World champion Verstappen is chasing Ferrari

Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen also had to defend himself against strong competition from Ferrari in the last race before the summer break. The Dutch Red Bull star was left behind in training on Friday in Budapest and only lined up behind the two Scuderia cars. Ferrari star Charles Leclerc set the fastest time on the Hungaroring. In 1:18,445 minutes, the Monegasque finished 0,231 seconds ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz from Spain. In hot temperatures of up to 34 degrees, Verstappen was 0,283 seconds behind Leclerc.

Verstappen goes into the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday with a big lead of 63 points over challenger Leclerc. Never before has a pilot not become world champion when he already had such a comfortable cushion at this point in the year. “I expect Ferrari to be very strong here,” said Verstappen anyway. Leclerc and Sainz could pose a threat to the defending champions, especially in qualifying on Saturday. Added to this is the uncertainty surrounding the changeable weather. It could rain heavily or even thunder during qualifying, but the Grand Prix itself could become significantly warmer and drier. Sebastian Vettel attacks again This complicated weather situation for the teams with some strong changes could also help Sebastian Vettel. On his ten-race farewell tour until mid-November, the 35-year-old finished a strong seventh in training and would like to finish in the points at the Hungaroring. On Thursday, the Hessian announced that he did not want to extend his contract with Aston Martin and would instead step down at the end of the season after a good 15 years in Formula 1.

Sebastian Vettel wants to really step on the gas again in his final season as a Formula 1 driver. © APA/afp / FERENC ISZA

Vettel celebrated two of his 53 Grand Prix victories in Hungary, in 2015 and 2017 in a Ferrari. Since moving to Aston Martin last year, he has not been able to win a race and is ending his career because there are hardly any significant improvements possible in the near future. “I still have enough motivation for the last races and fitness is not a problem either,” said four-time world champion Vettel. After this Grand Prix, a three-week break begins before the second part of the season continues in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, at the end of August.

In the overall standings, the Heppenheimer is 14th, just three points ahead of his friend Mick Schumacher, who could overtake the old champion for the first time in his career with a good result. During training, the 23-year-old drove his Haas racing car to 17th position. The son of record world champion Michael Schumacher is expected to be the only German Formula 2023 driver in 1. However, the youngster still has to extend his contract. According to his own statement, he is currently not considering a move to the traditional English racing team Aston Martin as Vettel's successor.

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World champion Verstappen is chasing Ferrari

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