Hungarian GP: Verstappen from barriers to 2nd!

Dark clouds had gathered above the Hungaroring, and the track was damp, as the cars exited the pits. There was drama already before the start. On his way to the grid, Verstappen drove into Turn 12 a bit too fast. He went wide, ending up into the barriers nose first! There was significant damage to his RB16, and it was obvious, that it required a miracle from the mechanics to get his car fixed in time for the race! However, the Red Bull crew were actually capable of making that miracle happen, and at 3.05 p.m. Max was ready to go on the formation lap! 

Due to the damp conditions, everyone started to the race on the green-walled intermediate tyres. Actually Haas decided to make a risky move, and the American team called both their drivers in on the formation lap already. Both Grosjean and Magnussen switched to a fresh set of medium slicks, which turned out to be a wise call.

Hamilton on pole got a perfect start, on the contrary to that of his teammate in P2. Bottas had three little lights on his dash board, which went out a fraction before the lights. This made Bottas react, and his W11 jumped forward. Bottas immediately realised, that he had reacted before the lights had gone out and stopped the car. The Finn dropped down to P6 due to his miserable start. Hamilton, on the other hand, was rapidly opening a gap to Racing Point's Stroll in 2nd. There was no rain, and the track dried up quickly. Both Bottas and Leclerc pitted on the second lap already. The Finn opted for a fresh set of medium Pirellis, whilst Charles switched to the soft compound. By lap 5 all drivers had pitted for slicks. Hamilton in the lead had an 8-second gap to Verstappen, who was second after the pit stop roulette. The Dutchman had taken an extremely impressive start to the race, considering his shunt on the installation lap! Haas had made a genius strategic call by taking their drivers in on the formation lap already. Magnussen was now third and teammate Grosjean fourth in the race! Stroll in his "pink Mercedes" was fifth, Leclerc was sixth and Bottas only 7th. 

Unfortunately Haas' success was only temporary. In a few laps only Stroll had made his way past Grosjean. Bottas had to fight hard to get past Charles, but it worked out eventually. Further back in the midfield Kimi had made excellent job by making his way up to P14, having started from the very back of the pack. Unfortunately the stewards had given the Iceman a 5-second time penalty for being out of position at the start. By lap 17 Stroll had made his way past Magnussen in the sister Haas. The Dane was clearly struggling with his race pace, as Bottas, too passed the Haas driver. Although rain was forecast any minute, the conditions stayed dry.

Charles was the only top driver, who had opted for the soft rubber. The Monegasque's pace on that set turned out poor indeed, and he pitted on lap 20 for a fresh set of white-walled hard tyres. He rejoined the track in P15. The positions of the top three seemed secured. Hamilton had a safe 12-second lead to Verstappen, and the Dutchman's gap to Stroll in third was 15 seconds already. However, Bottas was almost within striking distance from the Canadian, hungry to gain as much as he could after the failure at the start. Meanwhile, Sebastian pitted for the second time on lap 30. Similar to his teammate, he opted for the hard Pirellis. 

Although McLaren had shone in the first two races in Austria, they seemed to struggle with their pace at the Hungaroring. Norris had a wheel-banging and intense battle with Charles for modest P13. Norris defended his position with every effort possible, but finally Charles forced his way past the young Briton. On the other hand, Bottas seemed unable to get past Stroll. Mercedes called the Finn in, and Valtteri, too rejoined the track on a fresh set of medium tyres. The Finn was now fourth in the race. When Stroll pitted a moment later, Valtteri benefitted from the undercut, jumping third. Also Verstappen and Hamilton made their second pit stops, and the order in the lead remained unchanged. 

After the pit stops Bottas began his hunt. By lap 46 he had made it within DRS distance from Verstappen. But the battle for P2 didn't turn out to be easy. On his out-worn tyres Bottas didn't have a powerful chance to challenge Max. Mercedes made their move and called the Finn in for the third time on lap 50. This time Valtteri opted for the hardest compound. On the fresh set of tyres he began his chase again. Once again he had 20 seconds to Verstappen ahead of him. But Valtteri's lap times on the fresh tyres were much more competitive than those of Max's! Against the odds, Red Bull didn't call Max in for the third time, but the Dutchman stayed out. Meanwhile, Sebastian had made convincing work at the wheel of his Ferrari, and the German was fifth in the race. It was heart-warming to see such consistent driving from Sebastian. 

As Hamilton's lead was well-secured, the Briton insisted on the team radio, that he wanted to stop for a fresh set of softs. Finally Hamilton's wish was granted and he was asked to box. It tells a lot about Hamilton's superiority, that on lap 58 Sebastian in P5 got lapped by Hamilton! Hamilton's pace is just from another planet! Finally on the second last lap, Bottas had closed the gap to Verstappen, hanging right at the Red Bull ace's tail. To the Finn's misfortune there were several backmarkers ahead of the duo, which made possible overtaking manoeuvre even more difficult. Actually impossible. 

Hamilton took a sweeping victory, which was his 8th at Hungaroring already! Now he officially equals Michael Schumacher's record of most wins at a single Grand Prix. Verstappen drove a spectacular race after his rookie-like mistake on the installation lap. Due to his lion-hearted driving, he really deserved to be voted as the Driver of the Day! After screwing up at the start, it was all about damage limitation for Bottas. In the end he had to settle for P3. Stroll in P4 stood out of the crowd in a very positive way. Red Bull's Albon managed to overtake Sebastian in the end, taking P5 from him. However, seeing Sebastian finish in the points made me very happy after setback-filled first two races. As Hamilton took the fastest lap time under his belt, too, the Briton also took over the lead in the drivers' championship standings. He has 63 points to his teammate's 58 points. Verstappen is third with 33 points. Sebastian has now 9 points, which entitles to P10 in the standings.

There seems to be no stopping Mercedes. They have crushing 121 points to Red Bull's 55! Ferrari are still in P5 with their 27 points. Mercedes are so dominant, that I'm afraid it will make the season a bit boring. But they have done everything perfectly, so they totally deserve all the success.  Now there will be a two-week break, until the Formula 1 circus moves to Great Britain for a double-header. Silverstone, if any venue, is known as Hamilton's playground, which is bad news for everyone else!