hungarian gp

When Lewis Hamilton knelt beside his stricken Mercedes following a hydraulic failure in Q1 at Hockenheim last Saturday, he was staring down the barrel of a sizeable points deficit heading into the summer break.

Fernando Alonso has hit back to grab vital points for McLaren following a weather-hit qualifying and feels keeping clear of the congested midfield was ‘worth gold’ at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton feels Ferrari still holds the pace and performance advantage in the Formula 1 world championship battle but Mercedes has been able to exploit weaknesses having taken back-to-back wins to open up a 24-point lead going into the summer break.

Despite claiming a shock front-row lockout for the Hungarian Grand Prix, Mercedes Formula 1 team boss Toto Wolff could not ignore the fact Mercedes is losing out significantly to rivals Ferrari on pure performance.

Recapping all of the additional news and notes from the Hungaroring on Saturday, Crash.net F1 Digital Editor Luke Smith brings you his paddock notebook.

Carlos Sainz says he made a bold call by not pitting for fresh tyres midway through Q3 in order to complete his provisionally fastest lap in his charge to fifth place for Renault, marking his best qualifying result for the team.

Valtteri Bottas says securing a front row start and lockout for Mercedes came with mixed emotions but he is eager to use his position at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton says pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix in soaking wet conditions came as a ‘shock’ to both him and Mercedes having been unable to pinpoint what lap time he’d need to produce in changeable conditions.

Sebastian Vettel says Ferrari were not quick or confident enough in the rain compared to Mercedes during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix but felt his team were ‘in control’ in dry conditions.

Full qualifying results for the Hungarian Grand Prix, the twelfth round of the 2018 F1 season at the Hungaroring, Hungary. Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix – Full qualifying classification Q3

After topping the opening free practice before slipping down to third place on the times in FP2, Daniel Ricciardo remains confident he can challenge at the sharp end for the Hungarian Grand Prix despite using an older engine specification.

Despite ending Friday practice less than one-tenth of a second off top spot Max Verstappen says he still isn’t certain his Red Bull package can challenge for pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Sebastian Vettel says returning to Formula 1 action just days after the death of former head Sergio Marchionne is ‘probably the best thing’ to allow the team to focus on the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Full results from Free Practice 1 for the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring, round 12 of the 2018 Formula 1 season. 2018 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix - Free Practice 1 Results

Lewis Hamilton says he relishes the pressure being “higher than ever” against Sebastian Vettel in the battle for the Formula 1 world title fight.

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner feels Formula 1’s mandatory two-week shutdown is one of the sport’s smartest moves to help both teams and maintain interest in the sport over a season.

Ferrari duo Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen have opted for more of the softest option tyres available for the Hungarian Grand Prix compared to front-running rivals Mercedes and Red Bull.

Full testing times from the day two of the second 2017 F1 in-season test from the Hungaroring , Hungary – FINAL.  

Full Friday Free Practice results (3) for the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring, Round 11 of the 2017 Formula 1 World Championship.

Thursday FIA press conference from Budapest in Hungary with Roberto Merhi (Manor), Romain Grosjean (Lotus), Felipe Nasr (Sauber), Sergio Perez (Force India), Felipe Massa (Williams) and Nico Hulkenberg (Force India).

Lewis Hamilton: We learned over the course of the day, made some changes and will make more for tomorrow. It's difficult to know how the weekend will go for us.

McLaren's Jenson Button wins in Hungary with the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel second - 3.5 seconds adrift; Fernando Alonso completes the podium.

Robert Kubica is a Formula 1 World Champion in-waiting, according to Damon Hill - but the BMW-Sauber star himself is refusing to let paddock speculation that he is Ferrari-bound in the near future sway his focus from the remainder of the 2008 campaign.

Renault has paid tribute to one of its F1 research and development engineers, after he was found dead at the team's Oxfordshire headquarters earlier this week.