There’s a lot at stake in the Hungarian GP on Sunday. After Lewis Hamilton pipped Max Verstappen by 0.003s for his record-extending 104th pole position, the Briton is bidding to become the first driver to win 9 races at the same venue. Needless to say, the Hungaroring is one of Hamilton’s favorite circuits, and he wouldn’t mind securing his record-extending 104th win on Sunday. But while he’s chasing records of his own, so are Red Bull and Verstappen. 

After winning the British GP, Red Bull equaled McLaren’s 1988 record of 11 wins in a row. And on Sunday, Verstappen and Red Bull would want to break the 35-year-old record. So yes, records are at stake, but there’s one thing that isn’t. And that’s Max Verstappen’s championship lead.

Lewis Hamilton needs to be wary of Max Verstappen

The reigning world champion is 99 points clear of everyone else on the grid, and it’s a mammoth lead. Technically writing, he doesn’t need to get the race win in Budapest. Even if he finished second in every race left and got a few fastest laps under his name, he would still win the championship. But as a racer, that’s not his mindset. Like every other driver, he races to win. And considering he’s up against Lewis Hamilton, he would want to go all out. According to former Williams driver Jack Aitken, that’s what he’ll do on Sunday.

On the Chequered Flag podcast after qualifying, Rosanna Tennant asked Aitken if he thinks Max would stay put in second and take no risks. He replied, “He doesn’t [need to take risks]. But then the lead is so big in the championship I don’t think he’ll care if he crashes tomorrow in the context of the championship. He has that cushion and then some, so if I was in his position, I’d be saying, ‘I’m going to go for the win. I can afford to race as I’d like to.’” And it’s true. Verstappen has practically nothing to lose (apart from Red Bull’s record, but he could always restart the streak at Belgium next weekend if it doesn’t work out in Hungary).

Aitken continued, “[Max] does seem to race Lewis a bit harder—perhaps that’s not exactly the right word. But they have history. Your opportunities really come at the start of the lap with the first two corners. It’s a lot of opportunity for racing and wheel-to-wheel action.”

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Verstappen, Hamilton, and wheel-to-wheel racing aren’t a perfect combination and can get explosive occasionally. The F1 world witnessed their fireworks throughout the 2021 season because Max isn’t one to back down from a fight. And considering it’s his old rival he’d be going up against, it’ll give him all the more reason to fight harder, which is why Hamilton needs to watch out and pick his battles. But even if he can’t overtake Lewis at the start, Max is confident about Red Bull’s race pace.

Max Verstappen is optimistic about his chances in Hungary

A race weekend in 2023 where a Red Bull didn’t get pole position. Seems weird, doesn’t it? But that’s what happened in Hungary on Saturday. The result wasn’t shocking, though, because Red Bull had been struggling with balance throughout the weekend. And even after Friday running, the data didn’t favor the RB19’s short-run pace. But its long-run pace is as good as ever, and Verstappen will look to take advantage of that.

He said on the podcast, “I think our long run looks quite a lot more competitive, so I am quite happy with that. It’s still going to be quite tough tomorrow, I think, to get in front, but if we are better on tires, then I still predict a good race.” The tires have proved to be a problem for Red Bull more than once this season. But Verstappen looks to take advantage of the track conditions and fight for the win.

Do you think we’ll witness wheel-to-wheel action between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton at the start?

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