As we head into the summer break, Lewis Hamilton at last has something to smile about, after claiming his maiden Mercedes victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix. After struggling with tyre management for much of the season, Mercedes seem to have found a formula to their problems, and Hamilton put his personal problems aside (after splitting with girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger) to claim one of the finest victories of his career on Sunday.
With three wins already under their belt this season, Mercedes can be pleased with the progress they have made, and can harbour ambitions of a realistic title push in the second half of the season. Of course though that will be challenging, as it is difficult to see anyone stopping Sebastian Vettel from claiming a fourth consecutive World Drivers’ Championship.
Vettel’s lead in the Championship is 38 points, whilst Hamilton sits fourth, 48 points behind the Red Bull driver. Apart from a mechanical failure at Silverstone, Vettel has finished in the top four in every race, and has been in imperious form in a Red Bull which has continued to be one of the strongest cars in the field.
Over the next few weeks the rest of the field will need to find some substantial developments to push their cars forward, if they are to end the dominance of Red Bull. On current form Lotus, who have excelled in terms of tyre management, look the most likely to pose a threat to Vettel, with Kimi Raikkonen second in the WDC, however they will need to add to their only victory of the season at Melbourne.
A strategic error hampered Raikkonen’s chances at the Nurburgring, and at the Hungaroring last out, his teammate Romain Grosjean demonstrated the pace to win the grand prix, but faded to sixth after struggling in traffic and with penalties. At the moment Lotus are close, but not quite there, and they need to find an extra tenth or two to really put the pressure on Red Bull.
Whereas Lotus and Mercedes have both been improving, it’s been bad news for Ferrari, as they appear to have slipped off the pace in recent weeks. There seems to be a problem with their wind tunnel, as new parts work well in the factory, but flatter to deceive when attached to the car. Fernando Alonso is having another strong season, but if Ferrari don’t come up with a major improvement soon, then their season could well peter away.
McLaren meanwhile have recently shown slight signs of improvement, at least in terms of race pace, but 2013 has already been written off as a disaster for the team, as they concentrate their efforts on bouncing back next year with the new regulations. Another historic team, Williams, have fared miserably too, but at least picked up their first point of the season on Sunday, with Pastor Maldonaldo’s tenth place finish.
Over the next few weeks all the teams have thinking to do, whether it be Red Bull as to how to maintain their advantage, Force India as to what improvements they can make to their qualifying speed, or Marussia as they continue to battle with Caterham at the back of the grid.
There’s also much to discuss in terms of driver line-ups for next year, with the vacant seat at Red Bull alongside Vettel to be filled. Raikonnen, and Torro Rosso driver Daniel Riccardio appear to be the only two candidates, and depending on what move is taken, it could trigger a number of changes on the grid. The future of the likes of Felipe Massa and Romain Grosjean will also be up for debate, whilst youngsters such as Nico Hulkenberg and Jules Bianchi will be looking to secure drives at top teams.
The action on the track may be over for the next few weeks, but that doesn’t mean the teams will be taking a long holiday. Of course some rest will be granted, but behind the scenes each and every team will be striving to improve their car, negotiate for the future, and prepare themselves for the challenges that lie ahead. Vettel is in the driving seat now, the question is will he still be come Interlagos, Brazil?