And seven for Max Verstappen? Logically installed at the top of the Formula 1 championship, the Dutch title holder is aiming for a seventh victory in a row this weekend in Hungary, a performance which would give Red Bull a twelfth consecutive success synonymous with a record.
On the narrow layout of the Hungaroring, near Budapest, one wonders who could stop Red Bull and Verstappen, as the pace imposed by the Austrian team and its champion outclasses the competition.
A rhythm that should further evolve since for the 11e round of the season, the defending constructors’ champion team is planning a series of improvements on its RB19, in order to “be able to find additional performance for the races to come”, according to Verstappen.
If “Mad Max” – or his Mexican teammate Sergio Pérez, winner of two Grands Prix this season – were to win the race on Sunday, it would give Red Bull a record twelfth consecutive victory for a team.
Verstappen’s victory in Great Britain in early July allowed the Austrian team to record an 11e victory in a row, thus equaling the McLaren record dating from 1988. “I am not running this weekend thinking that we can win 12 races in a row”, however assured the Dutch pilot Thursday during a press conference.
McLaren on its way?
Behind the Dutchman, his championship runner-up “Checo” Pérez will try to hold off the double world champion Fernando Alonso, who seems to be marking time after a remarkable start to the season.
Before the installation of the paddock in Hungary, the Mexican is 19 points ahead of the Aston Martin driver. But the Spaniard has not said his last word, carried by his memories of Hungarian lands, where the “Asturian Bull” won his first F1 race “exactly 20 years ago”.
“We are currently third and we want to finish second but we have to be realistic and it will be a tough battle until the end,” Alonso said on Thursday.
Beware, however, of the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri! Thanks to an improved MCL60, the British team secured its first podium of the season at Silverstone two weeks ago, with Norris finishing second. Piastri finished 4th in the GP.
“We will try to continue our momentum and continue to extract performance” from the single-seaters, assured team boss Andrea Stella.
However, he tempered, “the Budapest circuit is very different, with low speed corners, so it will represent a new challenge […]. But we hope for a new competitive weekend”.
It would certainly not suit Alpine, relegated to the 5e place with the constructors after the solid performance of its British rival, combined with the setbacks of its drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly, who were forced to retire in Great Britain.
Ricciardo back
The passage from the paddock to Hungary also marks the return of one of the most popular drivers on the grid: Daniel Ricciardo, recalled to replace the Dutchman Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri until the end of the season.
The Australian left the league at the end of last season, finishing a modest 11e place in the championship with McLaren.
Having become the third driver this season with Red Bull, AlphaTauri’s big sister team, Ricciardo is back thanks to the poor results of De Vries, who has not managed to score a single point this season, unlike his Japanese teammate Yuki Tsunoda.
“It’s good to see Daniel back but I’m also a good friend of Nyck (de Vries, who is also Dutch, editor’s note) and it’s sad to see him leave,” said Max Verstappen on Thursday, who had Ricciardo as a teammate at Red Bull from 2016 to 2018.
On the track, Verstappen won last year in Hungary… since the 10e place on the grid. At the time, he had beaten the Mercedes of George Russell, 3ebut especially that of King Lewis Hamilton.
In Hungary, we must not forget that the Hungaroring is the kingdom of Hamilton which has won eight times (a record).
However, things are no longer so easy for the seven-time world champion, who dreams of regaining his luster by signing his first victory since the end of 2021.