F1 Hungary Race Results : The Grand Prix ended as an easy win for Verstappen but a disappointment for Hamilton following his pole position in qualifying. We saw drama, but not the Hamilton/Verstappen drama we may have been expecting.
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Dramatic start for the Alpines
The Hungarian Grand Prix began with Max Verstappen storming ahead of Lewis Hamilton from the dirty side of the track, with Hamilton slipping into P4 behind both Mclarens after the first few corners. Further back, Zhou Guanyu started a game of ping pong, knocking into Daniel Ricciardo, who pushed into Esteban Ocon and then onto Pierre Gasly. All drivers involved were not hurt in the incident but it did lead to a double Alpine DNF, with Ocon’s seat breaking in two because of the impact.
The Ferraris of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc made their way to P5 and P6, putting pressure on Lewis Hamilton from behind and holding back Sergio Perez in his attempt to climb up the grid from P9. However, these efforts fell flat after a slow pit stop for Leclerc hindered his progress.
Strategy was key
As the pit stops got going, Mclaren chose to pit Lando Norris, who was running behind his teammate Oscar Piastri, first. Lando gained the position and went on to set the fastest laps. Sergio Perez and George Russell opted to start the race on hard tyres, but Perez only lasted 1 lap more than teammate Verstappen who started the race on mediums whereas Russell lasted longer. After their stops, Perez was P7 in a Ferrari sandwich while Verstappen held P1, leaving Perez to make his way back up the field again.
Leclerc gained a 5-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane as the black and white flag for track limits was shown for Oscar Piastri. This hurt Leclerc’s race overall, but the penalty was clear-cut.
There was a ‘here we go again’ moment as Verstappen asked what the fastest lap was following his final pit stop. He smashed out an impressive 1:20:504 to Russel’s previous 1:22:606. Meanwhile, Valtteri Bottas and Alex Albon had a stint-long battle for P11, which gave Ricciardo enough clean air to maintain his original position.
Could Perez get redemption?
It was clear from lap 59 that we were on for an easy win for Verstappen but a disappointment for Hamilton, with a traffic-free run to the end, but the battle was heating up between Norris and Perez for P2. For a few laps, it looked like Perez was making good progress, but Perez’s slightly older tyres soon stunted his progress, with his lap times slipping and eventually concerning to ending P3. Hamilton made some moves towards Perez but it wasn’t enough to regain that podium position despite starting on pole; disappointing considering his incredible pace during qualifying.
Red Bull break the consecutive win record
Max Verstappen crossed the line and took the chequered flag for the 12th race win in a row for Red Bull. This took the record for the number of consecutive race wins from Mclaren in 1988, an achievement which is in line with their domination seen this season. Perez drove a good recovery drive, gaining 6 places and ending P3. However, this drive had nothing on Russell, who gained 12 places to get to P6.
It was all smiles for Red Bull but disappointment for Lewis Hamilton, who may have expected more from the race. After his losses at the start, he never seriously challenged for the podium positions again. With Norris finishing P2 but Piastri in P5, Mclaren may have to answer some questions on whether their undercut earlier in the race affected Oscar’s finishing position and if he was capable of more.
Sainz managed to climb 3 places to P8, but Ferrari’s mediocre performances continue, with the cars consistently ending low in the points. Stroll gained an impressive 4 places to end P10, taking the last points, with teammate Fernando Alonso ahead in P9. Albon gained 5 spaces but it wasn’t enough to edge him onto the points.
Despite the easy win for Verstappen but a disappointment for Hamilton, there were no changes to the constructor standings after this weekend. But in the driver championship, Russell overtook Sainz and Norris leaped over Stroll following two races ending in P2, while the lower half of the standings are stable.
Was the Ricciardo swap the right decision?
All eyes were on Ricciardo this weekend after he replaced Nyck De Vries as Yuki Tsunoda’s teammate at Alpha Tauri. He maintained his position of P13. Although this may not look impressive in terms of places, the data that comes out of the race might look very impressive. He had better-than-expected tyre degradation, making his early-pit strategy effective and allowing him to regain all places lost during the lap 1 incident.
Ricciardo managed to finish on used mediums which he’d held on to for 42 laps over the weekend and remained calm despite the disappointing start. It’s impossible to know if De Vries would have reacted similarly this weekend, but Ricciardo’s maturity and willingness to learn and improve the care shone through during the race.
Perhaps the biggest lesson learned from this race is that the trophies should be made with more care. Verstappen’s first-place trophy was broken during the podium celebration. We’re looking at you, Lando…
F1 Hungary Race Results