Mercedes expect Hungary challenge from Hamilton and Ferrari

Kimi Antonelli heads to Budapest this weekend knowing he will lead the drivers’ world championship into F1’s summer break come what may, but fully aware that despite a 45-point lead he and Mercedes cannot relax.

His sixth win of the year, from his sixth pole position, in Belgium last Sunday lifted him beyond immediate reach and endorsed the impression that he has mastered the new hybrid era with its AI-controlled engine and power management.

An aggressive driving style has enabled him to make the best of the 50-50 battery and engine power packages, and critically a need to manage electronic recharging and power deployment.

As he races through the season and the record books, his team-mate George Russell, blessed with a smooth driving style, but 50 points behind in third place, has had to regroup and refine his approach – as rivals Ferrari have steadily closed the gap.

While Antonelli fought and won at Spa-Francorchamps, Russell retired after an opening lap collision with former team-mate Lewis Hamilton and needed much sympathy from team boss Toto Wolff to regain his composure.

Wolff promised an “arm around his shoulder” and, perhaps more usefully, insisted that the team would not switch their focus to one driver in pursuit of the title.

“We’ve shown at every race so far that the performance is there,” he said. “But we haven’t converted enough of that potential into results… We’ve lost points through self-inflicted issues and we know we need to improve.”

He added that he did not want to see the drivers losing “time with each other. We don’t want any yo-yoing and then to have a Ferrari or a Red Bull breathing down our necks and lose a victory.”

This, he explained, meant Mercedes would “never take a victory away” from either driver regardless of it being “Kimi or George who was ahead.”

Wolff bats away Ferrari interest

Wolff also took a swipe at reports suggesting Ferrari were interested in recruiting Antonelli as their first Italian driver since Giancarlo Fisichella in 2009.

“We’re aware,” he said. “But Kimi has been a Mercedes driver since he was 11 – Ferrari should have done the job six or seven years ago.”

On track, Ferrari will be a threat at the slow, twisty and technical Hungaroring this weekend where Hamilton seeks to equal his own record –- set at Silverstone — of nine wins at a single circuit.

Last year, he qualified and finished 12th while Antonelli was 10th, both struggling during difficult spells of form that they have dispelled this season.

Hamilton’s Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc took pole and finished fourth behind world champion Lando Norris, his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri and Russell.

That and recent form suggests McLaren may challenge for another win with Red Bull in close pursuit, four-time champion Max Verstappen having finished a strong third in Belgium, but it is hard to see beyond Antonelli and Hamilton vying for victory this Sunday.

Behind them, at the back of the field, the well-funded and hugely-disappointing Aston Martin team –- with just one point scored this year –- are set to introduce a major upgrade package from design chief Adrian Newey in a bid to rescue their season.

A revised power package from Honda is not due until the Dutch Grand Prix and the future of two-time champion Fernando Alonso may depend on the success of both in the coming weeks.