2024 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix Highlights

Oscar Piastri has taken his first victory at the 2024 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix after intra-team drama played out, with McLaren teammate Lando Norris belatedly responding to an order to hand back the lead to the Australian who had lost out due to the team’s pit stop strategy.

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The 310,000 spectators who came to the Hungaroring this weekend and the millions watching on TV and through other channels worldwide must have enjoyed themselves. The weekend began like a chess game and peaked with a closely contested and open race in which the lead changed hands seven times.

With temperatures similar to those we had seen in Friday’s second free practice session, the Medium probably turned out to be the most efficient compound overall. If it had not been for the collision with Hamilton, Verstappen would almost certainly have finished third. But the Hard, the most used compound, was also competitive on the two Mercedes and other cars.

Ultimately, I think this race once again demonstrated how important it is for the teams to carefully work out which compounds are best suited to their cars and how the current range of tyres lets us see how different strategy choices work out on track. After all, that is the main objective set for us every year by the FIA, Formula 1 and the sport’s other stakeholders, namely to provide tyres that are, first and foremost, a guarantee of the maximum possible safety while allowing the teams and drivers to exploit their potential to the full. That is what we try our best to achieve, not just in Formula 1 but also in the two junior categories, for which we are the sole tyre supplier.

The day on the track:

As expected, the medium was the preferred compound at the start: 13 drivers opted for the C4 for the first stint, while four went with the soft, and three, including Gasly, who started from the pit lane, chose the hard. Almost the entire field went with a two-stop strategy, with just three drivers doing something different. While the three-stop delivered no benefit for Ocon and Sargeant, as the final pit stop for Soft tyres came when there was no longer anything to lose, it was a different matter for Tsunoda, who was on a one-stop and finished ninth mainly due to his managing the tyres well in both stints, (first for 29 laps on the Medium and then 41 on the Hard). Following their choices during free practice, the two Aston Martin drivers were locked into planning a strategy using all three compounds in Soft/Medium/Hard, which yielded just one point courtesy of a tenth place for Stroll, who finished one place ahead of Alonso.

The longest stints (41 on the Hard) were completed by the two Racing Bulls drivers, Ricciardo and Tsunoda, while the longest Medium stint went to Stroll on 31 laps, and he also did the most laps (14) on the Soft.

2024 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix Race Results

2024 Constructor Standings

Here are the team-by-team highlights:

On Sunday, Oracle Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Pérez powered through the field at the 2024 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix to bag seventh place and join Dutch teammate Max Verstappen with an important points finish.

The Mexican started 16th on the grid, however put pedal to the metal to slice through the field and claim six points as reigning three-time Formula One champion Verstappen earned 10 in fifth.

Max Verstappen, Driver, Red Bull Racing

Today was a tough race for us, so naturally, that frustrated me as I wanted things to improve. If you look at the whole race, I don’t think we were fast enough; unfortunately, we didn’t have the pace, and the strategy wasn’t working for us today. The high temperatures on the track also meant that the tyres overheated, especially when we tried to overtake throughout the race, which was very tough. We got stuck behind cars and let ourselves get undercut, and I think we just didn’t have our best day. We had to fight back and lost so much time that we lost touch with both the McLarens. As the car’s pace wasn’t as good, we needed to capitalise on the strategy, and we just didn’t manage to do that today. I need to look back at what happened with Lewis. I committed to the move, and I don’t think I broke too late, but we collided. I don’t think we could have beaten McLaren today, but from qualifying yesterday, I did think that P3 was on the cards, so it is a disappointing day all in all.

Sergio Pérez, Driver, Red Bull Racing:

That was the maximum we could achieve today; overtaking was impossible in the first stint on the hard. It was an aggressive strategy to begin on the hard, and it worked well for us; from the start, it was about putting it all together, making the right calls and the proper progress. My Team had to rebuild the car overnight, and it was not one hundred per cent on set-up; some correlation was off, so it’s positive I was able to feel at one with the car today, and I am getting the feeling back; this is a good boost of confidence. After my crash, the Team did an incredible job getting the car on track today. I need to maximise my performance to match their hard work. The only thing that matters to me is my Team and the people working with me, and I have to give my very best to them because they deserve it. I am here keeping my head down; I will keep improving and get back to my form. I think we have the pace to fight at the front, we showed it today and it is just a matter of time until we are back on the podium.

CHRISTIAN HORNER, CEO and Team Principal

It didn’t work out for us today. We seemed to have understeer and then losing that position at the start and conceding back to Lando affected us. We tried giving an overlap to give Max the pace, but to no avail. In parts of the race, the middle sector was where we were looking competitive, but there is plenty for us to try and see how we can improve and come back more robust next weekend. Checo drove a good race today, and his strategy of getting the undercut on George worked well. He also showed a good pace, made good overtakes, and, hopefully, would have gained some reasonable confidence for a strong performance in Spa.

Scuderia Ferrari HP leaves the 2024 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix with 20 points in the bag courtesy of a fourth-place finish for Charles Leclerc and a sixth for Carlos Sainz. So, the podium was just out of reach at the end of one of the most thrilling races ever seen at this circuit in its 39 years on the calendar, proving that Formula 1 is in great shape.

The race. Carlos’ race was somewhat compromised by dropping to seventh off the line, while Charles could get away well, tailing Lewis Hamilton at the first corner in fifth place. Sainz soon passed Fernando Alonso to get back to sixth, and both Ferrari drivers could go longer than others on their first stint. Leclerc was the last of the leaders to pit to switch from Medium to Hard tyres and even led for a few laps. On the hardest compound, the Monegasque was, for a long time, the quickest driver on track so that he could fight with Hamilton and Max Verstappen for third place behind the two McLarens. This three-way fight continued after the pit stops when Charles reverted to Mediums. On lap 56, the Dutchman got ahead, but seven laps later, the Red Bull driver collided with Hamilton, which put him behind Charles. Sainz finished behind the reigning world champion, having had a linear and solitary race once he had retaken sixth place.

One more before the break. The world championship continues at a breakneck pace with one last effort before the holidays, the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps next weekend.

Carlos Sainz #55

It’s a tough race for me. The start could have been better, and it’s crucial here in Hungary. That compromised the first two stints, as I had to overtake cars to get to P6, and from there onwards, it was quite a solitary race. In the last stint, I could push a bit more after extending with the Hard tyre, but overall, as we saw yesterday, we lacked pace compared to the cars at the front this weekend.

Belgium is an entirely different track, and we have to think about what approach we want to take with the car to finish the first half of the season with a good team result.

Charles Leclerc #16

We turned it around today. We had a solid race, with the correct tyre management and a good pace. A P4 differs from the desired result, and we know we have lots of work ahead. However, we were in better form than expected.

It’s difficult to overtake on this track, and we had to manage overheating. Being just behind Lewis (Hamilton) on the last stint was tricky. We took all our opportunities today, and it’s good to bring home these points for the team.

Frédéric Vasseur – Team Principal

First, congratulations to McLaren on its great weekend in the Grand Prix, an excellent advertisement for Formula 1. On our side, we had a good fight with Mercedes and Red Bull. We got the most out of our package this weekend. We have made a good step in the car’s driveability, but now we need to come up with a step forward in performance to close the gap of two to three-tenths to McLaren.

Charles got a good start moving up a couple of places early on. We had a solid pace in the middle stint on the Hard tyre, while it was a bit more difficult at the end on the Medium. With Charles, we tried to undercut Verstappen, but Hamilton pitted simultaneously, so we were blocked behind him.

Carlos didn’t have the best of starts, and then he had quite a solitary race, bringing home the best result in the circumstances. If we look at the points scored, we were second today behind McLaren. Of course, we cannot be happy just with this, but we are back on the right track.

Lewis Hamilton finished third, and George Russell eighth at the 2024 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix. Lewis made it five races in a row with one of the team’s cars on the podium and took his 200th top-three finish overall in F1.

Starting from P5, Lewis ran a two-stop Medium/Hard/Hard strategy. He moved up to P4 on lap one, passing the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, before completing a successful undercut on the Red Bull of Max Verstappen at the start of his second stint. He fought off the Dutchman in the closing stages, and contact between the pair at turn one was fortunate not to result in any race-affecting damage.

George, meanwhile, also ran a two-stop strategy, starting and ending on the Hard tyre and taking the Medium compound in his middle stint. He worked his way through the field but could not catch the Red Bull of Sergio Perez in the closing stages, having to settle for P8. George took the race’s fastest lap for an additional point, securing the team’s 100th-fastest lap since returning to the sport in 2010.

George Russell

Congratulations to Oscar on his victory today. McLaren has been really strong, and he’s been driving well, so it is well-deserved.

After yesterday’s qualifying issues, we knew we were likely aiming for the ‘best of the rest’ today. However, we struggled a little more in these very hot conditions, so we weren’t quite able to achieve that. Sergio Perez’s Red Bull was quicker than we expected, but we gave it a good go to get ahead of him. Getting P8 and the fastest lap was still a solid recovery.

We can also take the positives of the team being on the podium five races in a row. We have made consistent steps forward and the car has performed much better in the recent Grands Prix. Lewis drove a great race today and showed what the car could do. It is very close at the front between several teams now. We must maximise every opportunity and execute clean weekends to score good points. We will be looking to do that starting next week in Spa.

Lewis Hamilton

Firstly, a huge congratulations to McLaren on the one-two and Oscar (Piastri) on his maiden victory. They were incredibly strong today and deserved the result. Oscar has been doing a fantastic job since he got into F1 and has been remarkably consistent. It was only a matter of time before he got a win.

The team has done a great job of making progress with our car. We knew we didn’t have the speed of Oscar or Lando (Norris) today, but we secured the final spot on the podium. It was sometimes challenging to keep Verstappen behind whilst also making the tyres last. Our battle at the end was a little hair-raising, but that’s motor racing. I’m happy to return to the podium for another solid points haul. We now head to Spa and aim to finish the season’s first half on a high.

Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO

Claiming a podium finish, our fifth race in a row feels good. The McLarens were strong today and out of reach for us in these hot conditions. Congratulations to them and Oscar; they deserved today’s victory. We were able to maximise the result with Lewis, though, and that is encouraging. It was great seeing Lewis get his 200th podium in F1 and 151st with our team.

Yesterday’s setback with George meant he had to fight through the field. In the end, it was a good recovery from where he started. It was a challenging race for him, with plenty of traffic in his pit window throughout the afternoon. Without that, he may have been able to claim one more position, but it was still a solid effort. We now head to Spa, where the conditions will likely be cooler, and hopefully, that will suit us a little more.

Hear from McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, and Team Principal Andrea Stella after the 2024 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix.

It’s a tight start. Oscar takes the lead heading into Turn One, and Lando moves down to P3 – passed by Verstappen, who ran wide to take the place. Verstappen is instructed to give the place back to Lando, who takes P2. Lando boxes and swaps to a Hard tyre. He rejoins the track in P5. Oscar boxes a lap later and also brings the Hard tyre. He comes out in P4 just ahead of Lando.

Verstappen and Sainz pit, promoting Oscar and Lando back into the top three. Leclerc now heads into the pit lane, and Oscar is once again the race leader. Lando boxes for a set of Mediums aiming to cover Hamilton. Lando is now in P4 ahead of Hamilton. Oscar boxes and swaps to Mediums coming out just behind Lando. Lando allows Oscar to pass to retake the race lead. Oscar wins his first Grand Prix, and Lando completes the 1-2 in Hungary.

Lando Norris

It was a fantastic day for us as a team, and a huge congratulations to Oscar on his first win. I’m so happy; it’s been a long journey to achieve wins on merit, precisely what we did today. Oscar had a great start and controlled the race from there, so well done to him – it was only a matter of time before he finished first. I can’t thank the team enough for their work and effort in getting us here. Let’s keep pushing and fighting for wins each week.

Oscar Piastri

It is a very, very special day. This is the day I dreamed of as a kid, and standing on the top of an F1 podium with McLaren is just incredible. While it may have been a little complicated at the end, I think we got ourselves into a good position at the start and were in control from there. I want to thank the entire team for a fantastic effort and for giving us such a brilliant car. It’s a hell of a lot of fun racing with McLaren, so I can’t thank the team enough for allowing me to be in F1. To now be winning together 18 months in is an unbelievable feeling.

Andrea Stella

Today is a brilliant day for the team. Finishing first and second is a testament to the hard work of every single team member at McLaren, for which I would like to thank them for their efforts and contribution to this incredibly positive result.

The order of the drivers was altered for the final stint to make the safest call regarding tyre life and to protect our P1 and P2 finish in case of problems in the pit stops. Lando, giving the position back, embodies the values of what it means to be part of the McLaren Formula 1 Team and the culture we instil in being one team and putting the team’s interests first.

We now keep our feet on the ground, keep building and will not get complacent. There is still a long season ahead, and we must continue to maximise every opportunity available to score points and improve the car consistently. We now look to Belgium for one final race before the summer break.

Under the Hungarian heat, Aston Martin drivers finished the 2024 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix in P10 and P11, earning the team a hard-earned point.

Lance and Fernando opted for similar strategies. They each had a set of Soft tyres saved for the Grand Prix, which both drivers chose to start the race on. Fernando switched to Mediums at the end of Lap 7. Seven laps later, Lance also switched to the Medium compound. Their final pitstops were for Hard tyres. For Fernando, this came on Lap 37. Lance’s final pitstop was at the end of Lap 45. Lance finished the Hungarian Grand Prix in P10, followed by Fernando in P11.

Fernando Alonso

Unfortunately, we missed out on the points today and didn’t quite optimise our race. We pitted quite early, and from that point on, we had quite a long race ahead managing the tyres. It’s the first long-distance we’ve done with the new package, so we need to analyse our new updates and learn more ahead of Belgium next week.

Lance Stroll

It was a difficult race for us. I don’t think we optimised the strategy and were not competitive enough. We struggled with tyre degradation, too. We’ve got a lot of work to do as a team ahead of the next round. Spa is a very different track, so hopefully, that suits our car more.

Mike Krack, Team Principal:

We leave Budapest with a hard-earned point, but there seems to have been potential for slightly more today. Lance and Fernando drove well, making strong overtakes across their stints. The focus now shifts to Spa, and we will continue pushing hard to be more competitive next weekend and have a positive finish before the summer break.

Visa Cash App RB’s Yuki Tsunoda finished in the points thanks to his ninth spot. Australian teammate Daniel Ricciardo was not far behind in 12th at the 2024 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Daniel Ricciardo

Today, it was a long and frustrating race. We didn’t use the pace we had in the clear air. We were on the mediums at the start of the race, and after only a few laps, we pitted for new hards together with the other cars who started on softs, coming out in traffic. It’s even more frustrating because we were quick all weekend, and I felt like we had taken ourselves out of the race so early as we couldn’t fight cars coming much quicker on newer tyres.

Yuki Tsunoda

First of all, I thank the mechanics and team who spent the night and this morning repairing my car in time for the race. It wasn’t easy after such a big crash, and we had to change many things, but because of their hard work, we could score the points today – massive credit to the whole team. I’m relieved I could make up for it after yesterday’s crash and am particularly happy with my tyre management. It was a big race for us, especially as we finished ahead of our competitors, and it’s a huge positive for the coming races.

Laurent Mekies – Team Principal

Over the past few weeks, everyone in Faenza and Bicester worked hard and effectively, delivering the upturn in performance we witnessed here in Hungary. Getting both cars into Q3 was proof of that. Once again, we are heading the midfield, and the points we picked up today are a well-deserved reward for all that effort. Yuki’s race was sensational, and we were the only car daring to do a one-stop race, which allowed us to beat the midfield runners and both Aston Martins. Yuki’s tyre management was second to none, and he made it stick to the end. The team also did a remarkable job in a short time by rebuilding Yuki’s car around a new chassis following his Q3 crash. Unfortunately, we got it wrong with Daniel and pitted him too early in heavy traffic, which lost him a chance to fight for points. His pace had been extremely strong all weekend long, and he demonstrated that again in the final stint of the race when he was finally able to find some free air and fight his way back. We indeed share his frustration and will learn and return stronger next week. Now we move on to Spa, a very different challenge from Hungaroring. We go there with the positives of our strong weekend here and will push very hard to get our car to work as best it can at this fast and flowing track.

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team finished with Nico Hulkenberg 13th and Kevin Magnussen 15th at the 2024 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix, Round 13 of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, held Sunday at the Hungaroring.

Kevin Magnussen

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal

Williams Racing didn’t advance up the order around the Hungaroring by the chequered flag in the 2024 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix. Alex Albon’s stellar start, which saw him reach P9, eventually turned into a P14 finish, while Logan crossed the line in P17 after 70 laps.

The two FW46 cars used different tyre strategies, with Alex beginning on Pirelli’s soft compound rubber and Logan using the yellow-walled mediums. Alex used that extra grip to push hard once the five lights went out, jumping up from his P13 starting position and beginning to chase the two Aston Martins. There wasn’t as strong a launch for Logan, who dropped to P18 but kept out of trouble and fought back against Sergio Perez. Early pit stops for our closest rivals saw cars heading to the pit lane on Lap 7 and Lap 8 to switch to the hard tyres for their second stint. With multiple strategies at play, Albono and Sarge made early gains with their undercuts, but their older tyres had them at a disadvantage as the laps added up. A second set of hards for each gave a mid-race boost, but they were not enough to return to the points. Logan made a final switch to softs for his final six tours on a day when the high track temperature made tyre management tricky.

Alex Albon

Logan Sargeant

Esteban started from P19 on New Mediums and finished P18: Pit Stops on Lap 6 for New Hards, Lap 30 for New Hards, and Lap 64 for New Softs. Fastest Lap: 1min 21.610secs. Pierre started from the Pit Lane on New Hards but did Not Finish Pit Stops on Lap 28 for New Mediums. Fastest Lap: 1min 23.340secs. 

Esteban Ocon

It was a disappointing day and weekend overall. Apart from the start and the opening laps – where we made up four places – there is nothing too much to say about the race. We need to sit down and review, but looking back, we probably pitted too early in the first stint trying the undercut and should have extended. Then, we needed to box towards the end as the tyres had no grip left. We have plenty of things to analyse and improve on – operationally, performance-wise and reliability – from this weekend. We need a good reset before Spa next week and try to finish on a positive note before the summer break.

Pierre Gasly

It’s been a frustrating weekend. I started from the Pit Lane after introducing a new battery into my pool of Power Unit components. Our early pace looked promising, so we extended the first stint to fill some positions. Our strategy looked like it would work out, so we missed a real opportunity as we had to retire the car with a hydraulic leak at the halfway point. It’s a brutal end of another challenging weekend for us. We have to be better, and we need to look into our issues and understand why they happen. We move on and continue to work on it to get on top of these things. We must ensure we do not repeat these mistakes and return stronger next weekend in Belgium.

Bruno Famin – Team Principal

After yesterday’s compromised Qualifying, we decided strategically to introduce a new battery to Pierre’s Power Unit pool, which meant he started from the Pit Lane. Pierre did a solid job on his first stint to be in sync with the cars, who finished close to the points at the end of the race. We had a hydraulic leak and need to eliminate these recurring problems. We were in line with the early stoppers on Esteban’s side, but track position is vital at this circuit. However, we were not able to manage the tyres as planned. We have an immediate chance to do a much better job in Spa-Francorchamps next weekend, and we must target a positive end before the summer break.

Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber fought hard in the 2024 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix but unfortunately had no points to show for its effort. Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu delivered solid races but struggles in race trim meant they couldn’t fight for a place in the top ten. Still, the team is improving with the car updates, showing their worth and an uptick in one-lap pace.

With one race left before the summer break, the team will head to Belgium to continue progressing and fight back into the mix for points.

Valtteri Bottas

Ultimately, there wasn’t enough action around us to make anything out of this race. Sometimes, we got a bit unlucky with the timing of the blue flags and lost some time, but the main issue was still the lack of race pace. We don’t have enough to make it into the top ten on merit, and today, with the straightforward race we had in the midfield, we couldn’t go anywhere. The race had started ok, but once it stabilised, we couldn’t keep up with the RBs: we left our first stop quite late to have a tyre advantage at the end, but, as always, it’s not easy to make progress even when you have a tyre advantage. Still, it’s been a better performance this weekend than in the last couple of events: the upgrades helped us and will do so in Spa, so we need to keep progressing in this direction. The team is improving, but we must keep pushing to take another step forward.

Zhou Guanyu

This weekend has shown that our one-lap pace moved in the right direction; however, we don’t see the same in race pace. Today, my race was compromised after the first stop: the early pit stop was to cover our rivals and protect Valtteri, but it didn’t work out as planned. It meant I had to manage my tyres, resulting in a lonely and uneventful race. While the new upgrade package on Valtteri’s car indicates progress, we still struggle with high fuel loads, and neither of us could reach the points. Our most enormous task now is to stay focused and motivated as a team: we need to understand and learn more about the upgrade package when we both have it after the summer break so we can start afresh, close the gap, and become more competitive.

Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Team Representative

Today’s race has been tricky for us: unfortunately, we had confirmation that our race pace and consistency across different tyre compounds are insufficient to fight for the points. We knew this from Friday when the race simulations showed that we had more degradation and lacked pace compared to our direct competitors. Today’s race was just not as good as we wanted, although we tried to differentiate the strategies of our drivers, pitting Zhou earlier to create gaps for Valtteri potentially. After the positives we saw in qualifying, thanks to the new updates, there is still performance in race trim, especially in dirty air. We saw Valtteri do some overtaking manoeuvres on Ricciardo at the beginning of the race and on Sargeant and Ocon at the end when he finally ended up chasing Magnussen. It didn’t change our result, but we saw we could fight with our rivals on track. It was hard for Zhou: we chose to pit him earlier to cover Magnussen, Ocon, Alonso and Ricciardo: we knew the second and third stints would be hard for him, but in the end, the pace wasn’t there for him either. On a positive note, all four pit stops today have been consistent and fast: it is a testament to the hard work done by our people and mechanics here at the track and design office in Hinwil to fix the issues we had earlier in the season. With this spirit, which shows we can react and improve with the work of everyone in the team, we need to look forward to the next races. There is still a lot of work ahead of us, but it’s work that will pay dividends not just after the break but also in 2025.