Martin Brundle on the results of the Hungarian Grand Prix…

Former Formula 1 driver, Sky Sport F1 commentator Martin Brandl summed up the results of the Hungarian Grand Prix…

In the past, the Hungarian race on a narrow and slow track more than once looked like a boring procession. With the new cars in 2022, we’ve seen great overtaking, mostly on the brakes while maintaining full control of the car.

At the start of the weekend, Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement after the end of the season, starting in Abu Dhabi will be his 300th and last in Formula 1. It seems like only 15 years ago, he test-drive a BMW on Friday and then made his Toro Rosso debut, looking like a high school student enjoying life.

He won four world and championship titles and 53 races, finishing third in the list of the best Formula 1 drivers of all time, and he remains the youngest world champion ever. Now he is only 35 years old, but he is already tired.

Sebastian took fourteen victories in six seasons with Ferrari. I asked Christian Horner about Sky Sports F1 if he thought Seb had made a mistake by leaving Red Bull for Ferrari at the end of 2014 and he made it very clear that he thought it was the right move at the time.

Sebastian wants to spend more time with his family and support global initiatives, but outside of Formula 1, it will be harder for him to get the attention he deserves. Because life goes on. How many times did we remember Kimi Raikkonen this year?

Sebastian is a real champion and a very good person, I was happy to comment on his career.

The timing of his announcement became clear when it was unexpectedly announced Monday morning that Fernando Alonso would take his place. It appears that Alpine could not or would not offer Alonso a two-year deal, and his contract with Aston Martin is officially called a multi-year deal.

In the race, Alonso was quite surprised by how abruptly his team-mate Esteban Ocon behaved in the fight against him, rather than aiming his weapon at his rivals.

Fernando is a real fighter, on and off the track. He will put pressure on the team. He’s a little softer these days, but with the arrival of the Stroll family team, complications are possible.

I remember interviewing him on the grid in Abu Dhabi in 2018, he was very convincing about how this was the end of his F1 career, but now he will be on the grid until at least the end of 2024, at age 43. after 400 races in Formula 1. An extraordinary decision.

George Russell had a great lap that got him pole position. He was not the best in the sectors and the fastest in the speed test points, but he prepared the tires very well and deprived Ferrari of the opportunity to occupy the entire front row, which seemed guaranteed.

Both Ferrari drivers showed excellent pace on dry and wet tracks. Like the week before in Paul Ricard, Carlos Sainz looked more confident and quicker than Charles Leclerc.

Verstappen was lucky that the engine in his car broke down at the end of qualifying, and not at the start of the race. Hamilton also failed to achieve a high result after the withdrawal of DRS.

Russell bravely held the lead and drove 16 laps on the starter set of tires with Soft. Curiously, Sainz was called into the pits after one lap where he changed from Medium to Medium, as was his partner Leclerc on lap 21. Under the rules, had it not rained, both drivers would have been forced to return to the pit lane to use the mandatory second shift, somewhat limiting the choice of strategy.

Meanwhile, Leclerc overtook Sainz and started chasing Russell, whom he overtook on lap 31. Looks like it was another race for Charles to win.

Most of the pit stops were aimed at covering the possibility of trimming Verstappen driving ahead. Red Bull imposed their strategy on the opponents by switching tires on rounds 16 and 38. Immediately after the pit stops, Max showed a very fast pace.

In Ferrari they had to react and on lap 39 they called Leclerc into the pits. He had to get either Soft, which wouldn’t last until the end of the race, or Hard, which looked terrible on other cars. They hit Hard, his car skidded across the track.

Max overtook Leclerc, then lost the lead through a corner in Turn 13, but played back the gap again and took the lead. Great race from Verstappen.

Equally impressive was Lewis Hamilton’s second place, who started seventh. Mercedes made good use of the soft tires and as always Lewis was at his best, finishing on the podium for the fifth race in a row. He and the team implemented the Medium-Medium-Soft strategy.

Russell was disappointed in third as he was overtaken and overtaken by another strategy, Hamilton, but again he played his part well for the team. It seems they still don’t understand why the car sometimes performs better on Sundays than on other days. If they can’t fix the problem, there’s no point in someone else giving their opinion about it.

With nine races to go in the season, Verstappen leads with 80 points, more than three wins and three best laps. Mercedes is only 30 points behind Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship.”