F1 Summer Break: Highlights so far

Hungary Race Review:

Sunday, 1st August was the last Formula 1 race before the summer break, and let me tell you; it was one of the most interesting races!

The race started in wet conditions and almost all the cars were using wet tyres. It was an excellent start for Lando Norris, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. But, Valtteri Bottas started to struggle and in the first turn itself and soon he crashed into Lando Norris and Max Verstappen. Sergio Perez, Daniel Ricciardo, Charles Leclerc, Lance Stroll and Pierre Gasly also went off the track due to the crash. The race was then red flagged, with five drivers forced to retire; Lando Norris, Sergio Perez, Charles Leclerc, Lance Stroll and Valtteri Bottas.

As the race restarted, all the cars went into the pit lane to get their tyres changed as it had stopped raining. The only car starting the race from the track was Lewis Hamilton. Lewis Hamilton pitted a lap later and lost the lead of the race to Esteban Ocon. Later, in the pit lane, Nikita Mazepin collided with Kimi Raikkonen, forcing the Haas driver to retire from the race. In lap 21, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo head into the pit lane, hoping to get fresher tyres to get track position. However, as they come out, Lewis Hamilton overtakes both of them and takes tenth place.

In the lead of the race at the halfway point, is Esteban Ocon, followed by five-time world champion, Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz. Lewis Hamilton has climbed up the ranks, now in fifth place behind Fernando Alonso. Lewis tries several different moves, but the veteran Alpine driver blocks all of them. In lap 65, Alonso locks up, providing the perfect chance for Hamilton to finally claim the fourth position. 2 laps later, Lewis Hamilton overtakes Carlos Sainz to get back up on the podium. However, Sainz does not give up easy, and keeps trying to find a way to Lewis. In the end however, Sainz had to yield. The race finishes off with this order:

1. Esteban Ocon

2. Sebastian Vettel

3. Lewis Hamilton

4. Carlos Sainz

5. Fernando Alonso

6. Pierre Gasly

7. Yuki Tsunoda

8. Nicholas Latifi

9. George Russel

10. Max Verstappen

11. Kimi Raikkonen

12. Daniel Ricciardo

13. Mick Schumacher

14. Antonio Giovinazzi

A real rollercoaster of a race for us fans, and for Alpine, who finished 1st and 5th. And as news comes in, Sebastian Vettel has been disqualified from the race as Aston Martin are unable to provide a sufficient fuel sample after the race.

Drivers Championship:

Moving on, after the Hungarian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton reclaims the lead of the championship from Max Verstappen. The next race is going to take place in Belgium in the Spa-Francorchamps race track. Max Verstappen hopes to get closer to his first world championship and Lewis Hamilton hopes to increase his lead. Hamilton currently has a 6-point lead over Max Verstappen and wants to break the world record for the most championships by getting his eight.

These are the World Driver’s Championship standings at the moment:

1. Lewis Hamilton - 192 points

2. Max Verstappen – 186 points

3. Lando Norris – 113 points

4. Valtteri Bottas – 108 points

5. Sergio Perez – 104 points

6. Charles Leclerc – 80 points

7. Carlos Sainz – 80 points

8. Daniel Ricciardo – 50 points

9. Sebastian Vettel – 48 points

10. Pierre Gasly – 48 points

11. Esteban Ocon – 39 points

12. Fernando Alonso – 36 points

13. Lance Stroll – 18 points

14. Yuki Tsunoda – 16 points

15. Nicholas Latifi – 4 points

16. George Russel – 2 points

17. Kimi Raikkonen – 1 point

18. Antonio Giovinazzi – 1 point

19. Mick Schumacher – 0 points

20. Nikita Mazepin – 0 points

Before we move on, here are a few bonus drivers and teams who we feel deserve special mentions:

Most consistent driver – Lando Norris

The 21-year-old McLaren driver boasts points in every single race except the Hungarian Grand Prix where he was forced to retire.

Team who will make a comeback - Ferrari

Ferrari is perhaps the most known car brand in the world. It has a huge history in Formula 1. However, they haven’t performed that great this season, with only three podiums. But we feel that drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc will prove their worth and start earning more points and podiums. Their last podium was third place in the Hungarian GP, achieved by Carlos Sainz.

Driver who will prove his worth – George Russel

Williams Racing driver, George Russel earned his first points of the season in the Hungarian GP, coming ninth place. The 2018 Formula 2 champion has driven for Mercedes in multiple races. In 2020, in the Sakhir GP, he was favoured to win but after a tyre mishap, he ended up ninth place.

The Sprint Race: Explained

This year, the FIA introduced a different type of race called the sprint race. The design is to provide fans with a short but incredibly quick-paced race, with drivers being allowed to go full-throttle from start to finish without any pit stops. There are three sprint races this year: Great Britain, Italy and the third one yet to be decided. This is how the schedule will look like this –

Friday: Practice 1 for 1 hour.

Friday: Qualifying 1, 2, 3 format which sets the grid for sprint qualifying.

Saturday: Practice 2 for 1 hour.

Saturday: Sprint Qualifying. 100km race, sets the grid for the Grand Prix on Sunday.

Sunday: Full race like usual.

Although the sprint format has been criticized a lot, most people find it to be a fast paced, fun to watch race that can give exciting results. Because it is only 100km, the drivers have to push their hardest on all three days to provide good results. I feel this new format is something that could stay a while and is something that viewers will soon look forward to.

Written by Saveer Solanki