't expect to be involved in, but after qualifying, it looks like he can be happy with a fifth-place on Sunday afternoon. To do that, he'll have to get ahead of both Ferraris. Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc line up in P5 and P6 respectively.
However, McLaren also look pretty strong this weekend. They both qualified in the top ten and were, therefore, faster than Alexander Albon. Lando Norris has also shown in recent races that he often manages to come up with something extra during the race, especially on the final lap.
Wet weather conditions?
However, there is one uncertain factor that can shuffle the cards completely differently: rain. Just like yesterday rain is predicted on Sunday. During the third free practice session and qualifying that didn't happen, but the Formula 3 race on Sunday morning was completed in wet conditions. If that race is a prelude to Formula 1, we can expect a great spectacle.