Hungary – Race: Hamilton goes on holiday with the victory ahead of Vettel!

After the deluge in qualifying yesterday, the intense heat takes over the atmosphere around the Hungaroring this afternoon. Under a blazing sun, Cyril Abiteboul, director of the Renault team, states with near certainty that an announcement will be made at the Belgian Grand Prix regarding the retention of Carlos Sainz or the arrival of Esteban Ocon.

Following his off-track excursion that cost him his front wing in qualifying, Lance Stroll will start from the pits. The change of the front nose on the Williams allows Vandoorne, Leclerc, Ocon, Pérez, and Sirotkin to gain a position on the grid. Let’s also remember that with Q2 held on a wet track yesterday, the entire field will have a free choice of tires for the start.

On the grid before the traditional national anthem, a minute of silence is observed by everyone present at the Hungaroring, in memory of Sergio Marchionne, CEO of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles group and Ferrari, who passed away on Wednesday.

Sebastian Vettel is on soft tires while the Mercedes drivers and Kimi Räikkönen are on ultrasofts. Carlos Sainz is on the same strategy as the German.

At the exit of the first turn, Hamilton and Bottas maintain their positions. In the second turn, Vettel manages to take the advantage on the outside over Räikkönen, blocked by Bottas. Verstappen has managed to overtake Sainz and Gasly during the first lap.

REWIND TO LAP ONE: Great shot from RIC’s car

Looks like @Charles_Leclerc clashed with @SChecoPerez #HungarianGP 🇭🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/tjDhx4KhHB

— Formula 1 (@F1) 29 juillet 2018

On his radio, Ricciardo announces possible damage to his car just as we see Leclerc coming to a stop at the entrance of the pit lane. A replay of the first corner shows a wheel-to-wheel contact between Ricciardo and Ericsson, with no visible consequences.

The Australian is trying to move up in the rankings but is blocked by Vandoorne in 13th, the Belgian is defending his place in Formula 1. He still manages to gain the upper hand by braking at the first corner. At the same time, Verstappen’s Red Bull loses power, and he stops his car at the exit of turn 5.

LAP 6/70: VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR @Max33Verstappen grinds to a halt and is ❌

📻 “No power, no power..” he tells his engineers #HungarianGP 🇭🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/MsKk9W6ssj

— Formula 1 (@F1) 29 juillet 2018

Like Vandoorne, Alonso hinders Ricciardo’s comeback. Once again, the Australian dives inside at the first corner. In the lead, Lewis Hamilton cruises at the front more than 4 seconds ahead of Valtteri Bottas, who acts as a shield against Sebastian Vettel.

Behind the Mercedes and Ferraris, Pierre Gasly is making his mark and has a 7.7s lead over Kevin Magnussen. Daniel Ricciardo continues his comeback, overtaking Hülkenberg, Hartley, and Sainz lap after lap, always at the first corner’s braking point.

On the 15th lap, Ferrari stops Räikkönen to force Mercedes to stop Bottas, who then stops at the end of the 16th to cover Scuderia’s strategy. Then in 3rd, Gasly doesn’t put up much resistance when he sees Bottas coming back. A little further on, Magnussen has to defend against a very eager Ricciardo eyeing his 6th position.

The Dane manages to withstand several braking attempts at the first corner, but on a third attempt, the Australian succeeds in sweeping around the outside in the second corner to secure that 6th place.

On the 25th lap, Lewis Hamilton dives into the pit lane to switch to soft tires, Sebastian Vettel is now leading the race. Shortly before, Hartley also stopped to switch to medium tires. Gasly finds himself under threat from Ricciardo on the track.

Again, he lets his opponent pass him, the mid-field drivers no longer bother defending against the leading teams because the difference is so great. With a 6th place, the Frenchman would achieve another good result.

LAP 28/70: More progress for @danielricciardo 🚀 He’s past @PierreGASLY and up to fifth #HungarianGP 🇭🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/5ykn9A6RZv

— Formula 1 (@F1) 29 juillet 2018

On the track the situation is deteriorating for Mercedes. First Bottas then Hamilton don’t seem to be able to extract the full potential from the soft tires. Vettel manages to widen the gap over the Mercedes drivers while Räikkönen closes in on the other Finn.

On the 32nd lap, Gasly stops to swap his ultra-softs for softs. He comes out 2 seconds ahead of Alonso, who hasn’t stopped yet. He maintains his 6th position.

The standings at mid-race: Vettel, Hamilton, Bottas, Räikkönen, Ricciardo, Gasly, Alonso, Vandoorne, Magnussen, Ocon, Sainz, Grosjean, Hartley, Hülkenberg, Pérez, Stroll, Ericsson, Sirotkin

In the top 10, Vettel, Ricciardo, Alonso, Vandoorne, and Ocon have not yet stopped.

The gap between Vettel and Hamilton decreases to 9 seconds as the German faces backmarkers. Räikkönen makes a second stop since the track is clear behind him, Ricciardo still needs to pit. Vettel stops on the next lap, the stubborn front left wheel causes him to lose time in the pits. He comes out behind Bottas on ultra-softs and must do everything to overtake him.

New fastest lap from Valtteri! 🔥🔥🔥

It’s enough as VET boxes and drops to P3#HungarianGP 🇭🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/KIhItJG2mn

— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) 29 juillet 2018

In the shadows, Alonso and Vandoorne have stopped and maintain the 8th and 9th positions. Ocon, on the other hand, has dropped to 15th place following his stop. On the 45th lap, Ricciardo finally stops to switch to the ultra-softs. Stroll is the last driver not to have made a stop.

As at the beginning of the race, Bottas plays his role as a shield well. On the 52nd lap, as he has to let Vettel and Bottas pass, Vandoorne slows down abnormally. He brings his McLaren to a stop at the exit of turn 1, gearbox failure for the Belgian driver. This retirement allows Grosjean to get into the points.

A virtual safety car is deployed to clear the number 2 single-seater, the gap between Hamilton and Bottas increases from 9 to 13 seconds during the maneuver. The Finn finds himself struggling with his soft tires in front of Vettel. The German driver puts strong pressure on the Mercedes driver while Räikkönen quickly catches up with the two men.

LAP 58/70: Check your mirrors, @ValtteriBottas #HungarianGP 🇭🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/UdphWdD2mn

— Formula 1 (@F1) 29 juillet 2018

With 10 laps to go, Hamilton leads with Bottas 17.4 seconds behind. Vettel is less than a second away, and Räikkönen has closed to within a second of Vettel. There’s nothing to be done; the Bottas blockade isn’t breaking, and the gap with Hamilton continues to grow.

On lap 65, Vettel manages to get alongside Bottas in turn 1 to attack in turn 2. The Finn resists too much on the inside and tears a part of his wing on the left rear of the Ferrari. Vettel does not seem to suffer from a slow puncture.

Vettel passes Bottas, the Finn tries to fight back and runs into the back of the Ferrari at Turn 3. Was Vettel far enough ahead to shut the door?
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#SkyF1 #F1 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/iQYeLhbkJD

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In his maneuver, Bottas will lose three positions as he is now under threat from Ricciardo, who is catching up at almost 2 seconds per lap. The Australian is on the outside at turn 1, but Bottas is too fast and cannot turn with his damaged wing. He hits the right side of the Red Bull and pushes it off the track.

Both can continue. The next lap, as a symbol, Alonso can overtake Bottas on the braking into the first corner. The two men meet again on the last lap and Bottas has to finally give in. Bottas is summoned by race control to explain himself after the race for his contacts with Vettel and Ricciardo.

Hamilton arrives without concern at the checkered flag, Vettel finishes second, Räikkönen third.

RACE CLASSIFICATION: @LewisHamilton cruises to victory #HungarianGP 🇭🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/QReEpB2R4F

— Formula 1 (@F1) 29 juillet 2018