Hamilton: "I have never felt so good about boos"

With the tension between Red Bull and Mercedes at maximum levels after the incident between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone, the brand of the star was played again to that of the red buffalo, this time at the Hungaroring, where the current champion was awarded his third

of the course and the 101st of his record.

Once the conflict between the two teams was resolved as a result of the Verstappen accident in the last round of the calendar, Mercedes moved token this Saturday in Budapest, where on Sunday (3:00 p.m., Movistar Formula 1 and Dazn) it will monopolize the first row of the grid , something that he had only achieved once in 2021 (Portimão).

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Valtteri Bottas will start next to Hamilton, while the Dutchman will start third, just ahead of Checo Pérez, his neighbor in the energy structure. Fernando Alonso will start ninth and Carlos Sainz, 15th, after suffering an accident in Q2. Pérez ended qualifying smoking a pipe because he was the main victim of the German manufacturer's ploy, which left him without his last attempt at a fast lap by slowing down Hamilton's pace on the exit lap of the garages.

According to Verstappen, Red Bull starts at a disadvantage this weekend because its car was slower than the Mercedes since the first session on Friday. That's probably why the championship leader will wear his entry car with the softest tire specification, while Hamilton and Bottas will start on medium tires. That will favor an attacking strategy on the part of the Red Bull rider in the early stages of the test. On the contrary, Hasselt's will be forced to stop earlier. "All weekend we were behind [Mercedes], and that is what was clear in qualifying," agreed Verstappen, who in the last week has starred in a cross talk with Hamilton. In Hungary, a pilgrimage site for Dutch fans, the boy from Stevenage again suffered pressure from the public,who booed him loudly after taking pole. “Boos have never felt so good to me,” he replied.

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