Hungarian Grand Prix: the Hits/Misses
The Hungarian Grand Prix 2023 won't go down in history. The MotorsInside editorial team didn't have much to sink their teeth into, but there were a lot of mishaps and a few good points.

Tops
1. Max Verstappen – Lewis Hamilton: the good old times in one qualifying and one corner
Lewis Hamilton’s fantastic qualification has raised the hype and given hope to everyone. The British driver made a sensational pole position, and the crowd didn’t get it wrong: only three thousandths of a second separated the Mercedes from Max Verstappen. It was beautiful!
Were we finally going to have a beautiful, undecided and spectacular race? Was the legendary 2021 match going to be reproduced? Yes: during a straight line.
For Hamilton, the hype went down after his bad start. And the Dutchman, once he took the lead at the first corner, won the race with ease. A masterstroke for sure, but far from the hopes of a struggle. Twelve consecutive wins for Red Bull, that speaks volumes and says a lot about what awaits in the second half of the season.
2. McLaren: the double podium would have been deserved
Not many people would have bet a penny on McLaren’s surge in strength in the middle of the season. The papaya cars were simply left behind at the beginning of the season, and the combined talents of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri couldn’t change that.
The first mentioned driver missed his 2nd career pole by 82 milliseconds… perhaps, he could have made a better start than Hamilton to keep Max Verstappen at bay.
Oscar Piastri did the job at the first corner, not far from being able to take the lead, while the front battle between Hamilton and the Red Bull N°1 was taking place.
Sergio Pérez and Lewis Hamilton denied Piastri a podium that could have been within his grasp. Lando Norris, on the other hand, didn’t crack under pressure and secured a second consecutive 2nd place finish. McLaren’s work is fantastic in getting back to the front. It needs to translate into a victory.
3. Alfa Romeo has it in its belly…but not too much
It is actually a half-top, since the two Trèfle drivers messed up everything on Sunday. And yet, how beautiful their qualification was!
Guanyu Zhou and Valtteri Bottas have done a remarkable job and that opens the door wide to surprises in the race: P5 for the Chinese driver, 7th for the Finnish driver.
But this season, the qualifications are much more interesting than the races. The proof of this is that Zhou, with a catastrophic start, even had the luxury of eliminating both Alpine cars, while Bottas just fell back into the pack.
The chronos, however, have proven that surprises are possible and that good work, sometimes very little, can make a difference.
FLOPS
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1. A very sad Grand Prix to watch, especially for Alpine
To find flops in this Hungarian Grand Prix, you didn’t have to look far. The entire race was pitiful to watch: those who qualified well vanished during the race, no suspense for the victory, missed pit stops… and both Alpine cars out at the first turn.
Here is one of the elements that caused even more sorrow, when Guanyu Zhou went from hero to zero by playing bowling at the start. And who pays the price for a bad start? Ricciardo, who managed to escape, then Ocon and Gasly. It’s the second time after Melbourne that the French team has recorded a double retirement.
“The crisis seems so deep at Alpine that the elements are unleashing against the A523, both on and off the track. Their double retirement is not directly their fault, but the aftermath is going to be very, very long. And hopes for improvement seem blocked.”
2. Aston Martin: another contributor to sadness
We would have loved to believe in an Aston Martin – Red Bull showdown at the beginning of the season! But this year, that’s asking too much. This team, which made waves at the start of the year, has been completely anonymous for several races.
This time, the joke from Austria was not repeated and Alonso was able to finish ahead of his teammate Lance Stroll. But these 9th and 10th places are lackluster compared to the multiple podiums the Spaniard achieved earlier in the year.
This year, the British stable seems to have reached its limits. We’ll see about next year.
3. Ferrari: it’s a joke
Yes, there is indeed a Scuderia Ferrari in F1. But yes, you know, this team formerly led by a ruthless Commendatore, full of ambition and formidable in all conditions?
The one that exists today is only a shadow of itself: missed stops as usual, a bizarre strategy where Carlos Sainz can’t even take advantage of his soft tires, and ultimately a lost position due to a penalty for Charles Leclerc. George Russell didn’t ask for that much.
And quite frankly, one must have an exceptional spirit of resilience when being a tifosi. Because, for too long, seeing Ferrari in a race has been a catastrophe. Unless we accept that it is no longer great today, in terms of its results.