Hungary – Francophones’ Performance: Leclerc a minute behind and Gasly a lap down!

Charles Leclerc: 4th (4th on the grid)

After a small scare in Q1 where the Monegasque almost hit the wall at the last corner, Charles Leclerc beat his teammate in qualifying for the fifth consecutive time. Starting 4th on the grid, the number 16 driver benefited from a very good start to move up to 3rd by the 4th corner.

Driving 2 seconds slower than Verstappen and Hamilton, the Scuderia driver saw any chance of victory slip through his fingers given the pace of the SF90. He was lapping in the same tenth as Carlos Sainz in his McLaren during the early stages of the race.

Stopping on the 27th lap to fit hard tires, Leclerc pitted a dozen laps before Sebastian Vettel, who had opted for a different strategy. At the end of the 40th lap, Ferrari’s young protégé had a 36-second deficit on Max Verstappen.

It’s one lap before the end of the race, on the 69th lap of this Hungarian Grand Prix, that Vettel snatches the podium from his garage neighbor with the help of his soft tires.

LAP 69/70

He’s been behind all race but that’s a nice overtake for Vettel, taking the final podium step from his teammate 🥉#F1 🇭🇺 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/KUIFtWMvdR

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 4, 2019

Pierre Gasly: 6th (6th on the grid)

Once again this season, Pierre Gasly qualified in a lower position than Verstappen. The 8 tenths that separated the Dutchman on pole and the Frenchman, the last driver of the top teams, do not favor him for the renewal of his contract in 2020.

In addition to an average qualifying session, the Norman lost three places at the start. This is not the first time that the Red Bulls have experienced a complicated grid excursion. Confirming his difficulties in overtaking, the driver of car number 10 was stuck behind Kimi Räikkönen without ever entering his DRS zone.

He ended a disastrous first stint by stopping on the 28th lap to finish the race, like many drivers, on hard tires. A profitable strategic choice that allowed Gasly to take 6th place, gaining 3 positions. Ultimately, the native of Rouen closed another tough Grand Prix behind Carlos Sainz’s McLaren.

« Since Friday the car has had less pace. We didn’t have much pace in qualifying, we finished 6th. The race was the same as yesterday. I tried to fight as much as possible. We had a complicated start and afterwards I tried to climb back but I was sliding all the time. »

Pierre makes his stop on Lap 28 for a set of hard tyres and makes the jump on NOR in the process! He returns to the track in P8 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/naokPXCyF1

— Aston Martin Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) August 4, 2019

Romain Grosjean: Retirement (9th on the grid)

With the Melbourne chassis, Grosjean was performing wonders. Ahead of his teammate who hadn’t managed to get out of Q1, he was even able to match the times of the two McLarens.

Despite a good Saturday, the Frenchman had a mediocre start, losing a position to Kimi Räikkönen. Given the poor pace of the VF19, Haas strategists asked Grosjean to stop very early in the race, on lap 20. This early stop forced the Frenchman to drive much slower than other drivers during the second stint.

Unable to overtake anyone, a hydraulic pressure issue forces driver number 8 to retire for the 6th time this season. That’s half of the races where the former Lotus driver has not crossed the finish line.

Since the beginning of the season, we have a 50% dropout rate, and fortunately, it has never been my fault. We will have to improve and understand why we have dropped out so many times to avoid problems because we know opportunities will arise. We will make sure the car performs a little better.

Lap 51/70: Sadly that’s the end of @RGrosjean‘s race. He has a water pressure issue. #HaasF1 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/wvH90kWsBs

— Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) August 4, 2019