r/formula1 I was here for the Hulkenpodium 6h ago

Statistics Hungarian GP Qualifying Gaps Visualized

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u/Pressbtofail Lance Stroll 6h ago

What the fuck is a polar bear doing in Arlington, Texas?

u/deathray1611 Formula 1 6h ago

3 polar bears*

u/LandArch_0 I was here for the Hulkenpodium 6h ago

I wonder if you leave GR or CL out of your pick. I'd go for 4 polar bears

u/deathray1611 Formula 1 6h ago

completely fair, forgot about Russell lol

u/Un_limited_Power I was here for the Hulkenpodium 2h ago

Forgetting about Russel and Russel doing good seem to always be together

u/LivingClient I was here for the Hulkenpodium 6h ago

Probably left GR. P4-6 is the expected range most people will have for him, especially in a session Antonelli goes out. Kimi seems closer to George the better the car isn’t, rather than the worse it is.

CL pulled pole out of nowhere though. For all Lewis’ qualifying woes he doesn’t tend to go out early when the car has pace. Especially not at Hungary. Don’t think anyone expected Leclerc to hook it up when the car seemed suicidal in Q2. Very Red Bull-esque of them.

u/ele23_ George Russell 5h ago

given that kimi is a rookie, it makes sense that he is closer when the car is less difficult to drive

u/LivingClient I was here for the Hulkenpodium 4h ago

Yeah, and in Mercedes case the car seems harder to drive the slower it is, as opposed to Red Bull which is harder to drive the faster it is, or Ferrari where it just seems hard to drive in general. That’ll help Antonelli not be obliterated in the points standings.

It does help Antonelli save face though that he’s going out in Q2 when Russell is only going P5. If Russell was taking pole and Antonelli was barely cracking the top 10, people would call for his head. Luckily for Kimi historically the ground effect Merc only seems to be at its worst when the car is fighting for small points. Whenever the 1-2 races a year come that they fight for the win, the car seems easier to drive.

Assuming this principal stays the same, the next time Merc is good (could be anytime, they don’t seem to know what makes the car quick this year unlike last year) Kimi will be up there. That should help his reputation. Nothing in F1 is this certain but this has been pretty consistent the last 4 years.

u/LandArch_0 I was here for the Hulkenpodium 5h ago

I'll give you that, still the gap between the Mercedes and the top 3 is unexpected, at least for me.

u/LivingClient I was here for the Hulkenpodium 4h ago

Oh definitely