35th Hungarian Grand Prix: Hamilton victorious, Verstappen back from the dead

The 35^th Hungarian Grand Prix started with incredible excitement, then ended approximately true to the power rankings, with an easy win by Lewis Hamilton. Only Max Verstappen managed to be the fly in Mercedes’ ointment.

All this despite the fact that the Dutchman had already broken Red Bull during his lap to the grid, and it looked like he wouldn’t even be able to set off. The team managed to assemble the car driven by the Dutchman at the very last minute, who committed a childish error while on the intermediate wet tyres. And how well they had, because the only enjoyment factor of the race with a brilliant start was provided by Verstappen’s fight.

The start had a few exciting moments in store, because the condition of the still wet track was very close to the intermediate wet tyre/dry compound tyre switching point. It was a real shell game, because the rain was lazy but there, but at the same time, after just a few laps, the bends showed a completely dry picture going forward. Many drivers risked it, going to the pits instead of the grid at the end of the formation lap to change their wet tyres. The two Haas managed to make the most of this turmoil, even managing to be at the forefront of the competition for a few laps, thanks to Magnussen.

Verstappen had had an enormous start, and after having overtaken Vettel, he was making his laps in second place behind Hamilton, who also had a great start, while Valtteri Bottas, who started in second place, took a pit stop, then fell behind, after losing his tempo. What happened next? Some turmoil, no excitement. There were a few heated battles, fights or twists in the middle, but the top3 positions were all but certain towards the middle of the race.

Racing Point’s duo could have raised a few eyebrows, and they did manage to hold their position for a long time, but after having lost the tactical battle, Stroll and company threw away their opportunity at a podium finish. Their place was taken by Verstappen, who had an incredible start, and, with the help of absolutely wonderful teamwork, ran a race so controlled, that a better organised one would’ve been virtually impossible. Only Bottas could have represented any danger for Red Bull’s star, but by the time the Finnish driver could have set himself into a position from which he could have attacked, the 35^th Hungarian Grand Prix had already finished, ending with a start-to-finish victory by Lewis Hamilton, whom nobody managed to really bother.

Written by: Tóth Krisztián Márk

Photo: Sky Sports

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