Poll: Official 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix Race Thread - Hungaroring, Budapest - Race 14/24

Rate the HA race out of ten


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Could we see the unthinkable and Lewis rejoins Mercedes next year?!? Fed up with Ferrari, toto misses him etc!

The big risk is Russell out performs him. It was looking that way when he left.
Better to retire I'd say.
 
On race itself. I suspect it will be a snooze tomorrow.

I hope leclerc goes "I've got nothing to lose, I'm going to be over aggressive knowing mclaren drivers have a lot to lose".

We need leclerc to be p1 after lap 1. If mclaren get on front at lap 1 it will be a snooze. Or even worse.. 1 mclaren gets in front and we don't even have a race for P1
 
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I think so too. Can't see any rational argument for it. Maybe cash? But I don't see Hamilton doing it for cash.
He wasn’t doing well at Merc, and to be fair Merc wasn’t doing too well themselves. Getting £50mil a year, or whatever it was, to drive for Ferrari, who might have a good car in 2026, is an easy gamble.

I don’t think any other team would pick him up unless it was for the financial gain because there are multiple drivers on the grid who can achieve that same level of performance.
 
he is probably one of the last from an era of drivers who came in to the sport dreaming of driving for that brand. it doesn't seem to be a big dream as much now (after all the kids coming in now will have grown up on red bull and mercedes dominance)
 
I don't see how anyone can blame Ferrari for what happened today with Lewis, especially when he said it's not the car.

Going back to Mercedes isn't going to fix anything for him either.

Hope he gets his mojo back and 2026 Ferrari have something up their sleeves.
 
I'm no great fan of Hamilton but I feel he is desperate to move one WDC clear.

Having been cheated out of it, he postponed retirement. He's now chasing a legacy and also the best car and failing to find it.

Can he still win a WDC? Yes probably, if he had the best car. Will he? No. He simply doesn't have the star factor to get that kind of drive anymore.
 
Ive got a suspicion loosing the 2021 title hit Lewis harder than the cameras suggest, he's not been right since, some say ground effects cars dont suit him but i dont completely buy it, he's in abundance of natural talent but something happened that day that flipped a switch, he's not been the same since.

anyway i dont hold out much hope for an interesting race, this circuit is pretty much Monaco minus the barriers, im hedging on a Mclaren 1/2 but cant call on either driver, but leaning more to Piastri due to track position.
 
Thing is, much as Toto probably wants Lewis back, I imagine it would be awkward for him to let Antonelli go just yet, unless he decides to be completely ruthless.

Toto isn't taking Hamilton back. Hamilton's reasons for leaving were as much about Toto not being willing to commit to an ageing star as about Lewis' wish to finish his career in a Ferrari. Toto has one of the best lineups on the grid, he's not looking to change it. And, yes, I know Antonelli is having a tricky first year but give him time -- class will tell -- and Russell is a prodigious talent in his own right.
 
Ive got a suspicion loosing the 2021 title hit Lewis harder than the cameras suggest, he's not been right since, some say ground effects cars dont suit him but i dont completely buy it, he's in abundance of natural talent but something happened that day that flipped a switch, he's not been the same since.

anyway i dont hold out much hope for an interesting race, this circuit is pretty much Monaco minus the barriers, im hedging on a Mclaren 1/2 but cant call on either driver, but leaning more to Piastri due to track position.

IMO something Hamilton is struggling with a bit is improved race management from some of the younger drivers, he is still a beast at driving a car and managing the things which affect his car like tyres but being left behind a bit when it comes to new mental approaches/strategy to traffic management, mind games, etc.

Kind of like how in arena FPS games it used to be reaction times and aim were king (though not without some strategy) but now the old greats are troubled by a new generation employing advanced theories on stack management and macro tactics.
 
IMO something Hamilton is struggling with a bit is improved race management from some of the younger drivers, he is still a beast at driving a car and managing the things which affect his car like tyres but being left behind a bit when it comes to new mental approaches/strategy to traffic management, mind games, etc.

I'm not sure I buy this. Hamilton was often able to improve in the races against Russell even when he struggled in quali, for example.

I think Hamilton's problem is that his supreme strength is car feel but that isn't what the current generation rewards. That and age is dulling his abilities slightly. We shouldn't underestimate how much better prepared the next generation of drivers is either, often in sport "generational talents" are just people who were first to get X or Y preparation: for example, Steve Davis dominated Snooker for years because he was the first player to practice that hard and to have practised that hard since a young age -- but that was what all the players after him did. Schumacher was the one of the first F1 drivers to have started kart racing as a young child but almost every driver does that now. Hamilton started at six. To drivers like Max the simulator is an extension of something he's always done. He's always played racing games. He can learn a track and a car without having to have the same feel from the controls and his body as a driver like Hamilton who always focused on real driving and only came to computer simulated stuff later in life.

Perhaps the next generation will suit Hamilton better. perhaps the Ferrari will be the pick of the field and Hamilton's depth of experience will let him win out over Leclerc under the pressure of a title fight. Perhaps fishes will be wishes.
 
Can he still win a WDC? Yes probably, if he had the best car. Will he? No. He simply doesn't have the star factor to get that kind of drive anymore.

I'm not so sure. I think he could get outperformed by the drivers at the top teams now. Charles is doing it right now, Russell was doing it and Max certainly would. Would Piastri? Probably - especially in years to come as he gains more experience. I think his only chance comes if he joins someone with a weaker partner who unexpectedly makes an insane car a la Brawn.
 
Toto isn't taking Hamilton back. Hamilton's reasons for leaving were as much about Toto not being willing to commit to an ageing star as about Lewis' wish to finish his career in a Ferrari. Toto has one of the best lineups on the grid, he's not looking to change it. And, yes, I know Antonelli is having a tricky first year but give him time -- class will tell -- and Russell is a prodigious talent in his own right.
Russell doesn't get enough credit imo.
He's been great. He's all that's asked off him but rarely gets credit from fans.

He's got good mental resolve, he's quick and reliable. He's be an asset in any team

Time will tell about Antonelli.
 
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He's got good mental resolve, he's quick and reliable. He's be an asset in any team
Out of all the British drivers I think Russell has the strongest mental resolve, which is why I put him in with a chance for a WDC. Obviously hard to tell until there's an actual title fight but I think he could do it.
 
Toto isn't taking Hamilton back. Hamilton's reasons for leaving were as much about Toto not being willing to commit to an ageing star as about Lewis' wish to finish his career in a Ferrari. Toto has one of the best lineups on the grid, he's not looking to change it. And, yes, I know Antonelli is having a tricky first year but give him time -- class will tell -- and Russell is a prodigious talent in his own right.
I think you’ll find toto was looking to change his line up though? He wanted Max, think that makes it clear he’s not happy with what he has.
 
I think you’ll find toto was looking to change his line up though? He wanted Max, think that makes it clear he’s not happy with what he has.

Not necessarily , IMO Max is the fastest driver on the grid currently. So why wouldn’t he try to poach him? There’s questions around personality when it comes to Max but from a speed perspective, any team would be improved by having him.

That is also assuming Toto actually wanted him. There’s always a chance the offer was just an easy opportunity to try and destabilise Red Bull and/or Max.
 
I think you’ll find toto was looking to change his line up though? He wanted Max, think that makes it clear he’s not happy with what he has.

I agree with @Greboth on this: it's not that Toto wants to change the lineup, it's that he wants Max specifically.
 
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