Formula 1 2023: Talking points after the Hungarian Grand Prix at the halfway point of the season.
Daniel Ricciardo is back, McLaren’s fortunes have turned and Oscar Piastri is edging closer to a maiden podium. What comes next? Key talking points at the halfway mark of the F1 season.
Daniel Ricciardo is back, McLaren has turned its fortunes around and young gun Oscar Piastri is underlining why he is regarded as one of the hottest prospects on the grid.
Max continues to do Max things at the front, while the pressure on his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez has gone up a gear with the smiling Aussie AlphaTauri assassin gunning for his seat.
These are some of the talking points following the Hungarian Grand Prix at the halfway point of the season.
WHAT SHOULD DANIEL RICCIARDO’S EXPECTATIONS BE FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON?
First and foremost, Ricciardo has to beat his new teammate at AlphaTauri, Yuki Tsunoda. So far, so good. One race down after his highly-anticipated comeback at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Ricciardo did what he had to do, out-qualifying his Japanese teammate before backing it up with a solid – if not unlucky – 13th place finish in the race. Tsunoda was two spots behind in 15th. Ricciardo’s hopes of a points finish were shunted when he was rear-ended in first corner chaos, which took both Alpines out of the race. Despite tumbling to the back of the field, Ricciardo was able to fight his way back to his starting position. It’s widely regarded as the worst car on the grid, but Ricciardo showed he isn’t going to die wondering as he attempts to revive his Formula One career. But realistically, if he was able to snag a points finish or two – considering the man he replaced was unable to score a single point – it would be a positive result. But his first concern is staying ahead of Tsunoda if he is to thrust himself into a position to usurp Sergio Perez at Red Bull if the door opens. Ricciardo said he took plenty of confidence from his F1 return. “The whole weekend has been good and to come back, really feel all the things I’ve missed in the last 12 months, I can’t ask for more on the first weekend, and it gives me confidence,” Ricciardo said. “I’ll learn from the mistakes I made to get better and better, and I made little mental notes, which I will share with the team. Overall though, there are a lot of things to be happy about.”
CAN SERGIO PEREZ SAVE HIS SEAT?
In the opening minutes of first practice in Hungary, the Mexican looked to be swallowing the pressure about as well as a horse tablet when he spun out and crashed. Just as Ricciardo was heading out for his comeback with AlphaTauri after six months out of the game, it seemed the spectre of the Australian was looming large over Perez. But the Red Bull driver put the P1 blunder behind him to end a string of qualifying shockers and park his Red Bull in ninth place on the grid – his first time into Q3 since the Miami Grand Prix. Perez then backed it up with a third-place finish behind teammate Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, earning the praise of team boss Christian Horner. “I thought he drove a great race,” Horner told Sky Sports. “I think that his overtaking was brave, his pace was fast. The way he made the places, passing Carlos (Sainz), passing Fernando (Alonso), passing Oscar (Piastri). He was on fire today”. With Ricciardo back and having made no secret of his desire to get back in a Red Bull car, Perez is going to need more than his Budapest bounce-back to fully alleviate the pressure as the talk about his future is not going to disappear this year. The man himself has now set himself the target of finishing on the podium in every race. “From now on, I just look forward to basically be on the podium every single weekend,” Perez said.
CAN ANYONE BEAT MAX?
Nevermind the 2023 championship, that’s practically signed, sealed and delivered. The question has become: can anyone beat Max in an actual race? The Dutch superstar is charging like an enraged bull, pardon the pun, towards a third world championship after claiming his ninth win of the year at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Verstappen finished 33 seconds clear of his closest rival, McLaren’s Lando Norris, with his Budapest brilliance to take his seventh consecutive victory and give Red Bull an F1 record 12 in a row. Only one other driver – Verstappen’s teammate Perez – has won a race this season, but he has also been in a different class to the world champion. After back-to-back second-place finishes, McLaren’s Lando Norris has emerged as a fresh threat to possibly snag a win against the championship leader, but it’s going to need the F1 stars to align find a chink in Verstappen’s armour. Verstappen now holds a dominant 110-point lead over Perez in the drivers’ standings. Red Bull boss Christian Horner said Verstappen was in rare form behind the wheel. “I think he’s a driver totally at one with himself, at one with the car, (has) total confidence and trust in the team,” Horner said. “I think what we’re witnessing with him at the moment is a sportsman absolutely at the top of his game – it’s a joy to work with … Max is a very modest guy, sometimes he’s uncomfortable with the plaudits that are given to him, but he deserves all the credit in the world for the way he’s driving at the moment.” Hard to argue with that.
WILL OSCAR PIASTRI GET ONTO THE PODIUM BY THE END OF THE SEASON?
The Australian young gun’s form in the past two grand prix would have to suggest yes – and that it’s not very far away. Piastri has been edging closer to a maiden podium, falling short in consecutive grand prix. The F1 rookie was unlucky to miss out at the British Grand Prix after a late safety car benefited Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton, ultimately finishing fourth. Then in Hungary, Piastri found himself on the wrong side of a controversial strategy call by McLaren when the team chose to pit Lando Norris ahead of the Australian, who had been ahead of his teammate on track. Norris emerged with the track advantage from the undercut. The move raised the eyebrows of Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin Brundle, who said “Piastri and his manager Mark Webber will be concerned about that,” Brundle said. He was running in front for McLaren and got the second pit stop. So the undercut there has moved them around. Maybe that’s what McLaren wanted.”
McLaren boss Zak Brown explained the call had been made to cover off a potential pit stop from Lewis Hamilton. “We thought that was the best strategy for the team,” Brown said. “At the time, we wanted to cover Lewis. Lewis came out and looked like they were going to make a stop.” Piastri, later overtaken by Perez and Hamilton, didn’t want to use the strategy call as an excuse. “It wasn’t ideal to come out behind Lando, but when you finish 30 seconds behind him clearly it didn’t make much difference.” Strategy aside, McLaren’s dramatically improved form on the back of its significant upgrade package was again underlined in Hungary, giving Piastri the machinery to fight for that maiden podium. Piastri has now taken his season tally to 27 points, sitting 11th in the driver standings.
ENDS
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