Ferrari race report: Charles Leclerc P4, Carlos Sainz P6 at Hungaroring | 2024 F1 Hungarian GP

07/21/2024 10:43 AM

Here is our full text transcript from the 13th round of the 2024 Formula 1 championship:

Welcome back to Budapaest for ScuderiaFans.com’ live coverage of the Hungarian Grand Prix!

We have another thrilling day of action in store, with pole-sitter Lando Norris seeking the second victory of his Formula 1 career. He has the added security of having his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri alongside him on the front row, but Max Verstappen is poised to mount a challenge from third. Carlos Sainz will start from fourth place and his Maranello teammate Charles Leclerc from sixth on a Sunday in which it will be difficult for Ferrari to challenge Red Bull and McLaren for a place on the podium. The Italian side will be hoping to at least gain more points than rivals Mercedes.

This huge opportunity for McLaren comes in the race after a series of errors saw Lando Norris miss out on a victory that should have been his at the British Grand Prix. Silverstone was the latest in a series of races that Norris has had a fine chance of winning but failed to do so for various reasons. The Brit insisted that he doesn’t have a “point to prove” this afternoon.

This is not what Lando Norris fans want to hear 30 minutes before the race… he has been on team radio to complain about a throttle issue: “Something’s definitely not right with the throttle. It’s not how it should be.”

Ted Kravitz gives an update on the frantic working happening on Lando Norris’ McLaren: “I’ve seen them take the throttle damper out from the footwell of Lando Norris’ McLaren and they are replacing it. It’s all being watched by the FIA scrutineer. This is a precise item on the car and it is so crucial to the control of the throttle, especially around here. For that to be changed at this late stage is concerning to say the least.”

According to Pirelli, a classic Hungaroring two-stopper looks pretty nailed on this afternoon for the whole field. Just how will the front-runners play it though? Only the Mercedes drivers, who start fifth and 17th, have two sets of new hards available to them. Red Bull do have one new set, whereas the McLarens scrubbed theirs yesterday so its basically new too.

The top six are all on medium tyres to start, but the Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll on the fourth row start with the soft compound. Unsurprisingly, Sergio Perez and George Russell, out of position in 16th and 17th, are both starting on hard tyres as they will likely look to run long and hope for some help from a Safety Car.

It’s been a dramatic 30 minutes for Lando Norris as his mechanics scrambled to fix those throttle issues, but he leads the field away for the formation lap with team-mate Oscar Piastri to his right and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen immediately behind, followed by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.

Lap 1/70: Lando Norris gets away well but so do Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen behind him. Verstappen goes around the outside but runs wide, while Piastri gets past his team-mate to take the lead! Verstappen re-joins the track ahead of Norris in second but may well be instructed to give that place back. Lewis Hamilton has climbed to fourth from fifth in the opening corners – and briefly challenged Norris for third. Charles Leclerc is up to fifth and Fernando Alonso in sixth with Carlos Sainz down from fourth to seventh.

Lap 3/70: Carlos Sainz is back up to sixth already with Fernando Alonso unable to defend from the much faster Ferrari into Turn One.

Lap 3/70: Lando Norris and Max Verstappen are both sending pointed messages over team radio. Norris says Verstappen gained an advantage, while the Dutchman says he was forced off by the McLaren. The stewards have confirmed they are investigating it. Will Verstappen give the place back or risk facing a penalty? Meanwhile, Piastri has opened up a 1.5s lead.

Lap 4/70: Max Verstappen is advised by his pit wall to let Lando Norris through, and he obliges at the start of lap four. He attempts to fight back immediately, and is within DRS range, but can’t pull it off on this occasion. The stewards confirm there’ll be no further investigation, with the place having been given back. Max Verstappen is FUMING on team radio: “OK, so you can just drive people off the track then? You can tell the FIA that’s how we’re going to race from now onwards. Just driving people off the road.”

Lap 6/70: Oscar Piastri has opened up a 2.3s gap to Lando Norris, who remains under pressure from Max Verstappen. Is Norris backing up Verstappen for his team-mate having lost the lead, or is Piastri just quicker at this point?

Lap 7/70: George Russell has had a solid start, gaining five places in the opening stages to reach P12. No such luck for Sergio Perez, who is running where he started in P16.

Lap 8/70: Now Alonso, Ricciardo and Zhou stop for hard tyres to try and cover those stops on the previous lap. Could we see a three-stop strategy from some of these teams?

Lap 11/70: Charles Leclerc has closed the gap on fourth-placed Lewis Hamilton to just 1.5s. We know the Mercedes doesn’t enjoy warmer temperatures, so is the British GP winner vulnerable to a pass here?

Lap 14/70: Lando Norris has been told he is racing Max Verstappen behind him, rather than Oscar Piastri who is now more than three seconds ahead of him. We believe our race is with Verstappen,” he is told on team radio. “Continue to open a gap. This is good. It’s now 2.9.”

Lap 14/70: Lance Stroll comes into the pits from P7 and emerges all the way down in P16, three positions back from his team-mate Fernando Alonso. The soft-tyre gamble for Aston Martin doesn’t appear to have paid off.

Lap 16/70: Lewis Hamilton comes in, and with only a 1.2s deficit to Max Verstappen when he entered the pit lane, he has every chance of pulling off an undercut on the Dutchman.

Lap 18/70: “100 per cent pace please,” Norris is told before he becomes the first McLaren to stop. Meanwhile, Verstappen stays out – and doesn’t respond to the Hamilton undercut attempt.

Lap 18/70: Max Verstappen really isn’t enjoying himself right now… “I can’t brake. I can’t enter corners. Front and rears. It’s really bad.”

Lap 18/70: Lewis Hamilton uses his new hard tyres to ease past Yuki Tsunoda on the main straight. He’s up to P6, and only three seconds back from Norris.

Lap 19: Piastri pits from the lead and returns to the track in fourth, 2.5s ahead of his team-mate Norris. For now, Verstappen leads from Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz but all three should be stopping shortly.

Lap 21/70: “This tyre definitely has less grip,” says Lewis Hamilton who was briefly making serious ground on Norris ahead of him. Norris has increased his pace, but Hamilton may fancy his chances of fighting the McLaren and Verstappen for second.

Lap 22/70: Carlos Sainz becomes the first Ferrari driver to stop. He puts on hard tyres and comes out in ninth, behind Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull. You’d hope he would be able to sort that out shortly with fresher tyres on. Charles Leclerc, who is yet to stop, now leads.

Lap 23/70: Lewis Hamilton is showing more pace than most expected today. He’s just set another fastest lap of the race to move within 1.8s of Lando Norris. Given Norris is just 2.6s back from team-mate Oscar Piastri, Hamilton is arguably in the hunt for a second successive Grand Prix victory.

Lap 24/70: “Keep it up. This is seriously good driving,” Charles Leclerc is told as he prepares to box. A 3.2s stop sees him back out in fifth ahead of Tsunoda who hasn’t stopped yet. Further back, Carlos Sainz passes Sergio Perez for eighth as expected. Oscar Piastri is back in the lead after that round of stops.

Lap 25/70: Now it’s Max Verstappen showing some decent pace on his fresh hard tyres. The Dutchman sets the fastest lap of the race and is now within five seconds of Hamilton ahead of him.

Lap 26/70: Carlos Sainz is now up to sixth after a straightforward pass on George Russell, who has stayed out on his original set of hard tyres, and Yuki Tsunoda who also hasn’t stopped yet. Russell wasn’t willing to fight the Ferrari and will be praying for a Safety Car to boost his prospects.

Lap 27/70: Oscar Piastri has opened up a 3.6s advantage over his team-mate Lando Norris out front, with the fastest lap of the race aiding his cause. It’s a similar margin back to Lewis Hamilton in third, with Max Verstappen now quite rapidly closing in on the Mercedes.

Lap 35/70: “Hamilton’s tyres are going, going and almost gone here,” says David Croft and the Brit can see an awful lot of Red Bull in his mirrors right now. Verstappen attempts an overtake into Turn One, but Hamilton holds on and locks up and Verstappen passes him into Turn Two, only to run wide and allow Hamilton to reclaim third place.

Lap 37/70: After running wide trying to pass Hamilton, Verstappen was not happy with his RB20. He said over the radio: “I’m minus five brake bias and this thing just doesn’t turn. It’s unbelievable.” He is back into DRS range now though, and will surely soon have another opportunity.

Lap 38/70: Here goes Verstappen again… he has a look into Turn One and again into Turn Two, but somehow the wily old Hamilton is able to defend. There’s no room in Turn Four either and Hamilton lives to fight another day.

Lap 41/70: This time Hamilton DOES stop. It’s a 2.8s stop, which might be a tad slower than Mercedes would have wanted. He comes out on hard tyres in fifth, 13 seconds behind Carlos Sainz. Charles Leclerc stopped for mediums at the same time and emerges in sixth less than a second behind the Mercedes.

Lap 43/70: Hamilton would have liked a little bit of time to nurse in his new hard tyres, but is under real pressure from Charles Leclerc who is just 0.9s behind on medium tyres. The gap to Max Verstappen up the road is around 19 seconds with a pit stop here usually costing you around 20 seconds.

Lap 45/70: Lando Norris gets the call to stop first. The explanation Oscar Piastri has been given is that it’s to cover off an undercut from Lewis Hamilton. But if Lando Norris undercuts Piastri, it will be interesting to see how willing he is to hand back first to his team-mate. This could get very spicy.

Lap 48/70: Oscar Piastri comes in and has lost the lead to his team-mate Lando Norris. Max Verstappen is temporarily in the lead but will need to stop again. We’re about to find out whether Norris will give the position back. Carlos Sainz also comes in to the pits – which is good news for Lando Norris as it gets the Ferrari out of his way. The Spaniard comes out in sixth on medium tyres with a gap of 13 seconds to his team-mate Charles Leclerc in fifth.

Lap 50/70: Verstappen pits from the lead, which means Norris is now our official leader. Both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are ahead of Max Verstappen now and the Dutchman has to close up a five-second gap on fresher tyres over the last 20 laps. He’s not a happy man, but a podium finish is definitely on.

Lap 51/70: One man who is going along nicely right now is Sergio Perez who has just set the fastest lap of the race after stopping for a second time for medium tyres. He is almost certain to catch George Russell, who is currently 13 seconds down the road in seventh and may or may not stop again.

Lap 53/70: Verstappen is wasting no time in closing the gap on Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton ahead of him. He emerged from the pits around 5.5s behind his rivals but the gap is down to 1.2s already.

Lap 57/70: Verstappen finally makes it stick at the third attempt into Turn One. That moves the raging Red Bull driver into fourth and he’ll now hunt down Lewis Hamilton for third.

Lap 56/70: Lando Norris has just been told once more that McLaren want him to let Oscar Piastri through for the lead. He responds: “Well you should have pitted him first.” He’s now told by his engineer: “I know you’ll do the right thing.” The gap is still above three seconds.

Lap 58/70: Lando Norris has extended his lead to more than four seconds. He’s told that the team are concerned he is pushing his tyres too hard at Turns 4 and 11. It really doesn’t look like he has any intention of letting Oscar Piastri past him here.

Lap 62/70: This is getting out of hand! The latest message to Norris is: “Ok Lando, 10 laps to go. We think both cars are using their tyres too much. Just remember every single Sunday morning meeting we have.”

Norris replies that Piastri needs to catch him. The gap is at five seconds now with eight laps to go.

Lap 63: WOW! Verstappen makes the move on Hamilton at Turn One and the pair collide. Verstappen comes off worse and bounces off the track. WHAT DRAMA! He is back on the track in fifth behind Charles Leclerc.

“He moved under braking,” says Verstappen, who is lucky only to drop one place. “I’m not getting into this on the radio, it’s childish,” says an equally frustrated GP. The stewards are looking at that by the way. Martin Brundle is in no doubt that Verstappen was to blame – and he feels a penalty could be incoming for the world champion.

Lap 66/70: More guilt tripping for Norris. “The way to win a championship is not by yourself. You’re going to need Oscar, and you’re going to need the team,” he’s told.

Lap 67/70: The stewards will look into the Verstappen-Hamilton collision after the race. If Verstappen gets a penalty he could drop to sixth behind Carlos Sainz. For now, he’s going to try to close on Leclerc who is one second ahead of him.

Lap 70/70: He won the Qatar Sprint last season, but Oscar Piastri is now on the verge of his first full grand prix victory. The final lap is under way and he has about a second lead over Lando Norris. What drama we’ve had here in Budapest!

Chequered flag: Oscar Piastri is a grand prix winner! The Australian leads home a McLaren one-two from team-mate Lando Norris. Lewis Hamilton seals a 200th podium in F1 by taking third. Charles Leclerc finishes in fourth place for Ferrari, while Carlos Sainz ends the Hungarian Grand Prix in P6, but Max Verstappen faces a post-race investigation for causing a collision.

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