Christian's Column: Hungary For More

The Team are now heading to the Hungaroring in Budapest as Christian talks us through the events of the last week.

are

now

two-thirds

into

the

first

triple-header

the

season

and

boosted

much-improved

result

the

Styrian

Grand

Prix.

Max

picked

the

Team's

first

podium

2020,

while

Alex

finished

fourth.

Christian celebrates with Max in Austria

Max's

Podium

Max got every last bit out of the car on Sunday, doing what he does best and fighting right until the final stages of the race.

It was good to be back on the podium, especially coming off the back of what was a difficult result to take, at the Austrian Grand Prix.

It was nice to see Max challenge for pole in a wet qualifying session. This was a new benchmark for us to understand as nobody has done any wet running this year.

Max got every last bit out of the car on Sunday, doing what he does best and fighting right until the final stages of the race.

We tried to retain track position early on against Bottas and tough-it-out in the second half of the race but he had the advantage of fresher tyres in the latter part of the race.

We have no regrets about the strategy and Max fully understood what we were doing as he explained in his post-race media.

Alex's

Race

Two

Halves

I was asked some questions about Alex's early race pace, but let's remember that he came off the back of a strong weekend the previous week where he was challenging Lewis for victory.

It just shows how people have a short memory in Formula One and they’re quick to forget things.

During his first stint on the soft tyre, we were concerned about potential blistering on the front right, so he was managing his pace to ensure he was able to achieve the target lap for his pit stop.

This meant he gave away significant pace to the cars ahead, but as soon as he changed to the medium compound, he was back on pace.

If you look at the analysis, Alex was within a tenth of Bottas, who was chasing Max. He also did a very good job in holding off a very fast Sergio Perez at the end of the race.

Alex's feedback is very good and he and Max work well together which allows us to try different things on each car and make accurate comparisons, which is what we did in Austria.

Alex is improving with experience, he has a good feel for what the car is doing and that's very encouraging. We all want him to succeed and let’s not forget he’s only done 11 races with the Team whilst Max is in his sixth season.

Alex has taken a lot of lessons out of Sunday's performance, so I don't think he should be down in any way because he actually equalled his best race result in Formula 1 and scored the Team a solid amount of championship points.

Christian Talks to Alex

Driven

Data

With two races under our belt, we now have a clearer idea of the areas on the car we need to improve upon. The races are coming thick and fast and the production effort in the factory is astounding.

The results and feedback from the opening two races have allowed us to target specific areas and tailor the updates accordingly.

It is a very busy time in the factory and everybody is fully motivated in spite of Mercedes looking so strong in the opening races. Hopefully we will give them a harder fight in some of the upcoming races.

Alex Holding Off Sergio Pérez

Hungary

For

The final race in the opening triple-header is in Hungary this weekend. But it does come with added complications for citizens from the UK and some non-EU citizens.

Strict rules mean they cannot leave the hotel other than to go to the track or airport.

I have to admit that it is not something that was totally unexpected, given the current circumstances. The Team have been excellent in following the social distancing measures, with regular COVID-19 testing and practising PPE protocols.

This is a busy spell for us with nine races in 11 weeks and the safety and welfare of our staff is paramount.

First and foremost, we are going to Budapest to go racing. We normally spend so much time at the track that when we get back to the hotel, there is not time to go out and explore the city anyway.

Our focus will be on what’s happening on track and not about the inconvenience of being confined to a hotel room. We know we have a gap to close to fight for this championship and that is what we will do.

These last few weeks have been busy for our Race Team, as well as back at the factory so I thank everyone for their continued dedication and teamwork.

This is a busy spell for us with nine races in 11 weeks and the safety and welfare of our staff is paramount.

I’m looking forward to Hungary. It is a different and slightly more technical circuit to the Red Bull Ring and offers us another great opportunity.

Mercedes have shown some great form there in recent years but last year, Max scored our first pole at the track using Honda power, so it will be another interesting weekend and we are fully focused on the task in hand.