Hungarian Grand Prix rule change sets up thrilling strategy battle

The Hungarian Grand Prix could see a multitude of differentstrategies lead drivers home. High temperatures and a never-endingstretch of corners across a lap of the Hungaroring will placestrain on the Pirelli tyres, which are a step softer this year thanin previous visits. Drivers struggled for grip across long runs inFP2 and FP3 after first practice was largely washed out by rain andwind gusts have only hurt the chase for balance. So what are thepossible race strategies? F1's tyre manufacturer Pirelli hasprovided no less than four potential strategies for the race.Option one is a two-stop race with drivers starting on Mediumtyres. The pit window would open between laps 17 and 24, with aswitch to Hards recommended. Another pit stop between laps 42 and48 for another set of the white-walled Hard compound would then seea driver to the end of the race. Option two is a modified two-stopstrategy where a driver would switch back to Mediums for the finalstint. This requires stricter tyre saving in the first two stints,with the pit windows set at laps 18 to 25 and 45 to 52. Teams upand down the grid have mooted a potential three-stop strategy iftemperatures remain high, with Pirelli suggesting aMedium-Hard-Soft strategy would be the way to go. The first stintwould last until laps 13 to 19, before a second stop on lap 32-39.Whilst Softs are recommended for the final stop at laps 52 to 58,wear so far this weekend could push teams towards the Mediums. Thefinal option provided by Pirelli is a one-stopper that would seeHards taken to at least lap 40 before a switch to Mediums - thoughthis decision is highly unlikely. Russell aggression? The'Alternative Tyre Allocation' trial forced a change of qualifyingformat, with Hards used in Q1, Mediums in Q2 and Softs in Q3. Inaddition to varying run plans across practice, drivers have beenleft with different strategic opportunities in the race. Crucially,top two Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen find themselves in thesame situation with a new set of Hards each, two used sets ofMedium tyres and two used Soft sets. The big names that dropped outof qualifying early - Carlos Sainz in 11th and George Russell in18th - have more flexibility when it comes to deciding on strategy.Ferrari driver Sainz joins Russell in saving two sets of Softs bynot reaching Q3, but critically, the Briton has two new sets ofMedium tyres to fit to his Mercedes across the race. This couldopen up a more aggressive strategy with multiple pit stops andundercuts available to move back up the pack.