On Track

23 Jul 2023

The Debrief by Aramco: Hungarian GP

We extend our points-scoring run to 11 consecutive races as Fernando and Lance finish in the top 10 at the Hungaroring.

Fernando and Lance reached the chequered flag in the points in the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix, our 11th consecutive points-scoring race of 2023.

High temperatures and high tyre wear meant this would always be a multi-stop race. Fernando qualified eighth but finished ninth. He began the race on a used set of Medium tyres, pitting for a used set of Hards on Lap 20 and a new set of Hards on Lap 43.

Lance meanwhile carried out a solid recovery from P14 to P10, collecting the final point on offer. He began the race on a new set of Soft compounds, making his way into the top 10 on the first lap before pitting for used Hards on Lap 25 and for another set of used Hards 10 laps later.

Despite being outscored by rivals in Hungary, we retain P3 in the Constructors' Championship heading to Belgium.

Read what Fernando, Lance, and Team Principal Mike Krack said after Sunday's Grand Prix at the Hungaroring.

Sunday

The Grand Prix

F. Alonso

FL: 1:22.745

P10

L. Stroll

FL: 1:23.425

"I think three points for us was the maximum we could achieve [as a team] today. We had a bit of a lonely race with no threats behind, but we were unable to make significant ground up on our competitors ahead of us. It was a hot and demanding race as well and we all had to manage the tyres throughout." Fernando summarises what turned out to be a trouble-free and mostly uneventful race in Hungary.

"I think P10 was the best we could have done today. I had a good first lap and I was happy with the move around the outside of [Valtteri] Bottas, but after that the pace just wasn’t up there." Lance says that the final point was the maximum he could have achieved from P14 on Sunday.

"Getting two cars home inside the points was the maximum today. It was a quiet and uneventful race, and the results were in pace order as we finished behind our direct competitors. Both Lance and Fernando performed very well, but we are missing the performance to challenge higher up. Lance did particularly well to finish just behind Fernando from his initial grid position." Mike adds that three points were the culmination of hard work from the team on Sunday, and a fair reflection of the AMR23's pace. He praises Lance for recovering to P10.

"As a team, I think we have some work to do to try and understand what we can be doing better. The car is quick, but there’s more pace to unlock and that has to be our priority as the season continues. We’ll take these learnings into Spa next week where, as always, we’ll be pushing hard." Lance looks to the next race at Spa-Francorchamps, a contrasting challenge to the low-speed and technical Hungaroring.

"There have been a lot of surprises in the last few race weekends, but we need to try our best to get back to fighting at the front of the pack. We will analyse everything and look to bounce back at Spa next week." While we haven't clinched a podium to echo our stunning start to the season, we have scored points on every race weekend so far. Fernando looks ahead to Belgium, the final race before the summer shutdown, with the whole team working to bounce back.

"Today is a reality check. We need to keep our heads down, keep working hard, and push through the developments to get back to where we were in earlier in the season." Mike reflects on a result that will only motivate the team to come back stronger and repeat the results we achieved earlier in the campaign.

Saturday

#14 Fernando Alonso | Free Practice & Qualifying

FP3

1:18.350

1:18.580

1:17.701

P10

1:17.035

#18 Lance Stroll | Free Practice & Qualifying

FP3

1:18.536

P11

1:18.782

P13

1:18.144

P14

"I was happy with the AMR23 today in Qualifying after we made some tweaks to the set-up from yesterday. The average time for us to pole position has been four to five tenths [of a second] this season, so if you look at our result today, it was a normal Qualifying." Fernando says he was happy with the set-up gains on Saturday after a Friday that was disrupted by rain and a red flag.

"It was frustrating to have had my first Q2 lap deleted due to track limits at Turn 12; I was just pushing hard and it's difficult to know where the line is as you can’t feel it." Lance recounts Q2 in which he transgressed track limits on this notoriously narrow and punishing circuit.

"We had the potential to be slightly higher up the grid today, but some of our competitors have closed the gap and have found some speed. You always get a tight grid here and those small margins made the difference." Mike explains that our competitors have found a turn of pace and closed up the pack. Furthermore, on such a short lap, the margins between the drivers will be even smaller.

"The pack is so close, so a tenth here or there makes a huge difference in deciding the final positions. I think our performance is better than our result suggests. Looking ahead to the race we know it's difficult to overtake here, so I think it will be tough tomorrow. We will try to extract the maximum and target the top six positions to score as many points as possible." Fernando points out that it's not easy to make up places on track at the tight and winding Hungaroring but he is still targeting a top-six finish on Sunday – and his 11th-straight points-scoring race with AMF1 Team.

"The new Qualifying format did make things slightly more challenging, but I don’t mind that, and it’s the same for all of the drivers. It’s an incredibly tight pack with fine margins between all of the teams, so going into tomorrow we’ll be looking to make the most of any opportunities that come our way." The Alternative Tyre Allocation (ATA) did make Saturday tougher for all 20 drivers, as Lance explains, and every millisecond counts in such a competitive field.

"It is tomorrow that counts, and we are usually more competitive on Sundays. It will be interesting to see how the race plays out because tyre degradation is relatively high on this track, which could encourage a variety of strategies. As for the trial of the Qualifying format, I think it is important to explore different ideas, understand what they bring to the show, and give a new challenge to the teams." Mike evaluates our chances of making up places on Sunday where a variety of strategies could be in play. He also offers his thoughts on the ATA, which will return for the second and final time this season at Monza.

Friday

#14 | Fernando Alonso | Free Practice & Qualifying

FP1

1:40.687

FP2

1:18.105

#18 | Lance Stroll | Free Practice & Qualifying

FP1

1:40.013

FP2

1:18.319

P12

"It was a mixed day with some rain and windy conditions at the Hungaroring. We lost time in FP1 and didn’t get much track time in, but it was the same for everyone." Fernando summarises the opening session that saw just 13 drivers set a time, leading to a mixed-up grid and a somewhat murky competitive picture.

"It was good to be back on track at the Hungaroring today; it's a circuit I really enjoy driving. We had limited running in FP1, only recording about 10 laps due to the heavy rainfall." Lance begins by pointing out how the rain hampered running in Free Practice One. Furthermore, a red flag truncated the session, further limiting the amount of time available to practise. The second session was even more essential given the previous interruptions.

"FP2 became busier with a few different test items to run on the AMR23. Thankfully, the rain held off and we got a good number of laps in and worked through a decent amount of the programme. I think there are still a few changes we can make ahead of Qualifying, so we’ll work through our learnings tonight and look forward to tomorrow." Lance explains that the 33 Laps he completed in Free Practice Two helped further his and the team's understanding of the AMR23 and its recent upgrades. Despite the productive second session, there is still work to do in Free Practice Three.

"I think we maximised FP2 and collected a lot of useful data particularly in preparation for race conditions. Generally, I am quite happy with today and we’ll see what we can do tomorrow in qualifying with hopefully dry conditions." Fernando ended up with 32 laps under his belt in Free Practice Two. Both he and Lance enjoyed a trouble-free and valuable afternoon of running that could also be the case in Free Practice Three, as clear skies are forecast for Saturday and Sunday.

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