Hungarian GP: Will Max Verstappen see off Mercedes threat from pole?
Verstappen starts from an F1 pole for the first time, but Mercedes remain right in the hunt from second and third; Sky Sports F1 live from 12.30pm, with the race underway at 2.10pm
Sunday 4 August 2019 13:51, UK
Max Verstappen is ready to take on Mercedes as he starts from pole for the first time in his F1 career at the Hungarian GP, with Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton hoping to hunt the Red Bull down.
After three incredible F1 races in Austria, Great Britain and Silverstone - the Budapest event has all the ingredients to be another cracker with Verstappen entering uncharted territory on the grid, knowing that a third victory in fourth races will shoot him right into title contention with Bottas and Hamilton, who start just behind him.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel, who have been quickest on the straights all weekend, are fourth and fifth.
The race begins at 2.10pm on Sky Sports F1, with build-up - featuring an exclusive interview with Verstappen and team boss Christian Horner - from 12.30pm.
Is Verstappen also the Sunday favourite?
Verstappen is cautious but confident heading into the race. Red Bull are often quicker on a Sunday than on a Saturday - the in-form Dutchman's pole was only their fourth since winning their last title six years ago.
"Our car lately has been even better in the race, so I don't feel too worried," Verstappen said. "We just need to make sure we have a clean start and then anything is possible."
He added to Sky F1's Anthony Davidson in a SkyPad special: "[Pole] normally it makes your race a bit easier but the race points are on Sunday, and that's the most important thing.
"We know that, if you can start more upfront in the race, it all makes it a bit easier to control."
Verstappen, however, is vulnerable as the sole Red Bull at the top end of the grid - team-mate Pierre Gasly was only sixth - and has two hungry Mercedes drivers, eager to bounce back from a miserable Germany, in his mirrors.
"We have a good chance as a team because we have two cars very much at the front," said Bottas, just 18 thousandths behind Verstappen in qualifying.
"Obviously we are both also racing for our own result but also working as a team will benefit both of us so it should be interesting."
Verstappen, 21, is also wary that in the last two races where he has started on the front-row - in Spielberg and Hockenheim - he has had awful starts and lost several places into Turn One.
Although he went on to win both of those two Grands Prix, he admitted that he "wanted to make it easier" for himself, and Hamilton is another driver who is ready to pounce.
"I'm always down for a fight," claimed Hamilton, who is 41 points ahead of Bottas in the championship and 63 in front of Verstappen.
"There's a long way down to Turn One so it should be interesting. Hopefully we can give them a run for their money and hopefully for the race we'll have better race pace than I did in qualifying."
Hamilton, who was uncharacteristically off-key when it mattered in Q3 on Saturday, continued: "It started out well and it's not gone great today but that doesn't mean tomorrow can't go great. "
And asked if his experience could benefit him, Hamilton, 34, replied: "Hopefully we'll see that play its role."
Mercedes: We must take Max seriously
Verstappen has scored more points than anyone in the last four races and has arguably been the form driver of F1 2019. His exploits aren't going unnoticed by Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who considers Verstappen a serious title challenger.
"There are 10 more races, 260 points to score, and our advantage is 63 so you can see from the sheer maths that Max is somebody we need to take seriously and consider as a title rival," Wolff told reporters.
"We cannot afford to take the foot off the throttle."
Wolff also said that Red Bull-Honda's improvements have given Mercedes, who dominated the opening eight races of the season, a "really positive challenge".
"The Red Bull chassis was always amongst the best and it still is," Wolff explained. "Then Honda has made a big step forward from last year to this year, and all credit to them.
"It shows us that we've got to reinvent ourselves in a way. I think it is a really positive challenge."
On Red Bull's form and Mercedes' slight dip, Wolff added: "We had a good streak of success and it feels now that we probably need to push even more.
"The others are catching up and it's easier to catch up than to maintain the level and setting the benchmark. There's a reason why nobody ever won six consecutive driver titles, because it is not easy. I guess we all know that, but we've got to push harder and smarter in order to stay here.
"The first thing is to regain the kind of performance advantages that we had at the beginning of the season on the chassis side and that we had on the power unit side on the seasons before."
Sky Sports F1's Hungarian GP schedule
Sunday, August 4
8.55am: F3 Race Two (Simulcast on Sky Sports Main Event)
10.15am: F2 Race Two
10.30pm (Sky One): The F1 Show
11.40am: Porsche Supercup
12.30pm: Hungarian GP: Pit Lane Live
1,30pm: Hungarian GP: On The Grid
2.10pm: THE HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX LIVE! (Simulcast on Sky Sports Main Event)
4pm: Hungarian GP Paddock Live
5.30pm: Hungarian GP Highlights
6.30pm: Hungarian GP Best Bits
7pm: Hungarian GP Race Rerun
Don't miss the next instalment of F1 2019 at the Hungarian GP this weekend on Sky Sports F1 - the final race before the summer break. Find out how to watch all the 2019 season live.
