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Max Verstappen Expects Ferrari to be “Super Strong” in Hungary This Weekend

Max Verstappen is currently sitting pretty on a 63-point lead in the Driver Standings over Charles Leclerc, and while that may seem like a lot, the Dutchman remains weary of what his main rival could achieve going forward, especially this weekend in Hungary.
Max Verstappen fighting with Charles Leclerc in Bahrain, 2022 6 photos
Photo: Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Max Verstappen fighting with Charles Leclerc in Bahrain, 2022Max Verstappen fighting with Charles Leclerc in Bahrain, 2022Max Verstappen fighting with Charles Leclerc in Bahrain, 2022Max Verstappen fighting with Charles Leclerc in Bahrain, 2022Max Verstappen fighting with Charles Leclerc in Bahrain, 2022
The Hungaroring features a lot of winding low-speed corners and, with rain expected to play a part (at least during Qualifying), the Red Bull driver believes Ferrari are the ones that will end up dominating the Grand Prix.

“Yes, personally I think it’s going to be a little bit harder for us, just purely [on] one-lap performance especially,” he stated. “I mean, I don’t expect it to be terrible, but I do think that Ferrari’s going to be super strong here, like they of course have been the whole year, but I do think that this is a track where they might be, let’s say, very strong.”

“But we’ll see,” he went on to say. “Also, the weather, I don’t know what’s going to happen, how much rain is falling, but all these things can come into play, and it can do many things to the result.”

Meanwhile, Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez, hasn’t won a Grand Prix since Monaco and is now hoping to climb as high as possible on the podium in Hungary thanks to some setup tweaks for his car.

“We’re going to be trying a few things this weekend, so hopefully [we can] get on top of everything. I’ve been more at home with the car, let’s put it that way, than in recent weekends, but there is nothing that really stands out. I think we should be able to sort it out quickly and get back on the form we’ve been in the whole season, basically.”

Perez trails Leclerc in the standings by just 7 points, so it’s conceivable that unless Ferrari get their act together from a reliability standpoint, the Mexican driver could be the one “challenging” Verstappen for the title. We say “challenging” because the Dutchman holds a 70-point lead over his teammate.
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About the author: Sergiu Tudose
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Sergiu got to experience both American and European car "scenes" at an early age (his father drove a Ford Fiesta XR2 supermini in the 80s). After spending over 15 years at local and international auto publications, he's starting to appreciate comfort behind the wheel more than raw power and acceleration.
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