Formula One will make a one-off return to Malaysia in October as the venue steps in to make up for April’s cancelled races. The start of the season saw the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix due to military conflict in the region. The Sepang International Circuit, which hosted the Malaysian Grand Prix between 1999 and 2017, will host this year’s Bahrain Grand Prix on the weekend of October 4. This slots in between the races in Azerbaijan and Singapore, creating a triple-header stint. The plans are still subject to formal approval from the World Motor Sport Council.
As part of the venue’s 40th season hosting the Hungarian Grand Prix, the Hungaroring has now named its corners. While some of the corners are named after elements from the local area, numerous other corners now carry the name of some iconic drivers. The first corner is named after Nelson Piquet, which was the site of the Brazilian’s great overtake around the outside of Ayrton Senna in the first F1 race at the circuit. As the first polesitter of the race, turn 13 has been named after Senna, while turn 12 is named after Michael Schumacher, who secured his fourth championship title at the 2001 race. Turn 4 was named after Nigel Mansell, who also claimed his only world championship title at the track in 1992. The second corner is named after Lewis Hamilton, who, with eight victories at the circuit, is the venue’s most successful driver. Jean Alesi had Turn 11 named after him due to his crash at that corner during practice for the 1995 race. And the final corner was named after pre-war Hungarian racer Ferenc Szisz. In addition to having corners named in their honour, Hamilton, Mansell, and Alesi will have their handprints set in concrete at the circuit.
Charles Leclerc started the Hungarian Grand Prix by setting the pace in the first free practice session of the weekend. But it was not all smooth sailing for the Monegasque driver, as he suffered a mechanical failure in the last ten minutes of the session. There were some unfamiliar faces in the paddock, as some teams opted to give the rookies some seat time. These included Frederik Vesti for Mercedes, Leonardo Fornaroli for McLaren, Ryo Hirakawa for Haas, Paul Aron for Alpine, and Colton Herta for Cadillac. Vesti was the fastest of the rookies, finishing in a respectable P7 between the two Audis, who had a very good session. It was a relatively orderly session, with Lance Stroll bringing out the session’s only red flag when a suspension failure on his Aston Martin sent him into a spin at Turn 3. Max Verstappen was second quickest, but by some margin to the leading Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton was in P3 ahead of Isack Hadjar, while George Russell finished in P5 nearly a second off Leclerc’s pace.
Ferrari carried their strong pace into free practice two, with Lewis Hamilton leading a 1-2 for the Italian team. Only 21 drivers participated in the practice session, with Aston Martin unable to repair Lance Stroll’s suspension in time. Windy conditions made it a difficult session, with many drivers complaining about low grip and balance issues. Franco Colapinto was caught out by these conditions, spinning into the barriers in the final corner, bringing out the red flag. Lando Norris was the best of the rest in P3, although he was nearly half a second slower than Hamilton’s fastest lap. Max Verstappen was a close P4 while George Russell was the only other driver to get within a second of the pace. At the same time, teammate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli finished a distant P13 due to the red flags.
Lando Norris was fastest in the final free practice session, which was closer than the previous two. Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli were both within 0.13s of the McLaren driver. Sergio Perez brought out the red flag when he stopped his Cadillac due to a power unit issue and brake fire on his first lap, bringing his session to a premature end. Arvid Lindblad was another driver to suffer from technical gremlins, with Racing Bulls working overnight and into the start of the session to fix a power unit issue on both cars. Charles Leclerc was fourth fastest ahead of Oscar Piastri and George Russell, while both Red Bulls were down in P7 and P8.
Lando Norris continued his form on Saturday afternoon, becoming the first non-Mercedes driver to claim grand prix pole position this season. The reigning world champion was fastest in all three qualifying sessions. Fernando Alonso put in an impressive qualifying performance to make it into Q2 for the first time this season, showing the enormous strides Aston Martin made with its upgrade package for this weekend. Kimi Antonelli was lucky to make it into Q3 after having his lap time deleted near the end of Q2. He was less lucky in Q3 when he earned a three-place grid penalty for ignoring yellow flags. Max Verstappen spun in the final corner at the end of the session, but Antonelli was deemed to not have slowed down enough. Lewis Hamilton also caught the attention of the stewards for impeding Oscar Piastri in the closing stages. He managed to qualify in P2, missing out on pole by just 0.012s, but was dropped three places. This promoted Charles Leclerc to P2 ahead of Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen.
When the chequered flag fell at the end of 70 laps of racing around the Hungaroring, it was Lando Norris who retained the top spot. It was not entirely easy for the reigning champ, as he lost the lead to teammate Oscar Piastri on the opening lap. He did fare better than Charles Leclerc, who dropped to P5 after a poor start, or George Russell, who wound up at the back of the field after the anti-stall engaged. Lewis Hamilton was the first of the leaders to pit, having started the race on the soft tyres. A good move on Arvid Lindblad on his outlap helped him to secure the undercut against Max Verstappen, although Verstappen overtook the Ferrari driver a few laps later. Isack Hadjar did a good job being a team player, bunching up the front of the field before making his pit stop. The McLaren duo still led, but Norris was confident he was faster than Piastri and urged the team to let him through. In the end, the team pitted Piastri first and left Norris out to build a gap in the lead. Encountering some lapped traffic in the subsequent laps didn’t help Piastri’s chance of preventing the undercut, although it was ultimately not that important because his car suffered a gearbox failure 20 laps from the end. The virtual safety car that was deployed helped Verstappen gain P2, as he stayed out for track position instead of pitting for tyres like the cars around him. Hamilton earned himself a penalty for speeding in the pit lane on his final pit stop, meaning he dropped to P5 after finishing P4 on the track. Norris finished in the front ahead of Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli. Click here to read a full summary of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Formula One’s summer break has now officially begun, marking the start of a month without racing. The action will resume with a sprint weekend at Zandvoort for the final Dutch Grand Prix on the weekend of August 23.
It can be challenging for even the most avid fans to keep up with the fast-paced world of Formula One. The Weekly F1 Recap is a series published each Monday that breaks down the action, both on and off the circuit, into bit-sized pieces. It's perfect for casual and experienced fans alike.
