In a wild ending, Lewis Hamilton managed to win the Hungarian GP, passing Max Verstappen three laps before the end. The British driver this recorded his 8th win of the season, seventh here at the Hungaroring.
Despite not agreeing with his chief strategist James Vowles, Hamilton went for an additional tire change with some 20 laps to go. At the time, he was unsuccessfully chasing Verstappen, who was leading the race from its beginning.
But as soon as he got back on track, the Brit started eating the road ahead of him. Some 17 laps later, he was passing by the Red Bull’s vehicle, stunning all the spectators.
“James, sorry for doubting the calls on your strategy,” Hamilton apologized right after the race through the radio.
The reigning champ would later explain that his perspective from the car wasn’t the same as Vowles who had a bigger picture. But he didn’t hesitate to admit that his reaction was wrong.
“I definitely was not thinking: ‘Genius,'” Lewis recalled his thoughts when Vowles told him to go to the pit.
As for Max Verstappen, this was his maximum. The young Dutch driver was in the center of attention since Thursday. He had the biggest chances to win and was excellent throughout the entire time, but still, he came up second. Whether was that because of his team, or himself, an opportunity for a third win of the season was eventually wasted. In his opinion, Hamilton was simply better.
“We were just not fast enough. I tried everything I could on that hard tyre to stay alive. Still, second, fastest lap, a good weekend overall,” Verstappen said.
Sebastian Vettel reached the podium in the finish of the race. The German jumped over his teammate Charles Leclerc who was in front of him during the entire event. Ferarri’s drivers didn’t have a stressful contest, as both of them drove a race of their own. Too slow for the leading duo, and yet too fast for the rest of the caravan. The vehicles are well preserved for the next challenges.
“We couldn’t go the pace with these two,” Vettel honestly stated at the press conference, “and it’s good now to get a break – everyone has been working really hard, and we need to recharge our batteries.”
Carlos Sainz took place No.5, while Pierre Gasly ended sixth. Kimi Raikkonen was seventh, while Valtteri Bottas finished the race in place No.8.
The Finnish driver had a nightmare start, during which he collided with Hamilton and Leclerc. He had to go to the pit for the replacement of the entire front wing and came back as the last-placed. But slowly he reached the zone which brings points saving the weekend.
Then again those points didn’t help him in keeping the track with Hamilton who is confidently holding the top spot of the drivers’ standings with 250 points. The Brit has 62 points more than his teammate, and 69 more than Max Verstappen. Sebastian Vettel is fourth with 156 points, while Leclerc has 132.
