The Hungarian Grand Prix posed a strategic conundrum for teams, and the result was a wide variety of strategies was used throughout the field. Did Ferrari pick the wrong one for Charles Leclerc?
All 20 runners were classified at the finish (Valtteri Bottas completed more than 90% of the race distance before a fuel system problem halted him) and among them 11 different permutations of tyre compounds were used.The most popular option was an opening stint on softs followed by two more on mediums. Even so, just four finishers used this strategy, including both Red Bull drivers. Max Verstappen used it to win from 10th on the grid, while team mate Sergio Perez climbed six spots to finish fifth.
It worked for Sebastian Vettel too, who gained eight places to grab the final point. Only George Russell, who had arguably qualified much higher than he should have done by taking pole position, lost out on this strategy, falling to third. Even so, team mate Lewis Hamilton, who took second, reckoned he would have been better off following his team mate’s lead on tactics.
Hamilton was among the five other drivers who used different combinations of two stints on mediums plus one on softs. Significantly, among those who used the same as him was Carlos Sainz Jnr, who fell from second to fourth during the race. As Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto pointed out, that indicates the team’s car was not the force it usually is this weekend.
With the DRS zones at the Hungaroring unchanged, and 2022’s new generation of cars able to race more closely, passing was more straightforward at this track than usual. Max Verstappen passed Leclerc not once, but twice, having lost four seconds with a spun on lap 41.
There was another telling pointer to Ferrari’s lack of pace. After Leclerc gave up on his hards and pitted for a set of soft tyres, his pace was no better than Hamilton’s, who fitted a set of softs three laps earlier. They both set their quickest laps on the 57th tour and Hamilton’s was two-tenths quicker.
By then Verstappen was long gone, aided not only by excellent Red Bull strategy, but near-faultless pit work. Each of the four complete pit stops the team performed during the race was quicker than every single one of their rivals’.
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2022 Hungarian Grand Prix lap chart
The positions of each driver on every lap. Click name to highlight, right-click to reset. Toggle drivers using controls below:
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2022 Hungarian Grand Prix race chart
The gaps between each driver on every lap compared to the leader’s average lap time. Very large gaps omitted. Scroll to zoom, drag to pan and right-click to reset. Toggle drivers using controls below:
Position change
| Driver | Start position | Lap one position change | Race position change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis Hamilton | 7 | 2 | 5 |
| George Russell | 1 | 0 | -2 |
| Max Verstappen | 10 | 2 | 9 |
| Sergio Perez | 11 | 2 | 6 |
| Charles Leclerc | 3 | 0 | -3 |
| Carlos Sainz Jnr | 2 | 0 | -2 |
| Lando Norris | 4 | 0 | -3 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 9 | -2 | -4 |
| Esteban Ocon | 5 | -1 | -4 |
| Fernando Alonso | 6 | -1 | -2 |
| Pierre Gasly | 19 | -1 | 7 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | 16 | 0 | -3 |
| Lance Stroll | 14 | 0 | 3 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 18 | 0 | 8 |
| Alexander Albon | 17 | 2 | 0 |
| Nicholas Latifi | 20 | 1 | 2 |
| Valtteri Bottas | 8 | -5 | -12 |
| Zhou Guanyu | 12 | -5 | -2 |
| Mick Schumacher | 15 | 3 | 0 |
| Kevin Magnussen | 13 | 3 | -3 |
2022 Hungarian Grand Prix lap times
All the lap times by the drivers (in seconds, very slow laps excluded). Scroll to zoom, drag to pan and toggle drivers using the control below:
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2022 Hungarian Grand Prix fastest laps
Each driver’s fastest lap:
| Rank | Driver | Car | Fastest lap | Gap | On lap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1’21.386 | 57 | |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1’21.622 | 0.236 | 57 |
| 3 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 1’21.940 | 0.554 | 44 |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | 1’22.000 | 0.614 | 51 |
| 5 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’22.029 | 0.643 | 58 |
| 6 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1’22.126 | 0.740 | 45 |
| 7 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’22.437 | 1.051 | 51 |
| 8 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams-Mercedes | 1’22.478 | 1.092 | 60 |
| 9 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1’22.766 | 1.380 | 57 |
| 10 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin-Mercedes | 1’22.824 | 1.438 | 51 |
| 11 | Lando Norris | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’23.043 | 1.657 | 47 |
| 12 | Alexander Albon | Williams-Mercedes | 1’23.047 | 1.661 | 43 |
| 13 | Mick Schumacher | Haas-Ferrari | 1’23.151 | 1.765 | 50 |
| 14 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri-Red Bull | 1’23.199 | 1.813 | 58 |
| 15 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas-Ferrari | 1’23.511 | 2.125 | 37 |
| 16 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri-Red Bull | 1’23.538 | 2.152 | 58 |
| 17 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’23.590 | 2.204 | 64 |
| 18 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine-Renault | 1’23.979 | 2.593 | 47 |
| 19 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo-Ferrari | 1’24.002 | 2.616 | 60 |
| 20 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine-Renault | 1’24.149 | 2.763 | 60 |
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2022 Hungarian Grand Prix tyre strategies
The tyre strategies for each driver:
| Stint 1 | Stint 2 | Stint 3 | Stint 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Verstappen | C4 (16) | C3 (22) | C3 (32) | |
| Lewis Hamilton | C3 (19) | C3 (32) | C4 (19) | |
| George Russell | C4 (16) | C3 (23) | C3 (31) | |
| Carlos Sainz Jnr | C3 (17) | C3 (30) | C4 (23) | |
| Sergio Perez | C4 (18) | C3 (24) | C3 (28) | |
| Charles Leclerc | C3 (21) | C3 (18) | C2 (15) | C4 (16) |
| Lando Norris | C4 (14) | C3 (28) | C2 (28) | |
| Fernando Alonso | C3 (21) | C2 (48) | ||
| Esteban Ocon | C3 (23) | C2 (46) | ||
| Sebastian Vettel | C4 (15) | C3 (31) | C3 (23) | |
| Lance Stroll | C4 (14) | C3 (32) | C4 (23) | |
| Pierre Gasly | C4 (16) | C3 (30) | C4 (23) | |
| Daniel Ricciardo | C4 (15) | C3 (31) | C2 (23) | |
| Zhou Guanyu | C3 (27) | C2 (24) | C4 (18) | |
| Mick Schumacher | C3 (21) | C2 (20) | C3 (28) | |
| Kevin Magnussen | C3 (6) | C2 (29) | C3 (32) | C4 (2) |
| Alexander Albon | C3 (2) | C4 (19) | C3 (19) | |
| Nicholas Latifi | C3 (18) | C3 (21) | C4 (17) | |
| Yuki Tsunoda | C4 (13) | C3 (20) | C4 (18) | C4 (17) |
| Valtteri Bottas | C3 (26) | C2 (39) |
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2022 Hungarian Grand Prix pit stop times
How long each driver’s pit stops took:
| Driver | Team | Pit stop time | Gap | On lap | |
| 1 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 21.118 | 18 | |
| 2 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 21.167 | 0.049 | 42 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 21.228 | 0.110 | 38 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 21.351 | 0.233 | 16 |
| 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | 21.402 | 0.284 | 15 |
| 6 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | 21.489 | 0.371 | 46 |
| 7 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | 21.521 | 0.403 | 46 |
| 8 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 21.544 | 0.426 | 54 |
| 9 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | 21.558 | 0.440 | 15 |
| 10 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 21.577 | 0.459 | 13 |
| 11 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 21.615 | 0.497 | 46 |
| 12 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | 21.675 | 0.557 | 16 |
| 13 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 21.699 | 0.581 | 19 |
| 14 | George Russell | Mercedes | 21.743 | 0.625 | 39 |
| 15 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 21.775 | 0.657 | 21 |
| 16 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 21.779 | 0.661 | 14 |
| 17 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 21.816 | 0.698 | 21 |
| 18 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 21.855 | 0.737 | 42 |
| 19 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | 21.865 | 0.747 | 18 |
| 20 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 21.972 | 0.854 | 39 |
| 21 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 22.016 | 0.898 | 33 |
| 22 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | 22.083 | 0.965 | 21 |
| 23 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 22.095 | 0.977 | 51 |
| 24 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 22.128 | 1.010 | 51 |
| 25 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 22.272 | 1.154 | 26 |
| 26 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | 22.321 | 1.203 | 27 |
| 27 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | 22.452 | 1.334 | 39 |
| 28 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | 22.566 | 1.448 | 41 |
| 29 | George Russell | Mercedes | 22.763 | 1.645 | 16 |
| 30 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | 22.820 | 1.702 | 17 |
| 31 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | 22.953 | 1.835 | 21 |
| 32 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 23.147 | 2.029 | 67 |
| 33 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 23.210 | 2.092 | 35 |
| 34 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari | 23.456 | 2.338 | 47 |
| 35 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 23.567 | 2.449 | 14 |
| 36 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 23.581 | 2.463 | 23 |
| 37 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 24.298 | 3.180 | 40 |
| 38 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | 25.030 | 3.912 | 46 |
| 39 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | 28.218 | 7.100 | 51 |
| 40 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | 28.777 | 7.659 | 56 |
| 41 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 29.641 | 8.523 | 6 |
| 42 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 31.224 | 10.106 | 2 |
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2022 Hungarian Grand Prix
- Mercedes ‘not close enough to Ferrari and Red Bull to really fight them yet’ – Wolff
- Transcript: Why Ferrari told Leclerc ‘the hard is worse than expected’ but still used it
- What made Verstappen’s 10th-to-first win in Hungary a rare achievement
- Ricciardo eager for summer break after “not the six months I wanted”
- Gasly pleased FIA is considering “different options” for track limits policing in 2023
André
31st July 2022, 23:48
Sir Lewis Hamilton, the tyre whisperer.
Ajaxn
1st August 2022, 0:39
yeah. ;-) That’s were the magic happened, his 32 laps stint before going to his final tidy 19 lap stint on the softs. Even then i thought he could have driven a lap or two more on his first stint.
Damian
1st August 2022, 0:22
Alfa Romeo’s drivers are underperforming, that car should be at least 9th and 10th or more if they extract it properly. Aston Martin is lucky to have Vettel, even when he’s not in his prime anymore he still got the ability and pace to wring it out of the car. It’s almost comparable to 2012 Williams the Alfa Romeo of this season where the car has great potential but the drivers couldn’t maximize the results most of the time. I am aware Guanyu is a rookie but personally I think there are better options for the team if the team aren’t so desperate of fundings.
Ajaxn
1st August 2022, 0:36
2022 Hungarian Grand Prix pit stop times —
this should be shown in the order of the stops, as that tell its own story, eg who stopped first, or whose stop triggered the others to stop…
Jere (@jerejj)
1st August 2022, 7:23
@Ajaxn
You can see them in chronological order here: https://www.fia.com/events/fia-formula-one-world-championship/season-2022/hungarian-grand-prix/eventtiming-information (Pit Stop Summary)
Howard
1st August 2022, 1:08
You need to take out the pit laps from the lap times. It’s distorting the chart and making it unreadable.
Mr Squiggle
1st August 2022, 3:25
As always, thanks for this information. I had real trouble following the race, the graphics supplied by SKY are quite close to useless in understanding the implications of overlapping pit stop strategies
Jere (@jerejj)
1st August 2022, 7:25
@Mr Squiggle Sky uses the same world feed graphics as all other broadcasters during sessions.
Edvaldo
1st August 2022, 3:30
And here we can see that leclerc was indeed very fast on the soft tyres.
At least fast enough to not compromise his race, had it not being ruined before. A win was very likely.
Binotto should stop using sainz as reference for performance of the car, that guy is slow everywhere.
jff
1st August 2022, 8:44
There is a lot of focus on the dismal strategy of Ferrari.
But what happened to Leclerc when he was on soft tyres? He was hardly faster than Zhou who had slightly older tyres and was fighting Magnussen and Schumacher.
AlexS
1st August 2022, 23:03
Probably he was 6th fighting for nothing.
francesco
2nd August 2022, 17:53
a rly good charts, keep doing these interesting things and thank you