Mercedes ahead of the Hungarian GP

Hamilton: “The car is slowly coming to life”

Lewis Hamilton wants to compete for victory again with Mercedes in Hungary.(Bild: AFP/GETTY IMAGES/Chris Graythen)

Mercedes will be fighting for a Formula 1 hat-trick on Sunday (from 3pm) at the Hungaroring. A few months ago, this sentence would have been dismissed as nonsense, but it is now completely true. Lewis Hamilton is more than satisfied with the development of his car. 

After successes in Spielberg (George Russell) and Silverstone (Lewis Hamilton), things really heat up in Mogyorod, as the weekend of the Hungarian Grand Prix is usually one of the sunniest of the year. The teams reach the limits of their tire management.

Mercedes is the first team since Ferrari in 2022 to beat Red Bull twice in a row. Hamilton has already won eight times on the track just outside Budapest and set his last pole position to date last year. "I love Hungary," said the 39-year-old Briton, who is aiming for his 200th podium finish in Formula 1. "I'm definitely really looking forward to racing there, but also the journey we're on and the fact that the car is starting to come to life and feel great."

Wolff lowers expectations
Team Principal Toto Wolff is currently also concerned with moderating and regulating expectations. "We have made further progress with the W15 in recent races. This has led to outstanding results in Austria and Silverstone. However, we know that we don't yet have a car with which we can fight for victories every weekend," explained the Viennese. However, he hopes "that we can maintain our positive trend and finish the first half of the season as strongly as possible".

Toto Wolff(Bild: GEPA)

The Hungaroring has a different character to the circuits in Spielberg and Silverstone. One lap is rather slow, there are many tight and twisty sections. Monaco without the walls - that's the description we've heard from time to time. Nevertheless, triple champion Max Verstappen has won in Hungary in the past two years and is now aiming for his own hat-trick. Three races would be the longest run without a win for Red Bull since 2021, when Verstappen was still battling fiercely with Hamilton for the title.

Norris is also ready
"We had a brilliant race in Hungary last year and have good memories here, having won twelve races in a row," said the Dutchman, who has an 84-point lead over McLaren driver Lando Norris after twelve of 24 races. "Hopefully we can have another great race this year and achieve another good team result."

Last year, Verstappen demoralized second-placed Norris, leaving him a whopping 33.7 seconds behind, while his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez finished third. Perez is currently in a veritable crisis, having scored just 15 points in the last six races and the gap to Verstappen is widening. Due to performance-related clauses, the Mexican could even face a premature end at the world champion racing team, according to media reports, if he only receives a new contract in June that runs until the end of 2026. One week after Budapest, Formula 1 will make a guest appearance at Spa-Francorchamps before the month-long summer break.