70 laps decided the fate of McLaren in today’s Formula 1 race for the Hungarian Grand Prix. McLaren found glory after finishing 1-2 in Hungary continuing their recent run of success that is threatening the dominance of Red Bull. Max Verstappen finished behind in P5 after a rough race. Verstappen was 21+ seconds behind the lead after a failed defensive strategy after making contact with Lewis Hamilton leaving the track in third and rejoining where he finished. Verstappen was furious after the race reagrding the outcome of no further action.
He said, “I went for a move that was fully on,” reckoned Verstappen, “but then in the middle of the braking zone, when I’m already committed of course to the move, he suddenly just keeps [moving] right, and if I wouldn’t have turned while braking straight, I would have made contact with him. So I went in the air…you cannot do that when someone’s committed to the inside.
That’s why I locked up, because otherwise we would have collided anyway, because he would have just turned in on me.” Lewis Hamilton inherited 3rd and finished P3 in the race behind the McLarens.
Lewis Hamilton Congratulates McLaren
After the race Lewis Hamilton said, “Firstly, a huge congratulations to McLaren on the one-two and Oscar (Piastri) on his maiden victory. They were incredibly strong today and deserved the result. Oscar has been doing a fantastic job ever since he got into F1, been very consistent, and it was only a matter of time before he got a win.
The team has done a great job to continue making progress with our car. We knew we didn’t have the speed of Oscar or Lando (Norris) today, but we were able to secure the final spot on the podium. It was a challenge at times to keep Verstappen behind whilst also making the tires last. Our battle at the end was a little hair-raising but that’s motor racing. I’m really happy to be back on the podium and for another solid points haul. We now head to Spa looking to finish the first half of the season on a high.”
Hungarian Grand Prix Results
| Pos | No | Driver | Car | Laps | Time/retired | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes | 70 | 1:38:01.989 | 25 |
| 2 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes | 70 | +2.141s | 18 |
| 3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 70 | +14.880s | 15 |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 70 | +19.686s | 12 |
| 5 | 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 70 | +21.349s | 10 |
| 6 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 70 | +23.073s | 8 |
| 7 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing Honda RBPT | 70 | +39.792s | 6 |
| 8 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 70 | +42.368s | 5 |
| 9 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB Honda RBPT | 70 | +77.259s | 2 |
| 10 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 70 | +77.976s | 1 |
| 11 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes | 70 | +82.460s | 0 |
| 12 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB Honda RBPT | 69 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 13 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas Ferrari | 69 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 14 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Mercedes | 69 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 15 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 69 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 16 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 69 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 17 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | Williams Mercedes | 69 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 18 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault | 69 | +1 lap | 0 |
| 19 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Kick Sauber Ferrari | 69 | +1 lap | 0 |
| NC | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault | 33 | DNF | 0 |
| Note – Russell scored an additional point for setting the fastest lap of the race. |