Hungary – Race: Hamilton controls for an 86th victory and equals a new record!

Lewis Hamilton was once again imperial on this Hungarian track. In full control, he achieved a remarkable hat-trick (pole position, fastest lap in the race, and victory), allowing him to claim his eighth win on this track and take the lead in the World Drivers’ Championship.

A start on a wet track that almost cost Max Verstappen significant points even before the beginning of the race.

Hamilton, Leclerc, and Vettel manage their start well, Verstappen moves directly into third position and makes up for his mistake during the formation lap. Bottas and Perez struggle and find themselves stuck in the pack.

At the end of the third lap the track is dry enough for everyone except Max Verstappen to pit, Hamilton returns in fourth place behind the Dutchman and the two Renaults.

Verstappen stops at the end of the following lap and manages to overtake Lance Stroll for second place.

The successful operation is carried out by the Haas drivers who, by stopping at the end of the formation lap, are now third and fourth, with an advantage for the Danish driver.

Good start to the race for Kimi Räikkönen who is 15th after 7 laps, but receives a 5-second penalty for being improperly positioned on the starting grid. The same goes for Nicholas Latifi, released too quickly from his pit by Williams during the first stops and causing a collision with Carlos Sainz in the pit lane. Fortunately, no damage for the Spaniard.

Lewis Hamilton is already on another planet, stringing together the fastest laps to quickly extend his lead over Verstappen to around 12 seconds, thus controlling his race.

The rain is forecasted again around the 18th lap but is taking its time, which complicates strategies regarding tires. Everyone would like to change tires, but it must be done at the right timing, or else everything could be lost if the clouds arrive.

Only one retirement at this point in the race, and that’s Pierre Gasly. Despite his engine change for the race, it has already given up. A weekend to forget for the Frenchman, who was nonetheless performing well on this track this year.

The Leclerc bottleneck jumps on the 18th lap, first Albon, then Vettel the next lap.

Since all the drivers switched their intermediate tires for slicks, Leclerc has been struggling to maintain his 7th place. He can’t catch up to Grosjean, and worse, a small train is forming behind him with Albon becoming increasingly insistent, as well as Vettel eyeing any opportunity to gain a few spots. They are followed by Pérez, Ricciardo, and Sainz. Finally, Leclerc stops on the 20th lap to end his tire agony. He resumes in fifteenth place.

Hamilton dominates easily while waiting for the rain, Bottas battles to catch up in second place.

On the 25th lap, rain is still expected, the sky is truly threatening, but the track remains desperately dry. It’s a wait-and-see race unfolding to avoid making a critical strategic error. Hamilton is comfortably leading, ahead of a solitary Verstappen. An impressive Lance Stroll in third place in his Racing Point manages to hold off Valtteri Bottas’s Mercedes.

On the 34th lap, Valtteri Bottas initiates a new wave of pit stops. Thanks to this astute strategic choice, he reclaims third place on the podium and will be able to attempt to recover the second place held by Verstappen.

Despite a good start to the race, Romain Grosjean gradually loses ground.

In trying to make his tires last as long as possible, like his competitors, Romain Grosjean’s Haas seems to lose effectiveness. The Frenchman is gradually overtaken by many drivers to the point where he finds himself in 13th position after the second round of pit stops, while his teammate manages to fight for points.

For this end of the race, the challenge is for Bottas.

The Finn must catch up to the Dutchman from Red Bull to reclaim second place and recover from his poor start. His pace is excellent, and he is gaining seconds in handfuls as the race progresses.

Despite this, Mercedes calls him back to the pits to fit new white tires. The strategy will fail, Red Bull has only one choice to make, stay on the track. This allows Max Verstappen to hold onto second place by just a few tenths… It was a matter of one lap.

In the shadows all weekend, Esteban Ocon passes Romain Grosjean for thirteenth place.

With ten laps to go until the end of the race, the rain is no longer mentioned. Charles Leclerc loses the point of his tenth place in favor of his future teammate at Ferrari in 2021, Carlos Sainz.

Mercedes alone in the world, Ferraris in agony…

Striking image, on the 44th lap Charles Leclerc in tenth place is one lap behind the race leader, Lewis Hamilton.

The fastest lap in the race alternates between the Mercedes drivers. Advantage to the Englishman who will be able to take it definitively at the end of the race with his red tires. After breaking the track record in qualifying, he secures the fastest lap in the race. A perfect weekend for Lewis Hamilton, clearly above the rest today.

The full standings of the 2020 Hungarian Grand Prix