It feels like it’s been an eternity since we have seen anyone not called Max Verstappen take Pole Position, as now Lewis Hamilton takes his first pole of the season (and record-breaking 9th overall pole at Hungary). Let’s look deeper into the data to see how it all unfolded.
Hamilton (HAM) vs Verstappen (VER)
This was a battle that wasn’t as close as it turned out to be. Hamilton had the edge Verstappen for most of the lap as can be seen in the delta plots. While looking through the data, one can really see and appreciate the differences in driving style between both drivers. Lewis is generally gentler on the throttle and tends to get on full power later – making use of his car’s mid corner steady state behaviour. Max on the other hand is a lot more aggressive with his inputs. Initially it seems that Max has the upper hand through sector 1. Lewis comes charging back throughout the rest of the lap and is comfortably ahead by the T6-7 chicane. The only real mistake that Hamilton makes is being extremely tentative on the throttle coming out of the final corner, which causes him to lose all but 0.003s of his advantage over Verstappen
Ricciardo (RIC) vs Tsunoda (TSU)
Daniel Ricciardo was back where he belongs, in an F1 car. And he immediately showed that he had lost none of his speed by outqualifying his teammate on debut for AlphaTauri (kinda not a debut because he drove for the team back when it was called Toro Rosso). Daniel was on it from the get-go, establishing a lead of 0.126s after T1. He was able to maintain a lead until the final 3 corners of the final sector. Here we can see Tsunoda being aggressive and staying on throttle for longer which allowed him to briefly gain an advantage but it was to naught, as Daniel as able to regain the lead and finish 0.116s ahead.
About Siddharth Anish
Mechanical Engineering student with experience in Aerodynamics and Vehicle Dynamics. My first words were Schumacher.