F1: Verstappen 10th to 1st to win Hungarian GP

Defending World Champion Max Verstappen, in the drive of the day, came from 10th at the start, then survived a spin on a damp track in Turn 13, to win the Hungarian GP and extend his points lead to 80 points heading into the summer break and just 9 races yet to run.

It was Verstappen’s 8th win of the year, 28th win of his career, in his #1 Red Bull Honda. Verstappen had to tip toe around the last lap as rain began to fall.

Starting from P10, at a track where overtaking is tricky, the Dutchman drove superbly and bar that one spin, didn’t put a foot wrong. He was helped by Ferrari’s strategy, no doubt, but all that matters is that the championship lead grows and grows.

“I was hoping I could get close to a podium, but we had a really good strategy, we were really reactive,” said a very happy Verstappen.

“Even with the 360 spin, we won the race! I was battling a lot of guys, it was a lot of fun out there. Crazy race, very happy we won it.”

The Mercedes again finished 2nd and 3rd, Lewis Hamilton finishing ahead of George Russell.  Hamilton got the fastest race lap by using red tires on his final stint.

“I was definitely struggling at the beginning, but bit by bit I got more comfortable with the balance,” said Hamilton.

“Got a really good start at well. The other guys have an edge, but we are clearly closing the gap, hopefully we can bring some more into the second half of the season and start fighting with them. I was hoping for rain at the end to challenge Max. If the DRS had been okay yesterday, we’d have been in [fight] for the win.”

As for Russell, he just didn’t quite have the pace on the mediums. He nearly held on to second but couldn’t keep his teammate at bay who had the soft tires on which were working well at that stage, nonetheless he started from pole, led the first few laps and didn’t really put a foot wrong. More valuable experience gained.

“Strong start, good first stint but at the end on the mediums with the rain, it was difficult. We are definitely making progress. We pitted early on both stints, so you are trying to eke the tires out, difficult position to be in,” said Russell

Ferrari was favored to win the race, but once again screwed the pooch with poor race and tire strategy that resulted in Carlos Sainz Jr. finishing 4th and Charles Leclerc 6th.

Sergio Perez rounded out the top-5 in the 2nd Red Bull.

You have to hand it to the Red Bull team. They pitted early on both stints, in an aggressive strategy designed to put their rivals under pressure. And it worked beautifully – Ferrari reacted, they had a choice between softs and hards for Leclerc as he’d only used the mediums, and it was too early for the soft tire.

So they put their man on the hard compound, despite at that point all the data showing that was the least favorable tire today.

How the Race Unfolded

At the race start polesitter Russell made a good start to hold off challenges from front-row-starter Leclerc and Ferrari team-mate Sainz. And as the Ferrari drivers swapped places in the middle of the lap the Mercedes driver settled into the lead.

Further back Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez were immediately on the move and at the end of the first lap Verstappen had risen to P8 behind the Alpine of Fernando Alonso, while Pérez had climbed to ninth place.

The Virtual Safety car was then briefly deployed due to debris on the track from a lap-one incident involving Williams’ Alex Albon and the Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel and when racing resumed, Russell controlled the restart well to hold on to the lead.

Verstappen was again on the move, however and on lap five, Alonso clattered over the curbs in Turn 3 giving the Dutchman the opportunity to power past in Turn 4. The championship leader then chased down the second Alpine of Esteban Ocon and, under DRS, eased past the French driver into Turn 1. On lap 10 Verstappen was just 10.8s off race leader Russell.

The Mercedes made his first visit to the pit lane at the end of lap 16, switching to medium tires. Verstappen also made his first stop at the end of the same lap, changing his starting soft tires for new medium compound Pirellis. Second-placed Sainz pitted at the end of the next tour and after fitting a second set of medium tires he emerged just behind Russell. Leclerc now moved into the lead, though he would need to make his first stop.

The Monegasque driver headed for the pit lane at the end of lap 21 and rejoined just behind Russell, but ahead of Sainz. Verstappen was now in fourth place.

On lap 27, Leclerc closed to within DRS range of Russell and with the aid of DRS he attacked at the start of the next lap. Russell defended well he managed to cling on for another tour but the tussle allowed Verstappen to narrow the gap and on lap 31 he was just 5.0s off the lead.

Leclerc finally made an attack on Russell stick at the start of lap 31. The Ferrari driver got a good run through the final corners and he powered past the Mercedes with a late move around the outside of Turn 1 to take the lead. Freed from the shackles of the Mercedes, Leclerc promptly put in a race fastest lap of 1:22.995 to open the gap to Russell to almost two seconds.

As the Monegasque driver began to pull away from the pack, Verstappen made his second stop at the end of lap 38, trying to undercut Sainz and Russell ahead as he took on another set of medium tires.

Leclerc’s race then began to unravel. Having used two sets of medium tires and with a long final stint of 31 laps in wait, Ferrari were forced to fit a set of hard tires in the Monegasque’s second stop on lap 39. The choice would ultimately cost him dearly.

Russell made his second stop just behind the Ferrari, switching to medium tires and when he exited the pit lane it was behind Verstappen who had pumped in a fastest lap of 1:22.789. With race leader Sainz and Hamilton needing seconds stops, Max was now second on the road behind Leclerc who was struggling badly for grip and pace.

On lap 42 Max smelled blood and he attacked the Monegasque drive into Turn 1, sweeping past the Ferrari driver who was powerless to resist. Verstappen then almost had his own disaster when exiting the penultimate corner he suddenly spun and Leclerc reclaimed P3. After the uncharacteristic spin, Max was soon back on the attack, however, and the Red Bull driver eased past the Ferrari on exit from Turn 1 as Leclerc struggled for traction. He was now third behind Sainz and Hamilton, both of whom had only stopped once.

Sainz and Hamilton then made their final stops with both taking soft tires for a last dash to the flag. And as they did so, Verstappen took the lead.

Leclerc was now 6.3s behind the Dutchman, while Russell was putting the Ferrari driver under heavy pressure. And as Leclerc wobbled through the final corner on lap 53, Russell powered past him to take second place. Ferrari pitted Leclerc at the end of lap 54 for soft tires but his race was now compromised and he rejoined in P6, behind Pérez.

In the closing stages, Hamilton swiftly closed on Sainz and after passing the Spaniard with eight laps left he closed in on Russell. Aided by better grip he eased past his team-mate at the start of lap 65 to take P2.

And there the order froze. Verstappen pulled out a gap of more than 13 seconds in the final stages, but with drizzle falling in the closing laps, the Dutchman throttled back to take his eighth win of the season 7.8 seconds ahead Hamilton, with Russell a further four seconds further back in third place. Sainz crossed the line in fourth, with Pérez in fifth ahead of Leclerc. Lando Norris took seventh for McLaren ahead of the Alpines of Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon and the final point on offer went to Sebastian Vettel.

Race Results – 70 Laps