Revealed: The one Red Bull struggle that could come back to bite them in Hungary

Max Verstappen drives the Red Bull RB20.

The European leg of the Formula 1 championship continues, and the next destination is the Hungaroring – Monaco without the tight barriers (and sea!).

We’ve had a very exciting period in Formula 1 with five different race winners in the last seven races. It seems that the Hungaroring is the perfect track to continue the championship in this manner. Let’s see how the engineers are preparing for this technically demanding track and what performance we can expect from each team.

Characteristics of Hungaroring

The Hungaroring is similar to Monaco in some ways, but it also has many differences. It’s one of the slowest and shortest tracks, where teams usually bring high-downforce aero packages due to the low speeds.

Additionally, the Hungaroring has only one true straight, so the focus shifts to stability in both slow and fast corners, sacrificing top speeds. This straight will be the main, if not the only, overtaking opportunity this weekend.

The Hungaroring is known for its technically challenging 180-degree turns. In these areas, cars often tend to understeer, which could be problematic for some teams.

The track layout in Budapest demands maximum precision from drivers in every section. This track also rewards driver skill more than others where car performance is the absolute factor.

Maximum precision also means consistently hitting the apex of corners and driving over curbs, which disrupts the car’s height. Given today’s generation of Formula 1 cars, this is a significant factor, and we’ve seen teams like Red Bull struggle to solve this problem at some tracks.

The Hungaroring is very twisty with only one real straight that includes the start-finish line. It provides the most likely, if not the only, overtaking opportunity. There are 14 corners, six to the left and eight to the right, some of them being 180° turns. #HungarianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/eo8YgB6Nl1

— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) July 15, 2024

Regarding tyres, Pirelli brings the softest compounds here – C3 as hard, C4 as medium, and C5 as soft. Tyre wear isn’t the highest, but we will almost certainly see a two-stop strategy, which adds to the race’s excitement.

Last year in Hungary, there was a small FIA “experiment” with special rules dictating which tyre types to use in different qualifying stages. This resulted in everyone having more new sets of tyres than needed, eliminating tyre strategy from the equation.

High temperatures are expected throughout the weekend in Hungary, which might force some teams to implement additional cooling elements.

Key headlines and talking points ahead of the Hungarian GP

What’s next for Kevin Magnussen? Four options and a heavy hint from Haas

Adrian Newey confirms Red Bull exit date as new F1 team role explained

Team Aero Packages

As mentioned, teams bring Monaco-spec rear wings to Hungaroring. The key task is to ensure a high enough downforce level for sufficient grip through corners.

Configuración de alas traseras para el #HungariangGP pic.twitter.com/Pq6MqSgHpL

— Albert Fabrega (@AlbertFabrega) July 18, 2024

Differences in rear wing setups are minimal among the top four teams. McLaren and Ferrari have slightly shallower lower flaps, while this element is more pronounced in Red Bull and Mercedes.

Who Benefits Most at Hungaroring?

One team to watch this weekend is Mercedes. The German team, along with Lewis Hamilton, is unstoppable in Hungary. The last time a driver from this team didn’t take pole position in qualifying was in 2019 when Max was first. In that run of four consecutive pole positions, the winner was Lewis three times, who has a total of eight victories at this track.

This shows that Mercedes has been fast here even in less successful years. Adding their previous two wins, they actually look to be favourites here.

Moreover, their car suits Hungaroring’s characteristics. Despite showing progress, Mercedes has struggled with maximum speeds since 2022, and their car works better at lower speeds. Their recent upgrades are promising, and they seem to be on the right track.

Besides them, McLaren, currently having probably the fastest car on the grid, shouldn’t be overlooked. They are fast everywhere, on all types of tracks, so this weekend will be no different.

If McLaren executes well in terms of strategy and tyre management, we will likely see them fighting Mercedes for the top spot.

We can also expect Ferrari to return to the podium fight, despite their recent poor form. Their main issue is bouncing in fast corners due to recent upgrades. These upgrades work and provide additional downforce, but Ferrari hasn’t yet found a way to transfer all that extra downforce through the suspension system to the wheels.

Since Hungary doesn’t have many fast corners, there is reason to believe the Italian team will perform better, which they desperately need.

Of course, we cannot forget Red Bull despite not-so-convincing results in the last few races. Red Bull’s strengths are excellent organisation and almost flawless strategy, which, combined with a great driver in Max Verstappen, always maximise their potential.

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