Racing Point’s exaggeration is real … but Mercedes seems unbeatable

Oh darling. We’ve been here before, haven’t we? Lewis Hamilton’s 90th pole position was another milestone in a remarkable race, but it all felt a bit like déjà vu.

Here are the main qualifying discussion points for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Mercedes era in a nutshell

This was a result that seemed to perfectly sum up the modern era of Formula One and how dominant Mercedes has been. Not only were the world champions comfortably first and second, but Racing Point, nicknamed the “Pink Mercedes” for its striking resemblance to last year’s title-winning car, finished third and fourth.

While it’s nice to see a new team on the podium (see more on the racing point below), it was a deflating session to watch.

Only two cars were within a second of Lewis Hamilton’s pole time. One was Valtteri Bottas in the other Mercedes, the other was Lance Stroll, 0.9 seconds off the pace. In F1 terms, a second on a single qualifying lap is huge and suggests that the 2020 world champions car is on another level than the rest.

The most deflated of all was Red Bull. They were expected to be closer to Mercedes here, if not in qualifying, at least in a position to attack on Sunday, but the team is clearly in the back. Worse still, Mercedes and Racing Point comfortably outperformed the rest. and Both will start on the medium tire, not the soft, which seems to be the ideal race strategy for Sunday afternoon.

We could have a wild race if the rain comes in time for Sunday’s race, but even then this Mercedes team will be pretty hard to beat in most places this season.

I’m sorry to be a fan of the party, but the 2020 season could be an old job for anyone who doesn’t support the Mercedes team.

More scrutiny for the impersonator

We have become so used to seeing Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari in front of the grid that the sight of two pink cars in the second row will surprise on Sunday. However, it is something that we will certainly get used to this year, as Racing Point has emerged from the first races as a clear favorite in 2020.

While it is clear that Red Bull underperformed in Hungary on Saturday, Racing Point is a really fast race car. Its similarities to last year’s Mercedes have not gone unnoticed and are undoubtedly the key to its success, opening up a broader topic of philosophical conversation in F1. If it’s possible to copy the car faster on the grid and get results, why doesn’t everyone do it?

Racing Point hasn’t denied it based on the RP20 in photos from last year’s Mercedes W10, but insists it can prove that it has designed the car itself. That test will be tested at a forthcoming hearing of stewards on the legality of its brake lines, which Renault’s rivals have pointed out as very similar to the 2019 Mercedes design.

Until that matter is resolved, an air of suspicion hangs over results like today. Racing Point insists that this is the car he wanted to build for several years, but did not have the funds to do so, but if he proves to regularly outdo Red Bulls and Ferraris, he will question what it means to be a constructor in F1.

All teams monitor each other to some degree, but very few have been so blatantly similar to a rival in the history of the sport. The rules for the next two years (a chassis freeze in 2021 and a complete change in 2022) will rule out any other team that openly copies an opponent, so if Racing Point has found a key to success, it will reap the rewards. for the next two seasons at least.

Russell’s star keeps rising

Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc are already established as stars of the future, but each time it seems that they will not be alone.

Lando Norris garnered attention in the first two races with outstanding performances at the Red Bull Ring, but George Russell is also emerging as an exceptional talent. For anyone who has followed his youth career, that won’t come as a surprise, but it was easy to overlook his performances at a sad Williams last year.

However, it is armed with a semi-competitive midfield in 2020, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore it. For the second consecutive weekend, it was classified 12th, exhibiting the ability to overcome its machinery both dry and wet. His hard work came to nothing in Austria when he finished on gravel earlier in the race last weekend, but on Sunday he will have another chance to test his career.

At the beginning of the weekend, he confirmed that he will remain at Williams next year, despite having a young Mercedes driver contract. But if he continues to perform at this level, he will be placed under a Mercedes drive in 2022.

Russell defends Albon out of shape

After excelling on the track, Russell also launched a passionate defense from his friend Alex Albon, who again fought for Red Bull. Albon’s form has taken on a troubling trend since his heartbreaking retirement at the Austrian Grand Prix.

The Thai driver was a long way from Verstappen’s pace at the Styrian Grand Prix and was eliminated from Q2 on Saturday, finishing behind Russell.

Russell hinted that Albon is not being given the tools he needs to show his true talent.

“I have known Alex for the past 15 years, being in the same paddock as him,” Russell told Sky Sports shortly after the session. He is one of the best drivers we have ever run with: Max, Charles. [Leclerc], we will all say it.

“He’s always been at the forefront of everything he’s done, and I don’t know what the hell is going on. I feel really bad for him because they make him look like an idiot and absolutely not. He’s won at everything he’s done.” done, so I don’t know what’s going on, but they need to figure it out for him. “

Albon sounded frustrated with Red Bull after his elimination in the second quarter, with a radio message broadcast about being released in traffic. He later said that this had affected his preparations for the last timed lap in Q2, although he declined to make excuses for the result.

“I am not happy with my qualifying performance,” he said. “I feel like my career was not ideal, then I made some mistakes. We definitely would have been in Q3 if it hadn’t been that way.”

“Still, it’s not one of the top five as it should be. It’s hard to drive when the car is not doing what you want it to do.”

The Thai driver looked quite depressed in his Zoom media session, and it was hard not to think about Pierre Gasly’s behavior in his media sessions while at Red Bull last year. Gasly was never able to shake that spell out of bad shape, we all know what happened next, with Gasly demoted and Albon promoted over the summer break, and with this year’s races becoming thick and fast in the next two months, with eight More In the next 10 weeks, Albon will have to be careful not to get caught up in similar funk.

Walk through the form

Lance Stroll is a pretty easy target for criticism, and he gets his fair share, so it’s worth giving credit when it’s due. The Canadian driver kept pace with Racing Point to qualify for third place.

It’s not a position Racing Point has been used to qualifying for in recent years, perhaps the best thing for Stroll seems to be forgetting that he was allowed to park his car on dash number three in the closed park, rather than in the Parking style section behind Top Three. Given how good Racing Point has been this year, Stroll might want to go over the protocols for a car that has finished in the top three.

Sergio Pérez will join him in the second row of all Racing Points, although it was a more difficult session for the Mexican driver.

“I didn’t feel 100 percent physically,” he said. “I was getting dizzy from qualifying, that’s not great. I need to check with my physio what’s going on. It should be fine by tomorrow.”

“I managed to come out with a good result, it was very difficult, my qualification still P4 is a good start to the race for tomorrow.”

The Hungarian Grand is live on ESPN at 9.05 am EST on Sunday.