The Hungarian Grand Prix was certainly characterised by the duel at the top between the two McLarens and the difficulties encountered by Red Bull, which made Max Verstappen nervous given that the Dutchman had defined the package of innovations brought by the Milton Keynes team as crucial for the championship.
However, behind them there was no shortage of topics of discussion, especially in the midfield, with a significant race that went almost unnoticed like that of Yuki Tsunoda, capable of taking advantage of a Racing Bulls well suited to the medium-low speed curves of the Hungaroring. The Japanese driver managed to bring home an excellent ninth place, demonstrating good solidity and good performances in a crucial phase of the season for the latest market rumors.
Tsunoda started from the tenth position on the grid after a bad impact during qualifying, with the car that, after taking flight on an artificial step in the grass escape road, crashed into the barriers with an impact of 68G. Fortunately, the Japanese driver did not suffer any particular physical consequences, but the team was forced to replace the body to allow him to participate in the race, with the latter doing its job perfectly by absorbing the blow.
Yuki Tsunoda’s RB F1 Team VCARB 01 after the accident
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
However, this was not the only particular element of the Japanese race. While all the other drivers opted for the two pit stops, on the contrary at Racing Bulls they decided to follow a different path, trying a single stop that on the eve seemed almost an out of reach solution given the other thermal degradation. During the race, the asphalt temperatures around 40°C allowed them to reduce consumption and aim for something different on a tactical level.
From this point of view, Tsunoda’s excellent management of the tyres played a key role, as did the team’s engineers’ good reading of the race as the laps went by. In fact, while on one side of the garage there was satisfaction, on the other Daniel Ricciardo was clearly annoyed by the strategy adopted against him, aimed more at covering his opponents who stopped after a few laps. But it was precisely that element that launched the idea for the one-stop strategy adopted with Tsunoda.
In fact, seven drivers from the midfield teams stopped after just a few laps, making the two-pit stop tactic extremely tight anyway, given that the first stint was quite short. This was one of the reasons that pushed Racing Bulls to extend the first part of the race so much: however, another element made this strategy even more useful and effective, namely the race conduct of the two Aston Martins. The British team had also decided to diversify the race on a strategic level, immediately calling Fernando Alonso to the pits and leaving Lance Stroll out, but imposing a rather slow pace on the Asturian to keep the group behind him compact.
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR24, Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 01
Foto di: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Tsunoda also benefited from this, continuing to extend his lead until, on lap 23, the team finally decided to go for what was known as “Plan C”, or a single stop.
Even more interesting, however, is the second stint of the Japanese driver, because it offers interesting insights into the race management of the Racing Bulls driver. The first part of the second half of the race followed the “classic” fundamental dictates for the tyres, that is, a constant and unforced introduction, to then intensify the pace when it was most needed. Equally fundamental was the choice during the stint to start forcing on the front to protect the rear axle, the one under the most stress in Hungary, not only for a mere question of pace, but also because that “saved” tyre proved to be fundamental towards the end to defend traction from the return of the two Aston Martins.
“The one-stop race wasn’t even really talked about before the race! So I’m very surprised that we managed to do just one stop and last until the end of the race. It’s a good result and of course a big thank you to the team who repaired the car very quickly and precisely during the night. Without them, I wouldn’t be here. You have to acknowledge that,” Tsunoda explained after the race, underlining how important the mechanics’ work was to assemble a brand new car with a body change almost from scratch.
Yuki Tsunoda, RB F1 Team VCARB 01
Photo by: Lubomir Asenov / Motorsport Images
In the midfield challenge, Racing Bulls was among the favorites, because the VCARB01, like its predecessor, has often shown excellent characteristics in medium-low speed corners, especially in the traction phase. For this reason, it was expected that it could make a step forward after the last Grand Prix full of very fast sections, those that put the Faenza car in greater difficulty.
Racing Bulls has also recently been struggling with correlation issues on updates, so much so that Daniel Ricciardo has returned to the Miami spec. However, in Budapest the car worked very well, providing the drivers with a good balance, although Tsunoda actually did not expect to be able to make the one-stop strategy work. In fact, during the first stint the Japanese driver thought that the team was waiting for a possible entry of the safety car, before realizing that the pace was actually still quite competitive thanks to good tire management.
“At one point I thought the goal was to wait for a Safety Car. But actually I could see that the pace was very good. I’m very surprised, obviously, the feeling in the car was not the best to handle. Obviously I was quite nervous. I think the handling I did at the beginning was quite good. Also, I felt like I was struggling because there were a couple of cars with fresher tyres trying to pass me, but I managed to hold on quite well,” Tsunoda added.
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