F1 Hungarian GP Live Commentary and Updates – Race
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2024 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix.
F1 takes on a double-header dash before the summer break, starting in Hungary before a trip to Spa-Francorchamps, following the thrilling recent trio of races concluded by Lewis Hamilton’s emotional British GP triumph.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri locked out the front row of the grid in qualifying in Budapest, with Max Verstappen lurking from third on the grid.
Who will take victory? The race gets under way at 3pm BST.
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Piastri has sprinted clear in the lead at the end of the first lap and is 1.5 ahead of Verstappen. Hamilton made a decent get away behind to move up to fourth.
Go! It is three-wide into Turn 1! Verstappen gets run off the track and rejoins in second behind Piastri! Norris is down to third.
Norris crawls around the final corner to bunch the pack up for the start. Here we go...
Norris leads away the grid for the formation lap. Every gets away smoothly, bar Gasly who remains tucked up in his garage before making his way to the end of the pitlane.
Starting tyres: A right mix! Alonso, Stroll, Albon and Magnussen start on softs, Perez, Russell and Gasly start on hards and the rest are on mediums. In short, the top six are all starting on mediums.
The grid is cleared and the drivers are left alone with their thoughts. Plus the voice of their race engineer over the radio, but that isn't as dramatic.
The McLaren mechanics appear to have finished the replace and repair job on Norris' car throttle. An incredibly fiddly job to do on the grid in the footwell of the car, but they appear to have got it done.
National anthem time! The Hungarian anthem is performed by Der Heni and the Children's Chamber Orchestra, a very sweet and light rendition - not a Hans Zimmer electric guitar solo in sight. 8/10, very nice and chilled.
The risk of rain is rated at 20%, which basically means we need one heck of a weather front shift for it to be a serious problem like yesterday.
Let's talk tyre strategy. It is another hot one at the Hungaroring, but not as sweaty as Friday's scorcher thankfully, with air temperature at 28C and the track up at 41.4C. That means it'll still be a two-stopper, all being well, with the choice between starting on softs or mediums before swapping to hards for the middle stint. Then, depending on what rubber you've got left in your inventory, it'll be final blast to the finish.
We have 19 cars on the starting grid as Alpine has opted for major changes to Gasly's car which means he'll blast off from the pitlane.
The McLaren mechanics are duly getting to work on Norris' F1 car on the grid. An unwelcomed pre-race worry and the team has about 15 minutes to solve it.
Norris has a throttle concern on his laps to the grid, as he radios over: "Just confirming, something is definitely not right with the throttle, it is not how it should be."
Both McLaren drivers will be concerned about Verstappen starting right behind them from third, while Sainz from fourth will also want to have something to say about that.
For a motorsport-related way back when to November 2012, Norris was a promising 13-year-old karter while Piastri had only just swapped racing remote-controlled cars for karts in Australia. Now they line up on the front row of the grid for the Hungarian GP.
So, a McLaren 1-2 on the grid. The last time that happened - for a grand prix - David Cameron was British prime minister, Manchester United were top of the English Premier League and Maroon 5 were top of the charts with One More Night. How things change.
The pitlane is open and the cars are on their way to the grid. This is your 40-minute warning until lights out!
With Verstappen seemingly out of the Mercedes picture for good, focus will swing back to who will take the spot vacant at the German squad from 2025. Protege Antonelli had been earmarked since Hamilton's shock departure was announced, but even he has cast doubt on if he'll be ready to take up the role next year. Full story.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Prema Racing
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
After Tsunoda's qualifying crash the grass strip at Turn 5 has been replaced by gravel as a new safety measure ahead of today's race. Full story.
Within this Red Bull, in or out, up or down, dynamic is Ricciardo, who could well see his own F1 future decided by how he performs over the next two races in Hungary and Belgium. Here's the latest.
Laurent Mekies, Team Principal, RB F1 Team, speaks with Daniel Ricciardo, Visa Cash App RB F1 Team
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
Meanwhile, it appears Verstappen's future at the team is finally resolved with Marko securing a fresh commitment at the team in his current role. It has been a curious saga, with Mercedes trying to lure away the Dutch driver, but it looks set to have reached its conclusion. Full story here.
It was another nightmare day for Perez at Red Bull, as he crashed out in Q1 and faces yet another tough Sunday trying to climb up the order. Ben Hunt gives his take on the Mexican's situation here.
Marshals with the damaged car of Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
In case you were out or still struggling with the Crowdstrike-related technical outage, Norris took Hungarian GP pole and it was McLaren's first 1-2 in grand prix qualifying since the 2012 Brazilian GP! Here's the full report.
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Hungarian GP! The race starts in just under 90 minutes, so just enough time to run through the key talking points from the weekend so far.
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL38
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
By: Autosport Staff
