Get ready for F1 Hungary 2023 as Max Verstappen aims to extend his lead, but with upgraded rivals and a challenging track, the competition heats up in this thrilling race preview. Can anyone beat the dominant Verstappen? Find out the latest team upgrades and their strategies as they battle it out in this pivotal race before the mid-season break
Verstappen Dominance Challenged: F1 Hungary Preview
Join NowFor round 12 of the F1 season 2023 the teams travel to Hungary. With two races to go until the mid-season break the teams continue to bring their upgrades and we welcome back Daniel Riccardo to Alpha Tauri as the silly season begins early. This will be the first time two
Australians have been on the grid since the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix.
The Hungaroring is a track that is technically demanding and a tough challenge for the drivers, it has been made all the more challenging as the FIA rolls out the Alternative Tyre Allocation (ATA). This cuts the allocation from 12 sets of slicks to 11 (three Hard, four Medium, four Soft and introduces session -specific tyres for each qualifying session. Hard in Q1, Medium in Q2 and Soft in Q3.
Despite Max winning last year’s race from P10, only four out of 37 races at the Hungaroring have been won from behind the first two rows, with pole position winning 16 times. This only highlights the importance of the qualifying session on Saturday.
Following up his sixth consecutive win in Silverstone and with a demanding lead in both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships Max Verstappen goes into the weekend the clear favourite. And just to intimidate their rivals even more, Red Bull will be bringing their upgrade package to Hungary.
The upgrades declared for this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix:
Red Bull – Sidepod upgrade. Rear bodywork and floor edge has also had minor changes to work with the sidepod upgrade.
Ferrari – Upgrades to the front wing flap and gurney flap.
Mercedes – The dive plane on the front wing endplate, the front suspension and the rear wing have all had upgrades.
Alpine – Further improvements to the new front wing mainplane introduced at Silverstone.
Aston Martin – Cooling arrangement on the engine cover has been revised.
Haas – Modified the floor body, particularly around the tunnel inlets.
Alpha Tour – New nose and front wing changes and a new version of the rear wing.
The question on everyone’s lips –
Can anyone beat Max Verstappen?