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Max Verstappen is a man of the field and it is in this spirit that he treated his first pole position in Formula 1 after a superb performance at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
"I knew it was a matter of time," said Red Bull driver. "It was a while ago, but anyway, doing it today was very nice and one of the best pieces to do it.Just a nice day.I was very happy when I was there. I crossed the finish line. "
There is no bragging in these comments. They are only a reflection of his own awareness of the quality of his work, his position in Formula 1 and the lucid recognition of what is important. That being the case, especially this weekend, the race and beyond, at some point in the future, a world championship.
The eighth win could follow Sunday, all things being equal, as long as Verstappen can get off to a good start.
It's something that has eluded him in two of the last three races – Verstappen dropped from second place on the grid in Austria and Germany, but still won both races.
If the same thing happened again, the recovery would be much more difficult in Hungary, one of the tracks where it is more difficult to double.
His qualifying performance was really impressive. Verstappen arrived in Hungary by minimizing claims that he could be a favorite for this race, after two victories in the previous three races and on a track that seemed to make the most of Red Bull.
But it was fast throughout the weekend, rain or shine, and was the fastest at the first qualifiers. He was beaten by Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes in the second session, then was the fastest on both runs in the top 10.
"It feels good," he said. "But all weekend, the car was very competitive.
"It's always a question of how it will work in qualifying so we know that (Mercedes) can produce a little more power.But the car was amazing.It was really nice to drive. Had no comments on the car, I just said, "Keep going. We always have a first pole, but what counts this Sunday is what matters. "
Hamilton, who was beaten second by team-mate Valtteri Bottas, complained about the car's retirement in the final qualifiers. He said there was "everything to play" in the race, but he admitted, "If I get off to a good start, we could have a battle to turn One, otherwise it's all about strategy. "
Mercedes driver's choice looms – but it will not be Verstappen
Bottas knows that team boss Toto Wolff is coming to the summer break with the decision to determine who will be Hamilton's partner at Mercedes next season. The Finn therefore chose the perfect moment to beat the world champion in third place. A good race would not be unacceptable either.
All summer, rumors have run about rumors that Verstappen could possibly join Mercedes. But that will not happen.
Verstappen already has a contract with Red Bull for 2020, but it includes a performance clause that could make it potentially free for next season.
The clause, according to BBC Sport, indicates that Verstappen is free to travel only if he is not among the top three in the championship after the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Given that Verstappen is already in the race in this position and with 21 points ahead of Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, the only way that could happen is if Vettel wins and Verstappen does not finish. As Ferrari are not competitive this weekend, it is an extremely unlikely scenario.
In any event, no offer from Mercedes – Wolff made it clear on Saturday that he had chosen between Bottas and the reservist Esteban Ocon.
"He's at Red Bull," said Wolff. "He has a contract, he is committed to Red Bull, that's where he runs this year and where he runs the next year and any other activity is really out of the way."
As for Bottas and Ocon, Wolff said he would decide for the summer break – and that if only one of them was available, it would be "obvious" to give them motivation. In the current state of things, the Finn is probably the favorite to keep his seat.
Although Wolff worried about Bottas' form fluctuations after an impressive start to the season, in which he led the championship after the first four races, it's far from clear that Ocon would be a step forward. Nobody can know for sure.
In addition, promoting the Frenchman – a more combative character than Bottas – would change the dynamics of the team so as to create uncertainty that Wolff probably does not need. Similarly, Ocon is only 22 years old and relatively inexperienced – and Wolff may prefer to spend more time developing elsewhere.
There is interest for Ocon elsewhere – especially at Renault, where Nico Hulkenberg is off-contract and seems fragile. But also potentially to Haas and Alfa Romeo.
Russell makes his mark
Another driver of the Mercedes stable is George Russell, who has impressed Williams throughout the year, but never as much as at the Sunday Hungaroring.
An aerodynamic upgrade introduced in the previous race in Germany transformed the car and, perhaps most importantly, allowed Williams to make notoriously difficult tires work better than ever before. the season.
The change was remarkable: after playing a private battle with teammate Robert Kubica all season, Russell was a little over 0.1 seconds behind the second qualifying round. He qualified 16th in front of the Racing Points and the Renault of Daniel Ricciardo, which proved embarrbading. by getting caught in a queue at the start of the last round of the Australian.
Russell was also nearly 1.3 seconds faster than teammate Robert Kubica – who said he was fighting for grip – and described his qualifications as "a performance by far outstanding for us".
"It has been an incredibly difficult year in many ways," said Russell. "With the approach of the summer holidays, it 's really what we needed as a team.It' s not just on my side, we 're the one we' d like. we really did together. "
Overall, it is difficult to judge Russell's performances this season, as Kubica was his only criterion and the Pole has been out of F1 for eight years. It can be questioned about the fact that he is the great pilot that he has already been.
Nevertheless, there are signs that Russell will be a star of the future and make a name for himself.
He commits to Williams at least until the end of next year, or even beyond. Wolff ruled out premature promotion at Mercedes, but said he held Russell in high esteem.
"You have to consider that these guys are entering F1 at a very young age," Wolff said. "There are exceptions to the norm – like Max Verstappen, who received an environment at Toro Rosso and Red Bull with the opportunity to learn and make mistakes.
"I do not think you have the opportunity to learn in a Mercedes because you are in a car capable of winning races and championships in a high-pressure environment and that it can go wrong for a young driver who has the talent to become world champion if he is immersed in this environment alongside the best driver of his generation who has been with us for seven years and I would not want to burn George.
"Likewise, I think he's very well placed with Williams to help him learn and come back to perform, learn and enjoy a car that works well.
"I talked to him after qualifying and he was very happy that they better understand how to adjust the car.And these are the times that he has to learn to appreciate (for that) if someday we get him gives a car that is fighting for the championships and He also appreciates this situation, it would come too soon.
"And on top of that, I'm trying to be respectful of all the contracts we're signing in. We knew what we were doing and it's at Williams." It's there that he has to learn."
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