Dominant Verstappen wins at the Hungaroring ahead of Norris and Perez

Verstappen once again won a race dominantly this season, as only the two McLarens were able to keep up with Red Bull’s pace today, but only for a short amount of time. The defending champion took the lead into Turn 1, and went unchallenged for the rest of the day. He could eventually beat Norris by 33 seconds. The Dutchman also got the additional point for the fastest lap of the race.

Lando Norris once again finished in P2 without facing any trouble. Sergio Perez finished third after overtaking Oscar Piastri in a fierce battle between the two, but his tyres were not good enough to catch Norris as well. Mercedes’ race pace was seemingly only the third best this Sunday, but Lewis Hamilton was able to overtake Piastri as well thanks to a prolonged stint on the hards and also came close to Perez on the last lap.

George Russell did well to climb up on the grid after getting knocked in Q1 the day before. His efforts were enough to overtake Carlos Sainz on track, and thanks to Charles Leclerc's five-second penalty, the Briton finished in P6. It was a rather disappointing day for the Italian racing stable, as Leclerc finished seventh and Sainz ended the race in P8. The last two points-playing positions went to the two Aston Martins, in the order of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, and the three non-finishers were the two Alpines and Logan Sargeant. Daniel Ricciardo finished his first race back in the competition in P13.

The Start

The race got underway in hot, dry conditions, with the Top 8 drivers on the grid opting for the mediums. The first person was Perez who chose the hards, similarly to Russell. It was an eventful start, with Verstappen getting on the line quicker off the line than Hamilton, and the defending champion took the lead into Turn 1. The seven-time world champion’s line was compromised, and also got overtaken first by a steady Piastri, then by Lando Norris.

Drivers choosing the softs to begin with also had great starts. Carlos Sainz immediately got up to P6, and Yuki Tsunoda was just outside of the points in 11th place. On the other hand, Guanyu Zhou had a terrible start, creating a domino effect. The Chinese driver was slow off the line and then pushed Daniel Ricciardo into Turn 1. As a result, the Australian made contact with Esteban Ocon, who crashed into teammate Pierre Gasly. The two Alpine cars had to retire, while Zhou got a five-second penalty.

Pit Stops and Strategies

Sainz was the first person at the front who decided to pit for the hard compound of tyres, which was followed a lap later by Hamilton. McLaren reacted quickly to Mercedes’ undercut with Norris, who could also undercut Piastri this way, and thanks to his superb out lap, he could overtake his teammate. Charles Leclerc pit the same lap as Norris did, but had a slow stop and lost his place to Sainz.

Max Verstappen had the luxury to only pit on Lap 23, and got back to the front. On an alternative strategy, Perez stay out longer in his first stint. Red Bull decided to pit the Mexican on Lap 24 for mediums, and the Mexican overtook Sainz by Lap 28, and Russell by Lap 29, but the two almost collided in Turn 3. By the end of the lap, the Briton also made his first stop.

It was a two-stop race at the Hungaroring, but the second stops were only meaningful in terms of the order in the battle for the last place on the podium. On Lap 42, as Perez caught up to Hamilton, both he and Oscar Piastri pitted for another set of mediums. The Mexican eventually aggressively overtook Piastri on track on Lap 48. Mercedes decided to pit the British world champion only on Lap 49. Charles Leclerc also jumped teammate Sainz by coming into the pits a lap earlier on Lap 46, but got a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.