Television scriptwriters understand the importance of raising the tension just before an advertising break to entice viewers to stay tuned and find out what could possibly happen next.
Would Formula 1 serve up the same in the Hungarian Grand Prix, the last race before the summer break? Ferrari and Charles Leclerc had an ideal opportunity to regain lost ground on Red Bull and Max Verstappen, reinvigorate the championship battles and leave millions of fans on tenterhooks during the four-week suspension.
Instead, what Ferrari and their passionate supporters witnessed during the Hungarian Grand Prix was less high drama and more comedy – with Red Bull the ones heading into August laughing the hardest.
But Verstappen’s rise up the ranks could easily have been self-sabotaged before it had even begun. Leclerc’s race turned on Ferrari’s hotly-debated decision to fit a set of hard tyres at his second pit stop, notwithstanding the problems other teams experienced getting the compound to work on a relatively cool track.
After Sunday’s race, Verstappen revealed he almost opted for the same compound as he prepared to line up 10th on the grid. It would have proved a grave error.
“We were planning to start on the hard tyre,” Verstappen later revealed. “But then I went to the grid on the soft tyres and I was already struggling for grip. So I said ‘no way we’re going to start on the hard…’”
Verstappen’s insistence and Red Bull’s willingness to listen to their driver would stand in stark contrast to the approach of Ferrari during the race. What unfolded was arguably yet another example of the team with arguably the best car on the grid giving away points in the most baffling fashion.
With George Russell having delivered Mercedes pole position on Saturday – the first of his Formula 1 career – the least his team could do is give him the best chance of keeping it. For that reason and others, they chose to start the pole winner on soft compound tyres in a bid to help him come out of the first corner with the lead.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
The plan worked – just. Carlos Sainz Jnr, on medium rubber, chased Russell to turn one and beat the Mercedes under braking for the tight right hander, nosing in front. But Russell had the racing line, pulled ahead of the Ferrari and kept the lead.
Behind them, Leclerc was unopposed in third, while Lando…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at RaceFans…