Max Verstappen secured a surprise podium at the Hungarian Grand Prix, defying the persistent aerodynamic woes that plagued Red Bull all weekend.
The win
After a tough championship‑opening day marked by a faulty floor‑vaning and sudden oversteer, Verstappen finished third behind Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. His best lap in race 12 helped the RB22, a car that had suffered from the “floor vane extension” damage identified by Laurent Mekies, regain competitive pace.
Technical troubles persist
During Q3 the Dutchman slid around the final corner, a snap that sent him into a spin and confirmed the RB22’s unpredictable handling. “The car was extremely oversteery, dragging hard at one point,” Verstappen said. “I had to manage the balance from corner to corner, a true challenge for the team.”
Despite the damage, the Red Bull crew worked quickly, replacing the flooring under parc ferme with FIA approval. Yet the aerodynamic drop remained, leaving Verstappen to find a solution on the track itself.
At the start, Verstappen took the front grid and moved forward, making a clean undercut that paid off. He moved beside Hamilton into Turn 1, a move he described as “the highlight” of the race. “The team kept my second stint straightforward; the softs were initialised just so they would last until the end,” he added.
Looking ahead
Verstappen admitted surprise at his finish, “I was shocked I was here.” He sees the podium as an over‑performance relative to the car’s overtly unpredictable state. “I understand why I ended the race in second places, but the result is a good sign for the team,” he said. After crossing the line, “there was some damage on the car for whatever reason,” adding that a future update will need to address this unpredictable behaviour.
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