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.
Even so, Ferrari clearly made matters more difficult for Leclerc by putting him on the hard tyre. Leclerc was hardly any quicker on the new set of hard tyres the team swapped his worn mediums for at the end of lap 39.
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’.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
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:
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
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
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:
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
2022 Hungarian Grand Prix fastest laps
Each driver’s fastest lap:
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
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) |
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
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 |
Become a RaceFans Supporter
RaceFans is run thanks in part to the generous support of its readers. By contributing £1 per month or £12 per year (or the same in whichever currency you use) you can help cover the costs of creating, hosting and developing RaceFans today and in the future.
Become a RaceFans Supporter today and browse the site ad-free. Sign up or find out more via the links below:
2022 Hungarian Grand Prix
Browse all 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix articles