In love with Formula 1: Hungarian GP: Verstappen wasn't quite able to turn maiden pole into victory!

The Ferrari motor home was utterly impressive.

I had the unforgettable experience to watch the Hungarian GP live at Hungaroring. It is always a dream come true to get into the F1 world! I had a chance to watch the first free practice session at the Ferrari garage. It was absolutely awesome to follow, how the mechanics worked on Sebastian's car. Charles tested the new floor on his SF90 first, and it took half an hour, as the mechanics changed the new floor to Sebastian's Lina. I didn't understand the technical details, what the mechanics were actually doing, but I enjoyed watching all the action so closely. I was absolutely touched, that Sebastian came to me to say a few words in the middle of the practice session.

After the FP1 I had a chat with Sebastian's physio Antti.

Of course I had to take a look at the drivers' parking area!

The qualifying session was a memorable one! Charles had a shunt in the first session, which caused major damage to his rear wing. The Red Team made an amazing job, managing to fix it in time for Q2. The top teams' pace seemed very evenly matched, as all five drivers -Hamilton, Verstappen, Bottas, Leclerc and Vettel- were all within three tenths of a second only! Q2 saw the familiar tyre strategy in terms of the top teams, which opted for the yellow-walled medium compound.

The battle for pole gave me chills. Verstappen laid his hands on provisional pole on his first flyer. The flying Dutchman was absolutely on fire, improving his lap time on his second run. Bottas, who was in P2 after his first attempt, also managed to improve on his last run. It was extremely tight, but Max made it on pole by 0.018s to the Finn! It was such a joy to see Max take his maiden pole at Hungaroring! Hamilton was left third this time. Unfortunately the red cars didn't have enough pace to fight for pole; Charles qualified fourth and Sebastian fifth. In spite of his shunt, Charles managed to out-qualify his teammate, which caught me by surprise.

Sebastian on the start/finish straight at Hungaroring.

I wanted to take a photo with "Max the lion", although some Verstappen fans thought, that the lion shouldn't have agreed to take a photo with me! :D :D :D

The top three of the qualifying.

It was so thrilling to see the start in front of my very eyes! This time Verstappen took a superb start, maintaining his lead. Now it was Bottas, who struggled with his start. The Finn locked up his tyres at first two corners, and he had contact with both his teammate and Leclerc! He lost positions to both drivers. Due to the contact with Charles, Bottas had severe damage to his front wing. Even Sebastian managed to pass Bottas, who dropped down to P5 in no time. Surprisingly, Bottas didn't pit until on lap 6 for a new nose cone and a fresh set of hard tyres. He re-joined the track at the very back of the pack.

Race leader Verstappen opened the pit stop roulette in terms of the top drivers. The Dutchman opted for hard rubber, and re-joined the track in P2. Ferrari called Charles in for a similar tyre strategy. However, Hamilton came in not until on lap 31, opting for hard Pirellis as well. After his pit stop Hamilton was six seconds down on Verstappen, but started "hammertime" immediately. It didn't take many laps, until Verstappen was in serious trouble with storming Hamilton. It was absolutely hair-raising to watch, how the Briton was right at Max's tail, lurking for a chance to get past! Hamilton even made a move, ending up wide, so Max was able to maintain his lead. However, it seemed to be only a matter of time, that Hamilton was going to snatch the lead...

Sebastian was on a different tyre strategy. The German pitted on lap 40, for a fresh set of soft tyres. Unfortunately there was an issue with attaching one of the front tyres, which cost Sebastian some extra seconds. Sebastian re-joined the track in P4. To my surprise, Hamilton pitted for the second time on lap 49, switching to the medium compound. The Briton was 20 seconds down on race leader Verstappen, but Hamilton started to set the screens purple lap after lap... He was absolutely determined to hunt down Verstappen by the end of the race.

With only three laps to go, Hamilton had closed the gap to Max, who was lacking grip due to his outworn tyres. In the end, it was easy for Hamilton to swipe past Verstappen, who had no chance to defend his lead. A wave of disappointment hit me that moment. To be honest, I would have wanted to see Max win the race! But this time Hamilton was on a better strategy. Max pitted on the sequential lap, switching to a fresh set of soft tyres. Max was going for the fastest lap time. Meanwhile, Sebastian had also closed the gap to his teammate, whose tyres were gone. Sebastian moved past Charles, claiming P3.

At the end of the day, Hamilton cruised to victory with a 17-second gap to Verstappen, who finished the runner-up. I was very delighted to see Sebastian completing the podium, leaving his teammate fourth. Sainz finished fifth for Renault, Gasly sixth for Red Bull and Kimi seventh for Alfa Romeo Racing. In the end, Bottas was able to make it eighth, but Hamilton increased his championship lead into 62 points already.

The starting grid for the Hungarian GP.

Podium: Hamilton 1st, Verstappen 2nd and Sebastian 3rd.

Now it's time for the four-week summer break. I really enjoyed my time in the hectic F1 world from the bottom of my heart. For those four days I forgot all my worries. I wish I could attend a GP weekend more often! Nevertheless, I'm extremely grateful, that I had a chance to attend the Hungarian GP <3 It was a perfect way to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary with my husband!