Hungarian GP 2014 – The grid: Red Bull, Williams and Ferrari for the podium, Hamilton to limit the damage

After the qualifying session held on Saturday, for which you can read the summary on casinoenligne.uk.com, the editorial team offers you a recap of the starting grid.

Several things to note: the pit lane starts of Kevin Magnussen and Lewis Hamilton, both victims of serious incidents during qualifying which required their chassis to be changed.

The tires

As in Germany, rain could potentially be a threat to the race. However, if like in Hockenheim it doesn’t show its droplets, the preferred strategy is two stops, according to Pirelli. The Italian company indicates that a three-stop strategy seems to be the fastest but, given the nature of the track and the difficulty of overtaking, two stops will be more suitable.

Thus, if the drivers choose two stops, the ideal plan would be to start on soft tires, then pit on the 29th lap to put on soft tires again, and finally make a last stop to switch to mediums on the 54th lap. With three stops, the race should start with three stints on soft tires (with pit stops on the 22nd and 44th laps) and end with a stint on hard tires, fitted 5 laps before the finish.

**The forces present**

Once again, it’s hard to see—barring a mechanical incident—what could hinder Nico Rosberg, who is ideally positioned to win without too much effort. Behind him, however, the battle for the podium could be quite intense between the Red Bulls and Ferraris, whose pace on long stints is almost identical. The Williams could potentially join this battle, even if their intrinsic qualities don’t seem to fully suit the nature of the Hungarian track.

At the end of the top 10, McLaren, Force India, and Toro Rosso are expected to compete for points. But it’s at the back where things could change the most, with the presence of two fast cars: mainly Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes, but also Kevin Magnussen’s McLaren, which will start from the pit lane with a fighting spirit.

Kevin Magnussen and Lewis Hamilton will start, in that order, from the pit lane.