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In the Hungarian Grand Prix, George Russell finished the race in third position after starting from pole position. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton came back from seventh to finish second, delighting the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team. Hamilton easily went past Russell to take second and try and chase down Max Verstappen.

Carlos Sainz Jr. was putting an immense amount of pressure on Russell whilst also being under pressure from Sergio Pérez himself. There were 1.109 seconds between them and 2.242 seconds between Sainz and Russell.
 
Russell said, “I had a really strong start, and it was a first good stint. We pitted quite early on both stints and tried to keep the tyres out until the end, as well as pushing as fast as possible at the same time”.

“Towards the end on the mediums when the rain started to come down, I struggled and lost temperature. It was challenging to manage the tyres, so there’s lots to look into and see where we could’ve done better“, he continued.

“Amazing job by the team, pole position yesterday and double podium today. We’re making progress and I’m proud of the work everybody has put into it. We will come back to the second half of the season with a reset, refocussed and will try to fight for some victories.” 

“I was struggling at the beginning of the race” – Lewis Hamilton

2022 Hungary Grand Prix, Sunday – Steve Etherington

Hamilton secured the bonus point for the fastest lap, at 1:21.386. By the end of the race, he was 7.834s behind Verstappen and catching, having stormed the pack after qualifying seventh.

Suberashi Auto Photo (AKA Stacy Guiney) shares his views of the last weekend from London’s iconic Royal Docks and ExCeL London exhibition centre as the FIA Formula E World Championship visited the UK capital once again. (Click on the image to see a larger version.)

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Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team has revealed that two-time World Champion, Fernando Alonso, will be racing for the team, starting from 2023. The Spaniard made a surprise FIA Formula 1 World Championship return at the start of 2021, after announcing a return to Renault (which had just been rebranded to BWT Alpine F1 Team) alongside Esteban Ocon, and has now announced his move in just his second year back.

This news arrives four days after Sebastian Vettel announced he would be retiring from Formula 1 at the end of the 2022 season.

In a statement, Alonso claims he “still has the hunger and ambition to fight to be at the front”, as he announced his surprise move to the British-racing green outfit:

“This Aston Martin team is clearly applying the energy and commitment to win, and it is, therefore, one of the most exciting teams in Formula One today. I have known Lawrence and Lance for many years and it is very obvious that they have the ambition and passion to succeed in Formula One,” says Alonso.

“I have watched as the team has systematically attracted great people with winning pedigrees, and I have become aware of the huge commitment to new facilities and resources at Silverstone. No one in Formula One today is demonstrating a greater vision and absolute commitment to winning, and that makes it a really exciting opportunity for me.

Max Verstappen has taken victory, in the most extraordinary fashion, after charging from tenth on the grid to first in a strategy-intensive Hungarian Grand Prix. The Oracle Red Bull Racing driver had a tricky qualifying session on Saturday, where a power unit issue on his final Qualifying Three lap prevented him from setting a representative time.

After keeping cool and making multiple overtakes on Charles Leclerc for the lead, Verstappen was able to extend his championship lead even further. A quick three-sixty spin was the only mistake Verstappen made all race, in what was a champion’s performance.

Meanwhile, for Sergio Pérez, the race didn’t go quite as smoothly. Having started from eleventh on the grid (after complaining about being held up in Qualifying Two), the Mexican quickly made his way into the top six in the first stint but was unable to make an impact on the race, finishing fifth overall.

Mercedes make it double… Again!

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were able to replicate their two-three finish from last weekend’s French Grand Prix, with the number forty-four driver charging from seventh to second. Hamilton had a DRS issue at the end of Qualifying Three, ultimately stopping him from challenging for pole position.

The Briton started the race on the Medium tyres, switched to another set of Medium tyres at his first stop, and then stayed out until lap fifty-two of seventy (while the front-runners pitted), before switching to a set of Soft tyres, setting the fastest lap, and charging his way past Carlos Sainz and Russell to his fifth consecutive podium. It was an incredible drive for the seven-time champion.

At the halfway point of the 2022 DTM season, a gap of only ten points covers the top three drivers. With a different polesitter for each race, seven different race winners, and a chaotic round seven at the Norisring which saw 16 cars fail to finish. The series has been unpredictable, to say the least.

Therefore, to try and review the season so far, we have looked at some of the standout DTM drivers at the mid-season mark.

Mirko Bortolotti – First place in the driver’s championship.

Driving for GRT Grasser Racing Team in their first DTM season, Bortolotti and the Austrian outfit hit the ground running, qualifying on pole for race one at Portimão. Arguably, the biggest story of the opening round. The outright pace that the Italian showed in qualifying was proven to be for real. As the GRT driver managed to hold onto a comfortable third place, after suffering a poor getaway at the start.

He followed race one with another third place in race two at the Portuguese circuit, after again impressing in qualifying. Two sixth-place finishes in the next round at the Lausitzring kept him in second place in the championship heading to Imola.

Tyler Reddick‘s name in recent headlines might be dominated by his impending departure from Richard Childress Racing after the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season for 23XI Racing, but until that happens, he’s still going to pursue a championship in the #8. A dominating performance in Sunday’s Verizon 200 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway became a chaotic run to the finish as he had to hold off the likes of road course ace Austin Cindric, COTA winner Ross Chastain, and defending Indy winner A.J. Allmendinger. Despite the pressure, he kept strong to win his second Cup race.

Coupled with his Road America win early in July, Reddick is the seventh driver to have his first two Cup victories come on road courses after Dan Gurney, Ray Elder, Tim Richmond, Juan Pablo Montoya, Marcos Ambrose, and Allmendinger. Allmendinger had been seeking to sweep the weekend after winning the Xfinity Series race on Saturday.

The first two stages were caution free save for the breaks, a stark juxtaposition to the single-car spins, off-track excursions, mechanical issues, Chris Buescher‘s car catching fire on pit road, an Air Force promotional hauler getting stuck in a tunnel exit, and a tent flying onto the track in turn one as Cody Ware drove by.

Things changed drastically in the third segment when Kyle Larson lost his brakes entering turn one and hit the kerb, causing him to go airbourne and slam into Ty Dillon. On a restart, Chase Elliott duelled with Reddick before he spun in the first corner while Reddick’s team-mate Austin Dillon got stuck in the gravel to force overtime.

Reddick and Allmendinger comprised the front row to begin the two-lap dash, and the former received a strong push from Ryan Blaney (who spun two turns later) to pull ahead. With so many cars bunching up in the sharp right turn one, Chastain elected to bypass it completely by driving forwards into the run-off area before re-joining the race behind the leaders, an egregious track cutting violation that resulted in a thirty-second time penalty. Nevertheless, as the penalty was applied upon the race’s conclusion, Chastain continued to race as if he was vying for the win.

Red Bull Racing made an impressive recovery after a tough qualifying, with Max Verstappen taking victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix after starting tenth and Sergio Perez improving to fifth from an eleventh place start. 

Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner was happy with how the team’s final result turned out given their starting positions, and was particularly excited to see Verstappen take home a win against the odds. 

“It was a fantastic race today. Everyone put in a top performance. Max was exceptional, even adding a little spin to his race as if coming back from 10th wasn’t hard enough. 

Horner said that Perez would have been on for a podium as well if not for the Virtual Safety Car that was deployed with just a few laps to go. He added that strategy ended up being key to their success, with a tyre strategy that was competitive in what were uncertain conditions. 

“Equally, Checo had a brilliant race and I believe if it hadn’t been for the VSC he would have podiumed. Strategy played a big part in our victory. We were due to start on the hard tyre but switched things up as a result of the ambient conditions. 

Championship leader Max Verstappen overcame the odds to take victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix, having started from tenth place after suffering a power issue during qualifying. He praised his team for their efforts and solid strategy calls that helped him achieve the impressive result for Red Bull Racing. 

“It feels crazy to have won the race today from P10, especially on a track like this where it’s very hard to pass. We made all the right calls today, there were some good undercuts and overall we did a great job today as a Team.”

Having been able to charge through the grid and create a solid lead by the race’s end, Verstappen said that the race was one of his top performances, and fans tended to agree, as the Dutch driver took the title of Driver of the Day with thirty-four percent of the vote. 

It was a race that appeared to be in Scuderia Ferrari’s favour, but as the Italian outfit struggled to maintain their position near the front, Verstappen was able to extend his lead over Charles Leclerc with this weekend’s result. He is now sitting at 258 points to Leclerc’s 178 in the Drivers’ standings. 

“This was definitely one of my best races, despite the little 360-degree spin! I’m very happy with the lead that we have, but of course we have to keep pushing and win more races.”

Stoffel Vandoorne is one-step closer to becoming the 2022 ABB FIA Formula E World Drivers’ Champion, after a remarkable comeback drive saw the Belgian driver extend his lead to thirty-six points. Vandoorne goes to the season finale in Seoul with one hand virtually on the championship trophy.

The Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team driver had a disastrous Sunday morning, where he qualified in thirteenth-place after failing to make it to the duels. However, luck was clearly on the Vandoorne’s side, as all three of his championship rivals also failed to make it past the qualifying groups.

In the race, Vandoorne calved his way through the field behind main-title rival Mitch Evans, who was in need of strong points to reduce his deficit to the Mercedes driver. The duo looked set to finish fourth and fifth, with Vandoorne in the latter position. With two minutes two go, though, Evans’ car suddenly shut-off! Vandoorne watched on as his main title threat pulled off the circuit at the Custom House chicane, meaning that the Belgian driver inherited an incredible fourth-place finish.

There was yet further outstanding news for Vandoorne, as the other two title challengers, Jean-Éric Vergne and Edoardo Mortara, also both failed to finish in the points. It was a champions drive from Vandoorne, who told The Checkered Flag after the race that he actually had to overcome a “little bit of damage” during the E-Prix.

“Yeah, it was a fun race, to be honest. Although my car was a little bit damaged after the race and the mechanics have a little bit of work to do. But it was a good race considering where I started. Made my life a little bit more difficult after qualifying, to be fair. But yeah, on a day like today, when there was so much carnage in the first couple of laps, I managed to avoid everything and I managed to make some great overtakings as well to come through the field. So it’s been a good day.”

George Gamble‘s superb rookie season in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) reached another milestone on Sunday evening taking his first race win in a lights to flag victory in Race Three at Knockhill.

After some time away from motorsport, Gamble wasn’t expected to produce what he has so far in his debut in Touring Cars for Car Gods with Ciceley Motorsport but the promise was immediately shown at Donington Park with a podium and now has been capped off with a win as the second half of the season begins and for the Nottingham based driver, he goes from strength to strength.

ROKiT MB Motorsport‘s Jake Hill fought back to complete an impressive day with a second placed effort after Rory Butcher battled with Gamble at the start of the race but the battle that ensued that also included Ash Sutton and Colin Turkington allowed nearly a five second gap in the end for Gamble with the main action coming from the chasing pack.

Gordon Shedden was initially towards the front of the grid alongside his brother-in-law Butcher but was tangled in a lap one incident with Tom Ingram who has not left Knockhill as the championship leader.

A title which is bestowed upon Turkington but only just ahead by five points to Ingram and six points ahead of Ash Sutton with Jake Hill also coming back from a near 40 point gap to reduce that to 14 points.

It was heartbreak for Mitch Evans at the second race of the London E-Prix, as after making his way from fourteenth to fourth, his car failed with only two minutes remaining. It’s put a severe dent in the New Zealander’s title hopes, as he slipped to thirty-six points behind Stoffel Vandoorne.

Evans put on a blistering display during the race, at a circuit that was supposedly impossible to overtake at. He was looking all but certain to finish in fourth-place, until he dramatically pulled-off the circuit with just a couple minutes remaining.

The Kiwi spoke to The Checkered Flag after the race, where he explained what happened with the car.

“Yeah, I mean it seems like well a few laps before I stopped, I had started having some strange behavior on the brakes and the car was yeah, I could tell that something was not right. We tried to dissect it quick and try and fix the problem fast but unfortunately, I thought I had with cured it. But then as soon as I thought we could just press on to the end of the race, the car shut down and I had to stop the car.

“Obviously the team will look into it, but it looks like an inverter failure, which is horrible.There’s still some positives. Obviously there’s some question marks. Like with our one that qualifying pace just wasn’t really there this weekend. I would say we’ve not been the strongest in qualifying the whole year, but we’ve been still really good.

Alexander Smolyar won the FIA Formula 3 Championship‘s Feature Race in mixed conditions at the Hungaroring on Sunday morning.

After starting on pole, he was able to build a gap back to Zane Maloney and Oliver Bearman who made it a photo-finish for second place.

Maloney made the best start but Smolyar anticipated it and moved across to block him, with Bearman trying to get past Maloney into Turn 3 but running wide.

Kush Maini got up to fourth, chased by Jak Crawford who got up to fourth ahead of Gregoire Saucy.

Reece Ushijima made up ten places on Lap 1, having started P19.

Marcos Flack romped to his first GB3 Championship win in Race 3 at Silverstone on Sunday, but there was chaos behind him.

Tom Lebbon, Roberto Faria and Nick Gilkes were disqualified from Race 2 for setting a fastest sector time under yellow flags, while Branden Oxley and James Hedley were disqualified for causing collisions which took Zak Taylor and McKenzy Cresswell out of the race respectively.

Oxley was tagged and spun around by Tommy Smith at Becketts at the start, while later in the lap James Hedley and Cian Shields ran wide at Club and ran across the wet gravel to rejoin.

Joel Granfors got around the outside of David Morales at Luffield and Woodcote on Lap 2, while Callum Voisin did the same to Luke Browning.

Nick Gilkes sent one down the inside of Alex Connor for third at Vale, but the pair made contact and Gilkes spun to fall to the back.

Lucas Di Grassi claimed a staggering victory at the second race of the London E-Prix, with Jake Dennis finishing second and Nyck de Vries in third. The big story of the race was Stoffel Vandoorne finishing in fourth-place, whilst none of his title rivals scored any points. The Belgian driver looks all but certain to win the Drivers’ Championship.

As the lights went out all twenty-two drivers’ managed to get away cleanly, although, Antonio Giovinazzi and António Félix Da Costa almost came together. Only a few corners later and everything got too tight for comfort, as Oliver Rowland was squeezed against the wall by Oliver Askew and launched slightly into the air. The Brit hit Jean-Éric Vergne when his front-wheels made contact back on the ground, yet somehow everyone continued driving.

Turn Sixteen saw absolute carnage on the first lap, with a cutback move by Mitch Evans resulting in bumper cars behind. Rowland pulled into the pits at the end of the opening lap and unfortunately retired from the race. Dan Ticktum retired just a lap later after hitting the wall heavily at Turn Twenty, meaning two Brits were out of their home race by the end of Lap One.

The drama didn’t end there, as Vergne retired on the following lap, potentially due to damage caused by the impact with Rowland on Lap One. The retirement realistically ended the Frenchman’s hopes of claiming another ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. With carbon fibre scattered across the ExCeL Centre, a full Safety Car was deployed.

It wasn’t long until the racing was underway again, with Askew pulling off a huge divebomb on Maximilian Günther at Turn Sixteen. Da Costa fell from fourth to fifth, after Giovinazzi forced the Portuguese driver wide whilst defending his place. De Vries was on hand to overtake Da Costa, and then Giovinazzi on the following lap having activated his first of three attack modes.

Ash Sutton has sealed his first win of the season and also under the NAPA Racing UK banner in the BTCC in another superb tussle between the reigning champion and Jake Hill in Race Two at Knockhill.

Sutton has continued to get better and better after switching back to front-wheel drive at the turn of the year and has plugged away despite at times not getting the results out of the Ford Focus ST. But this has now paid dividends.

Hill held on in the early running before a mistake handed Sutton the advantage and a route through and it was another error which allowed Sutton to get further up the road as he battled with Colin Turkington who himself ran wide into turn one to allow his teammate back through.

But after the errors, Hill fought hard making his last move on the final chicane as he aimed to go side by side with Sutton but the latter just pinched the win by just 0.141s.

Turkington in a usual display battled hard to seal vital points claiming a podium back-to-back ahead of Tom Ingram, the current championship leader who picked off places of George Gamble and Stephen Jelley among others.