Hungarian Grand Prix – Max Verstappen, author of a fantastic comeback, wins

Pierre Gasly takes off from the pit lane. After a failed qualifying, the Frenchman’s team wants to perform tests on new components.

The weather is very uncertain regarding the arrival of rain. In any case, the conditions are unsettled and the wind is very prominent.

An unprecedented start with Russell in pole position, followed by Sainz.

All the drivers remained calm despite some impressive attempts. The one who benefits the most is Hamilton, who quickly occupies fifth place. Max Verstappen also managed to sneak up to eighth place, greatly helped by his teammate Perez who showed him the way.

Moreover, very quickly the two Red Bulls equipped with new power units are gradually moving up. First, Ricciardo’s McLaren, then Alonso and Ocon’s Alpines.

On their part, the Ferraris are pursuing a waiting strategy by maintaining a two-second gap with George Russell, who is a strong leader with his Mercedes, but he is using soft tires unlike Sainz and Leclerc, who are on medium tires.

The rain could make its appearance by halfway through the race, so strategy takes priority from the tenth lap onwards. It is necessary to preserve the tires in order to last until the hypothetical arrival of the rain.

The first tire changes

Lewis Hamilton prepared his attack well by exiting the final turn of the eleventh lap very quickly and cleanly. This allows him to finally overtake Lando Norris’ McLaren. The latter is starting to struggle with his red tires.

The seven-time world champion passes the young English driver at the first corner of the twelfth lap. Max Verstappen does the same at the next corner, and Perez quickly follows suit. And it is at this moment that the reigning world champion starts to complain about his clutch…

Lando Norris is the first to make a pit stop, initiating a round of pit stops. On the fifteenth lap, he comes in to put on medium tires. The possibility of rain remains very much present.

At the head of the race, the two Ferraris catch up with George Russell, whose tires are losing performance. The Englishman comes out between the Alpines, but neck and neck with Fernando Alonso. The battle is fierce, but Russell stays ahead.

Sainz was also supposed to stop but extended his stint by one lap, leaving Charles Leclerc leading the race on the 18th lap.

However, Mercedes’ undercut worked despite a complicated pit stop. Sainz comes out behind Russell, but also behind Alonso. Therefore, the Monegasque driver must stay out on track if he hopes to win the race. And his pace is rather promising, he is faster than Russell on worn tyres. He managed to preserve his medium tyres at the start of the race.

On their part, the Red Bull team is not attempting any unconventional strategy, which allows Verstappen to find himself in 4th place.

The 22nd lap sees Leclerc’s pit stop. Despite not coming out in the lead, he gains a position by overtaking the other Ferrari. He will have to go for the win on the track.

Alonso also decides to switch from soft tires and opts for hard tires. Ocon follows the same strategy on the 24th lap. He comes out just ahead of his teammate Alonso. Since the hard tires take a long time to reach optimal temperature, Ocon tries his best to contain the Spaniard. This creates an opportunity for Ricciardo, who takes advantage and overtakes both French cars in one move. He is now in tenth place.

Charles Leclerc attacking for first place.

On the 28th lap, Charles Leclerc attempts his first attack, but George Russell defends brilliantly. He sends a strong message to the Monégasque: he will not give up easily.

This battle favors the return of Carlos Sainz, but also slightly further that of Max Verstappen.

And it is on the 31st lap that Charles Leclerc becomes the leader again, thanks to an incredible braking maneuver delayed to the maximum at the beginning of the first corner.

The unconventional strategies of Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.

On the 39th lap, despite a few raindrops spotted on camera, Red Bull brings in their leader to put on new yellow tires. The rain doesn’t worry them.

Russell covers Verstappen’s strategy and comes in for a yellow-like stint. But he gets overtaken by the reigning champion.

The race leader has also chosen to cover the championship leader’s pit stop. However, he comes out on hard tires and is overtaken on the next lap. However, after overtaking Leclerc, the number 1 spins out towards the end of the lap. The track is clearly slippery at that spot, even though it’s not raining. Verstappen makes a comeback on his rival on the 45th lap by crossing his trajectory at the first corner.

Those who are doing the best are Sainz, the leader, and Hamilton, in second place. They are taking advantage of these drivers’ troubles to calmly take control of this Grand Prix.

The “show” Hamilton, the Leclerc debacle.

Having successfully started off and taking advantage of his opponents’ mishaps, Lewis Hamilton finds himself propelled into second place. His ideal management of the tires even allows him to catch up with the brilliant leader, Carlos Sainz.

It is at this moment that the Spaniard chooses to put on his soft tires, the pit stop is long due to an issue with the left rear. Hamilton thus regains the first place of a Grand Prix, but gets stuck in traffic. While Leclerc finally finds a bit of pace and Sainz comes out in 5th place, 13 seconds ahead of Sergio Perez.

The Mercedes number 44 decides to pit at the end of the 51st lap after losing a lot of time against Sainz, it comes out in 5th place but on soft tires. On the 55th lap, Ferrari finally decides to put soft tires on car number 16. Unfortunately, this additional pit stop makes them come out in 6th place.

Max Verstappen seems to be firmly holding onto his first place, as he has managed to obtain an 8-second lead over the second-placed driver, George Russell.

The last ten laps for a Mercedes double behind Verstappen.

Quickly catching up in the exhausts of the Ferrari 55, Hamilton made short work of the Spaniard on the 63rd lap. He left him behind in the straight line.

The seven-time world champion doesn’t stop there and launches an attack on his teammate. His second place at the French Grand Prix has reignited his taste for the challenge, and number 44 overtakes number 63 at the start of the 65th lap, lapping his teammate. The podium is therefore the same as in Le Castellet. Sainz, Perez, and Leclerc follow.

The two Alpines finally climbed back up to 8th and 9th place, just behind Lando Norris. Sebastian Vettel completes this top 10 with impressive overtakes on the track to make his way up into the points.

The race ends under virtual safety car due to Valtteri Bottas’ retirement, and then under rain during the last two laps. The DRS is thus deactivated, and ultimately the drivers remain cautious and the standings are not changed.

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