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Conclusions: Russell increases popularity at Mercedes, Aston Martin's silly error

Conclusions: Russell increases popularity at Mercedes, Aston Martin's silly error

02-08-2021 09:00
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GPblog.com

The Hungarian Grand Prix was pretty chaotic. Still, some conclusions can be drawn from what we saw in Budapest. Mercedes seems to be the strongest force in Formula 1 again, Max Verstappen will have to start again after his summer break, Valtteri Bottas would've slept badly and more...

Mercedes takes momentum from Red Bull

Red Bull Racing have been dominant in recent races, but since the weekends in Britain and Hungary, the roles seem to have been reversed. This is largely due to the updates Mercedes have made. The floor has been improved and other aerodynamic parts have been updated. The result is a higher top speed, something Honda and Red Bull have been praised for.

Red Bull will need to be on top of their game in four weeks time, when the Formula 1 circus descends on Belgium, because a series of races in which Mercedes score a lot of points and the Austrian team do not, could end up hurting them badly.

Verstappen drops to P2 after six GPs

After the Monaco Grand Prix Max Verstappen became the first Dutch leader in the Formula 1 World Championship, but he had to relinquish that first position to Hamilton after the Hungarian Grand Prix. The seven-times world champion has 195 points after the disqualification of Sebastian Vettel, while Verstappen has only 187 points. There are still 12 Grands Prix left after the summer break.

Bottas makes a major blunder, Russell makes himself popular

Valtteri Bottas made a big mistake at the start of the Hungaroring. The Finnish driver was given a five-place grid penalty for the next race, but that's not the worst of it. Mercedes seem to be making a decision during the summer break as to who will sit next to Lewis Hamilton in 2022 and in Formula 1 the saying goes: you're only as good as your last race.

On top of that, George Russell had another excellent weekend and even said on the radio that he'll be very happy to sacrifice his race to support his teammate. Latifi was driving in third place at the time. It will be something Toto Wolff will receive with approval, as Russell may have to give Hamilton the right of way more often next year.

First points are a boost for Williams

A podium finish was not achieved for Latifi, but the disqualification did earn the British team a lot of points. Latifi can claim six points and Russell four. It will undoubtedly be a boost for the Grove based team. Williams is currently eighth in the Constructors' Championship. Alfa Romeo follows on three points, while Haas F1 still has no points.

Aston Martin make silly mistake

Well, it was perhaps the most painful story of Sunday. Sebastian Vettel competed for victory, finished second, but had to give up his 18 points at the end of the evening. There appeared not to be enough fuel in the tank, resulting in disqualification. Aston Martin blames a problem with the fuel supply, but the appeal seems to have little chance of succeeding.

Whether team owner Otmar Szafnauer is telling the truth or not, it is very clumsy and it is a very expensive point that the team is throwing away. In fact, it is something that should not happen at this level anyway.