Matt rides along for the testing of a Bugatti Chiron Super Sport development car. Once finished, this extremely limited model will be capable of 300mph (on a special track with the limiter removed).
The Hungarian Grand Prix was a relatively uneventful race at the top, with Lewis taking another pole and his 8th win in Hungary, his 86th overall GP victory, but with plenty of interesting details elsewhere. Bottas had a close call with a false start that didn't count against him due to his movement falling within the error threshold and the constraints of his grid box -- lights on his steering wheel almost goaded him into a major error. The weather was mixed through out the weekend and while it didn't create the drama of the previous week's Q3, it did lead to Verstappen breaking a tie rod about 25mins before race start; his mechanics did a hell of job replacing everything with about 20 seconds to spare before they would've taken a grid penalty. Ferrari looked a little bit better out there, both cars finishing the race, but Racing Point showed speed once again producing one of the most notable events of the weekend, which was Lance Stroll taking 3rd in qualy and 4th in the actual race. The legend of the 'pink Mercedes' is growing so plenty in the paddock will be interested in what comes of Renault's protest of Racing Point's brake ducts and their legality. Vettel had a pretty good run in the race, making up some spots after the chaos of the first lap, taking some good points for Ferrari. He even out qualified Leclerc, taking 5th to lead the all-Ferrari third row. Leclerc had challenges with the car and tires throughout the race and was beat out late for the last points paying spot, by his future teammate, Sainz and Haas' Magnussen, respectively. The order was pretty jumbled up as the race began with rain and everyone starting on inters, then the gambling began with folks jumping on to slicks and for a while there the two HAAS cars were in the top five. Both HAAS F1 drivers were unfortunately penalized for their gamble as it took place during the formation lap as result of communications with the pit wall, but Magnussen was still able to snag one point taking tenth after his 10 second penalty was imposed. As pit stops rattled in as teams were waiting for rainfall that never materialized, the strategy evolved from there. Hamilton was the fastest by far and Bottas' clunky start put him on the back foot early, recovering to nearly chase down Verstappen late in the race. Albon had another strong showing, despite some controversy with the stewards over RBR members drying his grid box before the race, and finished three spots behind Vertstappen in fifth. With the checkered flag dropped, the Driver's Championship standings are as follows: Hamilton, Bottas (-5), Verstappen (-30), Norris (-37), Albon (-41), Perez (-41). Merc also has a 66 point lead in the Constructor's over Red Bull, with McLaren and Racing Point following, ahead of Ferrari in fifth. We're headed to Silverstone for another back to back, a la Red Bull Ring Rounds 1 & 2, so we'll see if McLaren and Renault can fight their way back up to the mid-field lead after a tough race in Hungary for both teams.
Check out these tech updates due on next year's VW Golf line up; it appears like we'll get all of these goodies in the states and I'm most looking forward to the new LEDs. Getting all the engine options will be nice, too, but I think I'll be hunting down that performance pack GTI in a year or so. Short vid first and a full presentation second.
