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Max Verstappen overcame a five-place grid penalty to ease to victory at the Belgian GP: Sergio Perez came second to complete a Red Bull one-two, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completing the podium; Red Bull extended their record winning streak with a 13th successive triumph

Max Verstappen came from sixth on the grid to lead team-mate Sergio Perez home in a Red Bull one-two at the Belgian Grand Prix, as the team claimed a record-extending 13th successive victory.

Having been demoted from the pole position he claimed after receiving a five-place grid penalty for exceeding his gearbox allowance, Verstappen eased through the field to become just the second driver to win eight successive Formula 1 races.

Pole-sitter Charles Leclerc, who was overtaken by Perez on the first lap, held off the challenge of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton to claim just his third podium of the season for Ferrari.

Fernando Alonso arrested Aston Martin’s recent slump to take fifth ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell and McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Alpine’s Esteban Ocon produced a late overtake on Alonso’s Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll to claim eighth, while Yuki Tsunoda took a valuable final point for AlphaTauri in 10th.

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Sergio Perez leads the Belgian GP after the opening lap, with Oscar Piastri already out following an early incident.

Verstappen gained two places on the opening lap as Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri clashed at the first corner in an incident that eventually led to the retirement of both cars, before the Dutchman calmly eased past Hamilton, Leclerc and Perez to take the lead after 17 of the 44 laps.

From there, a brief rain shower that wasn’t strong enough to force any of the field onto intermediate tyres was the only threat to Verstappen extending his winning run, as he almost went off at the high-speed Eau Rouge.

With disaster averted, Verstappen eased into the distance, ignoring suggestions from his race engineer to drive more carefully as he opened up a 22-second gap to Perez by the time they took the chequered flag.

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Max Verstappen and his Red Bull engineer continue to squabble at the Belgian GP.

The 25-year-old, who appears all but certain to claim a third successive drivers’ title, extends his world championship lead over Perez to 125 points going into the sport’s summer break, having also won Saturday’s Sprint at Spa.

When the season resumes at his home race in Zandvoort in late August, Verstappen will have the opportunity to match Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine successive Grand Prix wins, which was also set in a Red Bull car back in 2013.

Along with extending the overall record they set in Hungary last time out, Red Bull now have the most successive wins within a season, having won all 12 races of the 2023 campaign.

Belgian GP result
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2) Sergio Perez, Red Bull
3) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
4) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
5) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin
6) George Russell, Mercedes
7) Lando Norris, McLaren
8) Esteban Ocon, Alpine
9) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
10) Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri

More to follow…

Max Verstappen recovers from losing the lead at the start to beat Oscar Piastri to victory in the Belgian Grand Prix Sprint; Pierre Gasly takes third for Alpine; watch the Belgian Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 at 2pm on Sunday, with build-up from 12:30pm

Max Verstappen won the Belgian Grand Prix Sprint after recovering from losing the lead during a chaotic wet start to beat McLaren’s Oscar Piastri at Spa.

After the contest, which was reduced from 15 to 11 laps because of rain delays, eventually began behind the Safety Car, half the field immediately pitted to swap the wet tyres they were obliged to start on.

Piastri, who started second, was one of those to pit immediately and took the lead from Red Bull’s Verstappen, who came in to switch to intermediates a lap later.

However, after Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso spun into the gravel trap, another Safety Car interruption provided Verstappen with the opportunity to pass Piastri at the restart.

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Max Verstappen quickly retakes the lead from Oscar Piastri after the McLaren driver struggled with the Sprint Race restart at the Belgian GP.

The world championship leader, who extended his lead at the top of the standings to 118 points with the win, then eased into the distance to win by more than six seconds.

Pierre Gasly took third for Alpine after climbing three places amid the early pit stops, claiming a much needed positive result for the French team on the weekend they announced the sacking of team principal Otmar Szafnauer.

Lewis Hamilton, who followed Gasly forward from seventh at the start, finished behind the Alpine on track but was demoted to seventh after receiving a five-second penalty for causing a collision with Sergio Perez in a battle for fourth, which resulted in damage forcing the Red Bull to retire.

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Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez make contact as they go wheel to wheel through the Stavelot corner.

The beneficiaries of Hamilton’s penalty were Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, who moved up to fourth and fifth respectively, while McLaren’s Lando Norris improved to sixth.

George Russell narrowly missed out on taking seventh from his Mercedes team-mate Hamilton, but took the final point, having passed AlphaTauri’s Daniel Ricciardo to deny the Australian his first points since returning to the sport earlier in July.

Verstappen will be looking to add an eighth successive Grand Prix victory in Sunday’s full length contest at Spa, but starts from sixth despite topping Friday’s Qualifying after incurring a five-place grid penalty for exceeding his gearbox part allowance for the season.

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Watch the wild scramble on the first lap of the Belgian GP Sprint as half of field enters the pit lane!

Belgian GP Sprint Result: Top 10
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull (8 points)
2) Oscar Piastri, McLaren (7 points)
3) Pierre Gasly, Alpine (6 points)
4) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari (5 points)
5) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari (4 points)
6) Lando Norris, McLaren (3 points)
7) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes (2 points)
8) George Russell, Mercedes (1 point)
9) Daniel Ricciardo, AlphaTauri
10) Esteban Ocon, Alpine

More to follow…

Max Verstappen has won the last seven races to open up a 110-point world championship lead; Red Bull are on a record 12-race winning streak; It’s a Sprint weekend! Watch Belgian GP Qualifying at 4pm on Friday live on Sky Sports F1

World Championship leader Max Verstappen will receive a five-place grid penalty for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix after exceeding his gearbox allowance for the 2023 Formula 1 season.

While the FIA has yet to officially confirm the gearbox change and resulting penalty, Sky Sports News has learned Red Bull have taken the decision

The penalty will apply to Sunday’s race, for which Qualifying is taking place on Friday as Spa-Francorchamps hosts the third Sprint weekend of the season.

It means Verstappen will line up no higher than sixth on the grid for the Grand Prix.

Each F1 car is limited to four gearboxes over the season, and Verstappen is the first driver to require a fifth assembly this year.

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Verstappen says he has good memories at his second home circuit of Spa and hopes Red Bull can find the compromise for both dry and wet conditions

Verstappen’s stunning run of seven successive victories has enabled him to open a 110-point world championship lead, and the overtaking opportunities at Spa should provide him with a chance to extend that run despite the grid penalty.

Last year the Dutchman lined up 14th on the grid in Belgium due to engine penalties but came through the field to claim a commanding victory.

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Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast, Nico Rosberg believes Verstappen will be keen to break further records this season, ensuring his legacy in the sport stands the test of time

Rain is forecast to affect Friday’s qualifying session, which takes place at 4pm, as well as possibly Sunday’s race which gives Verstappen an additional challenge as he seeks to negate the impact of his demotion.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz on Thursday, Verstappen said: “The weather looks quite interesting with a lot of rain around.

“From our side we know that the car is quick and hopefully we can find a good compromise between possible rain or dry on Sunday.”

Verstappen recorded the biggest victory margin of the 2023 season last time out in Hungary as he finished 33 seconds ahead of Lando Norris’ McLaren.

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Verstappen wins in Hungary, making it a record 12th win in a row for Red Bull

Sky Sports F1’s live Belgian GP schedule

Friday July 28
8.55am: Formula 3 Practice
10am: Formula 2 Practice
12pm: Belgian GP Practice One (session starts 12.30pm)
1.55pm: Formula 3 Qualifying
2.50pm: Formula 2 Qualifying
3.35pm: Belgian GP Qualifying build-up
4pm: Belgian GP Qualifying
6pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook

Saturday July 29
8.55am: Formula 3 Sprint Race
10.30am: Belgian GP Sprint Shootout build-up
11am: Belgian GP Sprint Shootout
12.40pm: Formula 2 Sprint Race
2.30pm: Belgian GP Sprint build-up
3.30pm: BELGIAN GP SPRINT
5pm: Ted’s Sprint Notebook

Sunday July 30
7.25am: Formula 3 Feature Race
8.55am: Formula 2 Feature Race
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday – Belgian GP build-up
2pm: THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
4pm: Chequered Flag – Belgian GP reaction
5pm: Ted’s Notebook

Next up is the Belgian GP, the final race before F1’s summer break – watch all sessions of the Sprint weekend live on Sky Sports F1 from July 28-30. Stream the Belgian GP and more with NOW.

Christian Horner says Red Bull were under F1’s cost cap last year as the FIA continue to work with teams regarding last year’s financial findings; watch the Belgian GP from Spa-Francorchamps live on Sky Sports F1 from July 28-30

Christian Horner has revealed Red Bull were “several million” below the F1 cost cap in 2022, amid ongoing fieldwork from the FIA into last year’s financial submissions from the teams.

Last year, Red Bull were found guilty of a “minor overspend” for the 2021 campaign and received a $7m fine plus a 10 per cent reduction to their wind tunnel time for this season.

Reports ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix claimed at least two F1 teams broke the cost cap last year, but Sky Sports News understands those allegations are completely unfounded.

The cost cap was introduced for the 2021 season and the current fieldwork is looking at the 2022 season, when the budget cap was $140m. The cap is $135m for this season and the following two campaigns up to and including 2025.

“Last year, Max [Verstappen] damaged one front wing and Checo [Perez] had a crash in Montreal, and again we had a very limited amount of development on the car,” Horner told Sky Sports F1.

“So we were several million below the cap last year, and because accident damage and development – they’re huge costs.

“Obviously this year, the biggest handicap we have is that lack of wind tunnel time, it’s significantly less runs in a week than any of our competitors, so we have to be very disciplined on where we focus our development.”

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Christian Horner says it was ‘incredible’ to win 12 races in a row and says it is a joy to work with Max Verstappen, ‘a sportsman at the top of his game’

On his thoughts about people who think Red Bull haven’t been punished enough this year after breaching the cost cap in 2021, Horner answered: “Believe me the lack of wind tunnel time we have compared to our competitors is a massive compromise. If wind tunnels don’t count, why don’t we get rid of them?

“It’s easy to throw shade when you’re not performing. It’s one of the things in F1 that will always continue to happen. I’m just incredibly proud of the job that our team is doing with the constraints and handicap we have, to be performing at the level we have this year.”

Wolff: We need to stop any breach of the cost cap

Lewis Hamilton has admitted he is “concerned” about potential breaches while George Russell says repeat offenders should be punished more harshly.

Toto Wolff says the cost cap auditors are communicating with the teams about their submissions.

“They came back with tonnes of questions to lots of teams and that shows how robust the process is, which is good,” said Wolff.

“Strong auditors are beneficial for F1. We need to stop any kind of unintentional or intentional breach of the cost cap. It’s like technical and sporting regulations.

Lewis Hamilton is “concerned” about potential breaches of the cost cap

“The big teams have thousands of people and various projects – commercial and non-commercial. For us it’s a bit easier because we have everything in one entity. The employees are all in one place and you can see where they have been attributed.

“It becomes more complex when you have more variety of subsidiaries. I’ve never been shy of saying with the 2026 regulations we should get rid of all of that overall.

“In the real world, it’s quite a challenge because we are making revenue and money with our engineering projects. That means we cannot assign a person who is working in F1, not even for a minute, into non-F1. But I think it’s the right thing to do for the sport to say ‘this is F1 and this is not F1’. The moment someone spends 10 seconds on an F1 project you should be fully in F1. That’s the way we need to go.”

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Sky Sports F1’s Craig Slater and David Croft believe it’s too early to confirm reports that three teams have breached cost caps rules

FIA respond to cost cap speculation

An FIA spokesperson said: “We would like to reiterate the ongoing process preceding financial regulation certification for the teams – none of which have been informed of their certification status.

“The auditing fieldwork is still ongoing and is scheduled to conclude in the upcoming weeks, after which there will be a period required for the finalisation of the review.

“There is not, and has never been, a specific deadline for certification, and any suggestions of delays to this process or potential breaches are completely unfounded – the Cost Cap Administration will formally communicate its findings according to the procedure set out in the Financial Regulations.

“The timeframe is intentionally not fixed in order not to prejudice the robustness and the effectiveness of the review.”

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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments throughout the years at the Belgian Grand Prix

Sky Sports F1’s live Belgian GP schedule

Thursday July 27
2pm: Drivers’ Press Conference

Friday July 28
8.55am: Formula 3 Practice
10am: Formula 2 Practice
12pm: Belgian GP Practice One (session starts 12.30pm)
1.55pm: Formula 3 Qualifying
2.50pm: Formula 2 Qualifying
3.35pm: Belgian GP Qualifying build-up
4pm: Belgian GP Qualifying
6pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook

Saturday July 29
8.55am: Formula 3 Sprint Race
10.30am: Belgian GP Sprint Shootout build-up
11am: Belgian GP Sprint Shootout
12.40pm: Formula 2 Sprint Race
2.30pm: Belgian GP Sprint build-up
3.30pm: BELGIAN GP SPRINT
5pm: Ted’s Sprint Notebook

Sunday July 30
7.25am: Formula 3 Feature Race
8.55am: Formula 2 Feature Race
12.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday – Belgian GP build-up
2pm: THE BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
4pm: Chequered Flag – Belgian GP reaction
5pm: Ted’s Notebook

Next up is the Belgian GP, the final race before F1’s summer break – watch all sessions of the Sprint weekend live on Sky Sports F1 from July 28-30. Stream the Belgian GP and more with NOW.

Lewis Hamilton narrowly beat Max Verstappen and Lando Norris to pole in Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday; watch the Hungarian GP live on Sky Sports F1 on Sunday, lights out is at 2pm; F1 Juniors will be live on Sky Showcase and Sky Sports Mix from 1.30pm

Max Verstappen admitted he was surprised to be beaten to pole position by Lewis Hamilton at the Hungarian Grand Prix after Red Bull’s upgraded car delivered a “terrible” display.

The Dutchman’s streak of five successive poles was ended by just three thousandths of a second as Hamilton produced a brilliant lap to top Qualifying for the first time since December 2021.

Hamilton’s success was all the more surprising given Red Bull had brought a significant package of upgrades to Hungary for their RB19, which has been completely dominant in winning all 10 races so far this season.

Asked how his car had felt on Saturday, Verstappen replied: “Terrible. It doesn’t matter where you are on the grid, if it doesn’t feel good, it doesn’t feel good.

“The whole Qualifying I’ve been struggling a lot, well the whole weekend really, with the shift and balance.

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Lewis Hamilton pips Max Verstappen to claim a record ninth pole position at the Hungaroring

“There’s not much you can do really once you go into Qualifying, every time I got to the apex of the corner it was just not gripping up for me, and that’s probably the worst balance I can have in the car.

“I tried to correct a few things in Q3, but there’s only so much you can do. I thought my first lap wasn’t too bad but it still felt like I was driving on ice.”

Verstappen, who is 99 points clear of team-mate Sergio Perez at the top of the drivers’ standings, remains favourite to extend his run of six successive Grand Prix wins on Sunday, but was visibly frustrated at his team’s failure to maintain their recent perfect form.

“I think with the upgrades we brought as well to this weekend, it’s just extremely disappointing from our side,” he added.

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Highlights from Qualifying at the Hungarian GP

“We are P2, but looking at how the whole year has been, I didn’t expect this to happen.”

Verstappen was adamant that Red Bull missing out on pole on Saturday was not a reflection upon the upgrades, which included changes to the profile of the RB19’s sidepods, but rather a failure to find the best set-up for the Hungaroring.

“I don’t think so, because we’ve been trying a few things, the upgrade looks good – it’s just we didn’t nail the balance of the car, it’s as simple as that.”

Norris rues missed opportunity

Also disappointed to miss out on pole was Lando Norris, who provided further evidence of McLaren’s incredible leap forward after their recent upgrades by taking third.

Norris, who stunned the paddock by qualifying and then finishing in second at the British Grand Prix earlier in July, also ended within a tenth of a second of Hamilton.

“I think when you look at the big picture of where we’ve been, we’d take a P3 any day,” Norris said.

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McLaren drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri continue their good form by qualifying third and fourth in Hungary

“So I’m not like unhappy, I guess I’m just frustrated with my lap. Like I know Lewis made a few mistakes, Max wasn’t in the best confidence level, so there’s always like what else could you have done?

“But just on the lap, just a couple little things in the chicane, but many other things were like the best I’ve done all Qualifying. So it’s just how it is sometimes.”

Many, including Norris and McLaren team principal Andrea Stella, had warned that McLaren were unlikely to be able to maintain their Silverstone performance due to the slower nature of the Hungaroring, but Norris’ performance was backed up by team-mate Oscar Piastri taking fourth.

Despite the strong showing, the 23-year-old Brit maintained that Mercedes and Hamilton had a slight edge around the circuit on the outskirts of Budapest.

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Ted Kravitz is in the paddock as he reviews all the biggest stories from Qualifying at the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix

Norris added: “I would say Mercedes probably always had the slight edge apart from on the mediums in Q2, but we were a little bit behind in Q1, we were a bit behind in Q3. Mercedes have looked good all weekend.

“Lewis is going to come over and say that they didn’t look good yesterday, but they didn’t put any softs on, so they looked bad, but actually they were very competitive already on the medium.

“They’re always good here, they were on pole last year. I just don’t think we had quite exactly what we needed to get pole. So therefore I am still happy with P3.”

Sky Sports F1’s live Hungarian GP schedule

Sunday July 23
7:20am: F3 Feature Race
9am: F2 Feature Race
11am: Porsche Supercup
12:30pm: Grand Prix Sunday – Hungarian GP build-up
1:30pm: F1 Juniors: Hungarian Grand Prix (Sky Sports Mix and Sky Showcase)
2pm: The HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX
4pm: Chequered Flag: British GP reaction
5pm: Ted’s Notebook

Daniel Ricciardo’s return and first F1 Juniors broadcast headline the Hungarian Grand Prix! Watch all the action live on Sky Sports F1 this weekend. Stream the Hungarian GP and more with NOW for £21 a month.

Daniel Ricciardo is back in F1 after replacing Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix; watch all sessions from the Hungarian GP live on Sky Sports F1; Lights out on Sunday at 2pm; F1 Juniors will be live on Sky Showcase and Sky Sports Mix

Christian Horner has explained the reasons behind Daniel Ricciardo’s return to F1 in place of Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri.

News broke two days after the British Grand Prix that Ricciardo would make a surprise mid-season return after sitting out the opening 10 races of the 2023 season having lost his seat at McLaren.

The Australian was in the middle of a tyre test at Silverstone when De Vries was told he would not drive for AlphaTauri from this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix – live on Sky Sports F1, with Sky F1 Junior coverage on Sky Showcase and Sky Sports Mix.

“Nyck is a very capable driver, a Formula E champion, a Formula 2 champion, he’s obviously got a lot of experience, he’s not a young driver as such from an age perspective,” Horner said on the F1 Nation podcast. “And I just didn’t see how it fitted within the junior programme. It was almost a stop-gap.

“It all happened a little quicker than expected, bearing in mind that we hadn’t completed the test. Helmut [Marko] spoke with Nyck and he was the one that obviously had recruited him. He was the one that spoke with Nyck about Lap 11 of the test, I think.”

Nyck de Vries had just 10 races at AlphaTauri before being dropped

He added: “It was becoming obviously a difficult situation for Nyck de Vries,” Horner explained. “But there was a high expectation on him because, whilst inexperienced in Formula 1, he’s obviously a very experienced driver.

“I think there was a general feeling that Nyck wasn’t quite hitting the mark. And then the question was, what are the options if we were to switch things around?

“And from a Red Bull Racing perspective, the most interesting option for me was to see how Daniel performs. So that was the decision that was made. It all happened pretty quick and here he is for the Hungarian Grand Prix.”

Ricciardo looking at 2025 Red Bull seat

The consensus is if Ricciardo outperforms Yuki Tsunoda at AlphaTauri in the second half of the season, he will put pressure Sergio Perez for a Red Bull seat.

Perez has struggled recently, missing out on Q3 in the last five events and taking just one podium in that same period. Meanwhile, team-mate Max Verstappen is on a streak of six race victories.

Horner confirmed Perez is contracted for next year and the plan is to retain the Mexican alongside Verstappen at Red Bull.

Sergio Perez talks to Helmut Marko as questions continue about the Mexican’s future at Red Bull

“At the moment there is something in place [for Ricciardo] to the end of the season. There are no thoughts or expectations beyond that. Our drivers are going to be Max and Checo again next year,” said the Red Bull team principal.

“But it’s always good to have talent in reserve. Daniel is viewing AlphaTauri as pitching for that 2025 Red Bull seat. That’s his goal and objective. By going to AlphaTauri he sees that as his best route for 2025.”

On Ricciardo’s mindset ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Horner added: “First of all, he had to be clear did he want to do it? Stepping into an AlphaTauri is very different to driving a Red Bull car. It will certainly have its challenges.

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Craig Slater has more information about Daniel Ricciardo’s return to an F1 race seat, as he replaces Nyck De Vries for Alpha Tauri for the rest of the season

The thing we need to be sure of: was he up for that challenge of scrapping to get out of Q1? He seemed more than happy to go back into that situation to get back on the grid and be a Formula 1 driver again.

“What you have to remember is Daniel drove for us for five years and won seven races in that period – some incredible performances. He spent three years driving alongside Max and the margins between them at that stage were pretty fine.

“He made the decision to leave the team and explore other options that didn’t work out for him. But the underlining talent was there. Red Bull had a reputation for being hard on its drivers but every driver needs a different scenario, whether it’s an arm around the shoulder or a different approach. We take exactly the same approach with Sergio – supporting him with his moments of difficulty as well.

“The junior team, there are high expectations, but Daniel isn’t a junior driver. He’s already proven himself in the time he’s had with us. Therefore it was about trying to rediscover the form we know he is capable of.”

Sky Sports F1’s live Hungarian GP schedule

Thursday July 20
2pm: Drivers’ press conference

Friday July 21
8:55am: F3 Practice
10am: F2 Practice
12pm: Hungarian GP Practice One (session starts 12:30pm)
2pm: F3 Qualifying
2:45pm: F2 Qualifying
3:40pm: Hungarian GP Practice Two (session starts 4pm)
5:15pm: The F1 Show

Saturday July 22
8:45am: F3 Sprint
11:15am: Hungarian GP Practice Three (session starts 11:30am)
1:10pm: F2 Sprint
2:15pm: Hungarian GP Qualifying build-up (Sky Showcase)
3pm: HUNGARIAN GP QUALIFYING (Sky Showcase)
5pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook

Sunday July 23
7:20am: F3 Feature Race
9am: F2 Feature Race
11am: Porsche Supercup
12:30pm: Grand Prix Sunday – Hungarian GP build-up
1:30pm: F1 Juniors: Hungarian Grand Prix (Sky Sports Mix and Sky Showcase)
2pm: The HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX
4pm: Chequered Flag: British GP reaction
5pm: Ted’s Notebook

Daniel Ricciardo’s return and first F1 Juniors broadcast headline the Hungarian Grand Prix! Watch all the action live on Sky Sports F1 from July 21-23. Get Sky Sports

Mercedes say their new front wing is expected to have a greater impact in the slow corners of the Hungaroring than it did at the free-flowing Silverstone layout; watch the Hungarian GP live on Sky Sports F1 from July 21-23

Mercedes technical director James Allison is expecting the team’s recently upgraded front wing to have a significant impact at the Hungarian Grand Prix, after the new part showed “promising signs” at Silverstone.

In an ongoing overhaul to the initial design of their troublesome W14, the latest addition to the car was a front wing for the British Grand Prix.

It initially appeared as though the new part had failed to deliver the sort of performance gains that had been hoped for, as McLaren leapfrogged the midfield to emerge as Red Bull and runaway world championship leader Max Verstappen’s closest challengers.

However, Allison has now explained the new front wing is geared towards improving performance in slow corners, of which there are few at Silverstone and plenty at the Hungaroring, where Lewis Hamilton and George Russell’s next opportunity to drive the W14 comes.

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Highlights from the British GP at Silverstone, as Max Verstappen looked to secure a sixth consecutive race win

Asked in Mercedes’ post-race debrief whether the front wing had worked, Allison said: “It’s a bit too early to tell. The new front-wing is of course designed to make us go faster. That’s why we do all our things.

“The specific characteristics of this new front-wing that we are excited about, is that it should improve the balance and performance of the car through the slower range of the corners.

“Now, Silverstone is famous for lots of things but lots and lots of slow corners is not one of them. What we took as a comfort from Silverstone is that in the slower parts of the track, we were looking pretty decently competitive.

Mercedes technical director James Allison is hopeful over the impact of the team’s latest upgrade

“That’s a tick in the box for this new front-wing. But I guess it will only be when we get to Hungary, which is a track made up almost entirely of slower stuff, that we’ll get to know for sure.

“Early sings are promising, the new front-wing seemed to do what we expected and hopefully it will bring us more at tracks which have a wider range of slow corners.”

McLaren upgrades could be ‘useful’ for Mercedes

Similarly to Mercedes, McLaren have made major changes to the car they began the season with, and appear to have taken a major leap forward following upgrades brought to the previous two races in Austria and Britain.

Lando Norris finished fourth in Austria, but it was his and team-mate’s Oscar Piastri’s performance at Silverstone that really caught the eye, as the pair qualified second and third, respectively, behind Verstappen before backing up that display with impressive race pace.

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Relive Lewis Hamilton’s stunning fight for second at Silverstone with fellow Brit Lando Norris

Hamilton, who was unable to pass Norris in the closing stages of the race despite having theoretically better-performing softer tyres, described the McLaren as “a rocketship”, and Allison has admitted Mercedes’ technical team have taken note.

“We keep an eye on all the teams as they upgrade,” he said. “We take lots of photos and we try and figure out what changes from race to race. We note when something new or unusual comes along.

“The interesting and unusual thing about the McLaren upgrade is that its lap time effect is quite strong. It’s unusual to have a step of that size of relative competitiveness in the middle of a season and chapeau to them.

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Look back at some of the most dramatic moments throughout the years at the Hungarian Grand Prix

“They’ve done a good piece of work there, but that also makes it interesting for us because we have the before and after shots and we know the lap time effect was big.

“So it’s well worth us paying more attention than we normally might to another competitor team’s upgrade because in this case, we know that whatever changed has made a meaningful difference to their lap time.

“It’s quite useful for us to know what that was and see whether it can play into our own thoughts of developing our own car.”

Further W14 upgrades can help next year’s car

While Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said after the race at Silverstone that the team had “no choice” but to “pretty soon” switch their focus to next year’s car, Allison believes there is still important work to be done on the W14.

“We are only just round about halfway through the season and there is plenty more development to come in these cars,” Allison said. “All of the teams will of course be turning their attention to next year and that will defang all of us a little bit in terms of the rate of which we can improve our cars.

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Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were left hugely impressed by the McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, following the British GP at Silverstone

“There are absolutely improvements that we would like to make on our current car that we know will also carry into next year. So it doesn’t feel like throwing good money after bad. The feeling is that you are investing in both seasons with those upgrades.

“For us yes, you will see the upgrades coming for a little while longer. I suspect for the others too. What you will get in this next sequence of races is a little bit of yoyoing for position in a very closely packed bunch as upgrades make the difference for one team for a while, until someone else will come out of sequence with another upgrade a race or two later to even things back out.

“Where it will all settle down for the final quarter to one third of a season, we will see. Hopefully we will have our noses in front and be able to have a strong second half of the season.”

Watch Daniel Ricciardo’s return to the Formula 1 grid at the Hungarian Grand Prix from July 21-23, with every session live on Sky Sports F1.