𝗠𝗦𝗫.∆𝗘𝗣³

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It was mostly a case of race pace, strategy, and chaos ahead of them, rather than either Red Bull suddenly having qualifying-level speed. Max Verstappen started only P6 after a disappointing Saturday, while Isack Hadjar qualified P8, with Red Bull struggling to get the tyres into the right window over one lap at the Hungaroring. For Verstappen’s P2: * Red Bull’s race pace was considerably stronger than its qualifying pace. * The team made what Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies described as some “spicy” strategy calls that helped Max gain track position. * A key moment was the late Virtual Safety Car. While some rivals pitted, Verstappen stayed out and benefited from maintaining track position. Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, for example, lost ground after stopping during that period. * Oscar Piastri’s retirement also removed one of the fastest cars from contention, opening up a podium place. * Once in clean air, Verstappen managed the race well and inherited second behind Lando Norris. Even Max admitted afterward that he was surprised to come away with P2 given how difficult the weekend had looked on Saturday. For Hadjar’s P6: * Hungary is notoriously difficult for overtaking, so starting eighth already put him in the mix for a strong points finish. * Racing Bulls/Red Bull’s race pace was better than their qualifying pace, allowing Hadjar to stay with the midfield leaders. * The retirements and strategy swings ahead of him promoted him up the order, and he avoided the mistakes and penalties that caught out some rivals. So the short version is: their qualifying pace was poor, but their Sunday pace was much better, Red Bull executed strategy well, the VSC timing favored Verstappen, Piastri retired, and several rivals lost positions through pit-stop choices. On a track where track position is king, that was enough to turn P6 and P8 on the grid into P2 and P6 at the flag.

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Michael Schumacher winning 72 Grands Prix with Scuderia Ferrari was the result of a rare combination of driver ability, team building, technical preparation, and Ferrari’s transformation into the dominant F1 force of the early 2000s. 1. He joined Ferrari when they were rebuilding When Schumacher arrived in 1996, Ferrari had not won a drivers’ championship since 1979 and had struggled with reliability and organisation. He didn’t just arrive at a winning team — he helped create one. Schumacher pushed Ferrari to bring key people from his successful Benetton Formula era, including: * Ross Brawn (technical director) * Rory Byrne (chief designer) * Jean Todt (team principal) Together they built Ferrari into a championship machine. ⸻ 2. Schumacher was exceptionally consistent His win count was not just from having the fastest car. He was incredibly good at converting opportunities: * Extremely fast qualifying pace * Elite racecraft * Tire management * Mechanical sympathy * Rarely making costly mistakes * Ability to perform under pressure During his Ferrari peak (2000–2004), he won 48 races in 85 starts — a win rate of over 56%. ⸻ 3. Ferrari’s dominance from 2000–2004 The biggest reason his Ferrari win total exploded was the era of dominance: 2000: 9 wins → first Ferrari title since 1979 2001: 9 wins 2002: 11 wins 2003: 6 wins 2004: 13 wins The 2004 season was especially remarkable: * Schumacher won 13 of 18 races * Ferrari won 15 of 18 races (including Barrichello’s two wins) * Schumacher secured his 7th world championship The Ferrari F2004 is widely considered one of the most dominant F1 cars ever. ⸻ 4. Ferrari’s tyre partnership was a huge advantage Ferrari worked extremely closely with Bridgestone Corporation. Schumacher was heavily involved in testing and development, often doing thousands of kilometres of private testing. This gave Ferrari: * Tires optimized around Schumacher’s driving style * Better race strategy information * Faster development during the season ⸻ 5. He maximized the opportunities of his era Schumacher also benefited from the fact that: * Seasons were shorter (usually 16–18 races) * Ferrari’s reliability was excellent * He often had the fastest package * He had a strong teammate relationship with Rubens Barrichello, who regularly supported Ferrari’s championship campaigns ⸻ 6. The numbers show how extraordinary it was Schumacher’s Ferrari record: * 72 wins * 116 podiums * 58 pole positions * 5 consecutive championships (2000–2004) * 6 constructors’ championships with Ferrari To put it into perspective: before Schumacher, Ferrari had won just 79 races in the previous 45 years of F1. Schumacher alone nearly matched Ferrari’s entire historical win tally at the time. His 72 Ferrari wins were not simply because Ferrari was dominant — Ferrari became dominant partly because Schumacher helped build the system that produced that dominance.

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Yes — and that’s what makes Verstappen’s 2026 season so impressive. After Madrid, he has six Grand Prix podiums despite Red Bull sitting only 4th in the Constructors’ Championship, with no wins. His podiums have come in Canada (P3), Austria (P2), Belgium (P3), Hungary (P2), Italy (P3), and Madrid/Spain (P2). The key is that Max has repeatedly turned a car that normally belongs around the second/third row into a podium contender. How he’s doing it 1. He’s extracting more than the RB22’s normal performance level. Red Bull themselves entered 2026 believing Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari were ahead, effectively putting the RB22 fourth in the pecking order. The car has also suffered balance and reliability problems. Yet when there’s an opportunity to fight the top three teams, Max is usually the Red Bull capable of taking it. 2. His race pace tends to be stronger than Red Bull’s qualifying position suggests. Austria is probably the best example. He started P5, quickly passed Antonelli, Leclerc and Hamilton and finished only 1.611 seconds behind Russell, despite Red Bull not having the outright fastest package. Hungary was similar: the Red Bull wasn’t the fastest car, yet Verstappen still finished P2 behind Norris. 3. He’s extremely good at maximizing “podium opportunity” races. If Mercedes, Ferrari or McLaren have a bad qualifying, strategy problem, incident or simply aren’t quick at a particular circuit, Max tends to be there immediately. That’s important. A fourth-fastest car doesn’t mean it is P7-P8 every weekend — the gaps fluctuate considerably by circuit. When the RB22 is temporarily the second- or third-best package, Max converts that into P2/P3 rather than P4/P5. 4. Red Bull has improved the car during the season. The RB22 isn’t exactly the same fourth-fastest car it was in March. The huge Miami package changed the front wing, floor, sidepods, diffuser, rear wing and several other areas, while Red Bull made further significant changes around Austria. So although I’d still rank Red Bull fourth overall across the season, there have been individual weekends where it has been considerably more competitive. 5. Max’s consistency is hiding some of the car’s deficit. The comparison with Hadjar is revealing. After Madrid, Red Bull has 204 points, while Max alone has 127 and Hadjar 71. Max has therefore scored about 62% of Red Bull’s entire points total, despite also suffering several DNFs. And perhaps the craziest part is that the six podiums could have been even more. He’s had four DNFs already — China, Monaco, Britain and the Netherlands. So I wouldn’t describe it simply as “Max has the third-most podiums because the Red Bull is secretly better than fourth fastest.” It’s more that the RB22 is fourth-best on average, occasionally becomes a genuine podium-level car, and Verstappen is converting an unusually high percentage of those opportunities into podiums. That’s arguably one of the strongest indicators of how well he’s driving in 2026: P6 in the championship doesn’t look spectacular on paper, but six podiums from a winless fourth-place constructor does.