Lewis Hamilton ended Max Verstappen’s run of five consecutive poles by taking his first since 2021 and the former title rivals were set to do battle when the lights went out for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Hungaroring has a history of producing thrilling races and results which can upset the form book, so Lewis Hamilton and the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri on the second row were hoping to have a good chance of stopping Max Verstappen and denying Red Bull a record 12th consecutive win. Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu was also looking to spring a surprise after securing a spectacular fifth place starting position on the grid.
The pit lane was open and already there were some games between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. The pair looked at each other just before the pit lane went green and the Mercedes man launched out of the pits first. Lando Norris run a bit wide over the kerbing at Turn Four on his way out to the grid: he asked his mechanics over the radio to inspect the right side of his floor for any damage. Norris and McLaren were hoping there was no serious damage done with the Briton lining up P3.
Scuderia Ferrari lined-up in sixth place with Charles Leclerc and P11 with Carlos Sainz after a disappointing qualifying session at the Hungaroring on Saturday. Given the poor pace shown by the SF-23 car during Friday’s simulations, it was always going to be difficult for the Maranello team to attempt a significant recovery drive this afternoon in Budapest.
Sky Sports F1’s Nico Rosberg reflected on Ferrari’s disappointing weekend in Budapest: “They were expecting to go well here on the slow corners but it’s been the opposite. They are very surprised. I think what Fred Vasseur needs to do now is poach some talent from the other best teams. He needs to get that done to move Ferrari forwards.” – the former F1 world champion said before the start of the Hungarian Grand Prix.
“I’m confident we can at least have a bit of fun today. Looking forward the whole race and trying to gain some positions. At the same time it’s going to be warm and hard on tyres. That’s where we struggle a bit so we need to be thinking both ways.” – Carlos Sainz said on the gridwalk speaking to Martin Brundle with ten minutes before the race start.
There was a real mix of starting tyres across the field: most were on the medium compound tyres, including all of the top eight, while Sergio Perez was on the hard tyre in P9 as was George Russell in P18. Carlos Sainz was on the soft tyres in P11 along with Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly, and Yuki Tsunoda.
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Lewis Hamilton appeared to get away well, but he couldn’t hold off Max Verstappen up the inside into Turn 1. It got worse for the Mercedes, as Oscar Piastri diveed into second also through the first corner, before Lando Norris snatched third from him a few turns later. A nightmare start for Hamilton, but an amazing start for Carlos Sainz, who was able to take advantage of the soft tyres and moved up from P11 to P6 after the first lap and was just behind his Maranello teammate, who also gained a position.
The Alpine pair of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly collided at the first corner: that’s a disaster for them. They were both able to carry on, albeit at the back. Gasly came into the pits at the end of the opening lap. Pierre Gasly was out of the Hungarian GP as there was too much damage at the rear of his car. Esteban Ocon limped back to the pit lane and was out as well. Replays showed Zhou Guanyu hit Yuki Tsunoda on the run down to Turn 1 which triggers the incident. The Alpine drivers were then collected by Tsnuoda and tangle with each other in the process.
Fernando Alonso had Sergio Perez all over him in the battle for seventh place. The Spaniard covered the inside on the runs down to Turn 1 and Turn 2, as the Mexican couldn’t get around the outside. Disaster for Lewis Hamilton, but a perfect start for Max Verstappen. He used the clear air to open up a two-second gap to Oscar Piastri in second. There was almost a further two seconds back to the other McLaren of Lando Norris, and then a similar margin to Lewis Hamilton in P4.
On lap 11 we heard Carlos Sainz being asked over team radio: “Switch position, Sierra?” We were not sure what position they were referring to, but it was clearly not about going past his team-mate Charles Leclerc, because he said no, and that it was “too early”. More like a switch to a three-stopper? Up front, Max Verstappen was five seconds ahead of Oscar Piastri as his tyres were not degrading as much as the drivers behind him. Lando Norris was a further two seconds behind, with Lewis Hamilton another 2.3 seconds adrift. Then comes the Ferrari SF-23 cars of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, followed by Sergio Perez on the hard tyres.
On lap 15, Carlos Sainz said over the team radio: “If I see Checo is going to pass me, I’ll box. But not yet.” Ferrari then told the Spaniard to pit, which he did at the end of the lap for the hard tyres and came out in 11th place. Then into the pits came Lewis Hamilton from fourth place for the hard tyres. He came out in ninth place, ahead of Daniel Ricciardo. Lando Norris was the next of the leaders to pit, and it was very good 2.3s stop. That got him out in front of the Mercedes cars of both George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. Behind Norris in the pit lane, it was unfortunately a terrible stop for Charles Leclerc, as the Ferrari was stationary for 9.4s. He came out in P11, and that ruined his afternoon.
Max Verstappen came into the pits after a great stint on the mediums. It was a 2.3s pit stop by Red Bull and he retained the lead from Sergio Perez, who had yet to pit. Lando Norris was five seconds behind the Dutchman.
Lewis Hamilton was let through by Mercedes team-mate George Russell to get back into P4. However, the pole-sitter was not happy with how far back he was falling from the McLaren’s in front of him. He was 11 seconds back from Oscar Piastri in P3, while Norris was a further three seconds up the road in P2. The McLaren’s were looking like they were firmly on for the double podium a Safety Car denied them at Silverstone.
On lap 27, Sergio Perez bravely got his elbows out into Turn 1 to overtake Carlos Sainz. Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle explained: “I think what happened there is Sainz got tucked up behind Russell, who hasn’t pitted, and that left him vulnerable to Perez.”
An agitated sounding Charles Leclerc come on team radio questioning Ferrari’s strategy. He would appear to want to be let past team-mate Carlos Sainz, who he trailed by two seconds on track and appeared to to be faster than. They were running in P6 and P7, and remember, Charles Leclerc lost a load of time earlier when he was held for nine seconds in the pits.
On lap Charles Leclerc pitted from seventh and it was a clean stop this time for the Monegasque driver. The Ferrari man comes out in eighth and Fernando Alonso was ninth, just ahead of team-mate Lance Stroll. Lando Norris locked up just before he crossed the white line at pit entry and it was the medium tyres that went onto his car. A rapid 2.1 second pit stop from McLaren saw him come out in third, behind Hamilton who had yet to pit for a second time. Meanwhile, the second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz stopped, and unsurprisingly fell victim to the undercut, as team-mate Charles Leclerc came out ahead of him in P7. Sadly Charles Leclerc’s afternoon took another turn for the worse: the Monegasque got a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane, and he couldn’t even blame Ferrari for this one.
Charles Leclerc had that five-second penalty to add on at the end of the race, but at this stage, he negated it by opening up a 5.5s gap to team-mate Carlos Sainz. They were running in sixth and seventh, but there was trouble behind them with the Mercedes of George Russell closing in on medium tyres. The British driver was on a late charge and was in a position to attack Carlos Sainz. It looks like the Spaniard’s tyres were gone. And there went Russell with much better traction out of the final corner to get on the back of Carlos Sainz and got the move done with easy.
Max Verstappen therefore took the chequered flag for a remarkable seventh successive race victory. That’s not a record, but a 12th consecutive win for Red Bull – stretching back to the final race of last season – extends the mark set by McLaren in 1988. Lando Norris took another brilliant second for McLaren on the day the team’s 35-year record is broken by Red Bull. Sergio Perez held onto third by 1.4 seconds from Lewis Hamilton.
A difficult Sunday afternoon for Scuderia Ferrari at the Hungaroring, with Charles Leclerc in P7 and his Maranello teammate Carlos Sainz in P8.
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