Red Bull’s new upgrade fails to deliver as Lewis Hamilton takes pole position by a whisker. Max Verstappen, the Dutch two time F1 champion and current championship leader, showed his frustration after being pipped by Lewis Hamilton in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Verstappen, who had secured five consecutive pole positions, was unable to find the sweet spot during the weekend, with both him and teammate Sergio Perez struggling to get the perfect setup.

Big update for Red Bull

Red Bull introduced a significant upgrade to their car for the Hungarian Grand Prix in hopes of maintaining their competitive edge. However, the early signs did not look promising, and neither Verstappen nor Perez were able to shine in practice sessions.

Red Bull had introduced five upgrades to their RB19 car, sparking curiosity among F1 fans and pundits. One particular upgrade, the sidepods, stood out as it looks significantly different from their previous setups. Experts speculate that this modification could potentially add up to two-tenths per lap to the car’s speed.

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Sergio Perez clips the grass and his FP1 ends in the barriers 💥#HungarianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/2sWABZXYQl

— Formula 1 (@F1) July 21, 2023

The anticipation now rests on whether these upgrades will live up to expectations. If they prove to be effective, Red Bull is likely to extend their lead even further. However, if the upgrades fail to deliver, it’ll provide an opportunity for rivals like Mercedes to narrow the gap slightly and challenge the reigning champions. Currently, it would be fair to say the upgrades are less than spectacular for at least the first half of the weekend.

Qualifying also presented challenges as McLaren and Mercedes displayed impressive speed, setting the stage for a thrilling Q3 session.

Brundle comments on Perez startling

Verstappen and Perez struggles

While Verstappen managed to fend off Lando Norris from McLaren, he couldn’t match Lewis Hamilton’s pace, missing pole position by an incredibly slim margin of just three-thousandths of a second. It was the first time since the Miami Grand Prix in May that someone other than Verstappen secured pole position. Certainly it was plain to see that team mate Sergio Perez was also struggling with the Red Bull car.

Despite starting from the second position, Verstappen was visibly disappointed and called out Red Bull for not performing up to their usual standard. He expressed his struggles in finding a balanced setup throughout the weekend, leading to uncertainties during the qualifying session.

“I’ve been struggling the whole weekend to find a good balance,” raged Verstappen, openly agitated whilst interviewed, 

“Every session has been up and down. Today also in qualifying, it was really difficult. Q1, Q2 to feel confident, to really attack corners,” Verstappen lamented.

Mercedes clarify Hamilton’s comments

It’s not over yet

While Verstappen acknowledged the team’s new upgrade seemed to be effective at times, he believed that the setup wasn’t entirely optimized. Red Bull’s performance seemed off-track, leading Verstappen to express his frustration with the overall handling of the car during this critical stage of the championship.

“I think the update works, but I think we just really didn’t put everything together setup-wise because I just think today everything has just been all over the shop and not exactly where we wanted to be,” Verstappen said, revealing his disappointment with the team’s performance.

As the Hungarian Grand Prix looms, Verstappen remains hopeful of clinching another victory, despite narrowly missing out on pole position. The championship battle between Verstappen and Hamilton intensifies, and fans eagerly anticipate an exciting race on Sunday as the two racing titans go head-to-head once again.

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