F1 update – Hungarian & Belgian GPs

Round 13 of the 2024 Formula 1 Championship was held at the Hungaroring in Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix, whilst Round 14 of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship was held at the famous Spa Francorchamps Circuit in Belgium for the Belgian Grand Prix.

At the Hungarian Grand Prix McLaren’s Oscar Piastri took his maiden Grand Prix win of his career heading home team mate Lando Norris with Mercedes driver Sir Lewis Hamilton finishing third, the latter scored his 200th career podium.

Hungarian GP: top 5

• 1st: Oscar Piastri – McLaren
• 2nd: Lando Norris – McLaren
• 3rd: Sir Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
• 4th: Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
• 5th: Max Verstappen – Red Bull

Other Highlights

• Alpine’s Pierre Gasly would be the only retirement of the race on lap 34 with a suspected hydraulic leak.
• Red Bull’s Max Verstappen would twice escape receiving a penalty, the first for overtaking McLaren’s Lando Norris by leaving the track on the opening lap which he give the position back to the McLaren driver and then colliding with Mercedes driver Sir Lewis Hamilton on lap 63.

At the Belgian Grand Prix Mercedes driver George Russell took victory on the road, but was later disqualified as his car was found to be 1.5kg underweight. That his Mercedes team mate Sir Lewis Hamilton took his second win of the year with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri finished second with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc third.

Belgian GP – top 5

• 1st: Sir Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes
• 2nd: Oscar Piastri – McLaren
• 3rd: Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
• 4th: Max Verstappen – Red Bull
• 5th: Lando Norris – McLaren

Other Highlights

• Sauber’s Guanyu Zhou retired on lap 6 after an hydraulics issue with his car.

News

• Haas announced that Kevin Magnussen will leave the team at the end of the current season.
• Haas announced that Esteban Ocon will race for the team to alongside Oliver Bearman in 2025.
• Williams announced that Carlos Sainz will race for the team alongside Alexander Albon in 2025.
• An IT outage hampered Mercedes data at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
• FIA announced that they will be monitoring the front wings on all cars from the Belgian Grand Prix because of the front wings flexing.
• Alpine announced that Oliver Oakes will take over as team principal from the Dutch Grand Prix.
• It’s been announced that Adrian Newey will leave the Red Bull factory in March 2025.

The next round of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship will be held at the Zandvoort Circuit in Holland for the Dutch Grand Prix on 23rd to 25th August.

Aston and regular contributor Cameron Perkins with the latest from the world of Formula 1.