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A late-charging Lewis Hamilton has won the Hungarian Grand Prix, as he overtook Max Verstappen for the lead of the race with four laps left to run.
Verstappen was out in front for most of the race, having kept his lead off the line and into Turn 1. Hamilton kept the pressure on the Dutchman, but couldn't pass him in the early stages of the race.
Verstappen was the first of the two to pit, while Hamilton stayed out for another handful of laps, rejoining the circuit a number of seconds behind the Red Bull driver.
However Hamilton soon closed up on Verstappen, but once again couldn't pass him, despite a close wheel-to-wheel battle through the first sector.
Mercedes opted to pit Hamilton for a second time for the medium tyre, which saw him close up in the final 20 laps to eventually overtake Verstappen for the lead with four laps left to run in the race.
Verstappen then pitted late on after he had lost the lead for a fresh set of soft tyres to secure the fastest lap of the race.
Hamilton and Verstappen were seemingly in a race of their own, as Sebastian Vettel, who secured the final spot on the podium by making a late overtake on teammate Charles Leclerc, was a minute behind.
Valtteri Bottas was put out of contention for the win after he made contact with Leclerc in the opening phase of the race, forcing him into an early pit stop for a new front wing.
The Finn battled back through the field to secure an eighth-place finish, but loses out in the championship battle, with Verstappen now right on his tail for the second spot.
Carlos Sainz produced another strong drive for McLaren, as he crossed the line in fifth place to secure another eight points for the Woking squad.
Pierre Gasly, who started the race from sixth place, dropped back a number of positions at the start, managed to recover to cross the line in that position - albeit a lap down on Hamilton and Verstappen.
Kimi Raikkonen finished inside the top ten once more for Alfa Romeo, ahead of his compatriot Bottas.
Lando Norris, who was running behind his teammate Sainz early on in the race, had a slow pit stop which saw him drop down the order and eventually cross the line in ninth.
Alexander Albon picked up the final point for Toro Rosso, after being involved in a close tussle with teammate Danil Kvyat on lap 14 of the race - a battle which Kvyat came out on top in.
However, the Russian driver would eventually end up in 15th place, one week on from his podium finish at the German Grand Prix.
Hamilton now holds a 62 point lead in the championship over Bottas, who himself is only seven points in front of Verstappen for second in the championship.
Hungaroring - 04 August 2019
Grand Prix of BelgiumLocal time
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Replies (8)
Login to replyPistonhead
Posts: 556
what a race - Hamilton was next level, again, today - feel for max but they weren't fast enough to win today. Bottas had a shocker - that could be the end for him.
abhidbgt
Posts: 283
Pirelli and their predicted fastest strategies are good for nothing. :D
Holy mother of God! It was a race of strategies. All last four races have been good for different reasons. This is how it should be really.
Ferraris are downright horrible in corners compared to Red Bull and Mercedes. Even at Monza there are quite a few. I don't think they will win anywhere this season. Unless someone drops the ball at the front. Verstappen could challenge for title this year, I think. This upturn of pace by Red Bull has made the season so tasty.
Kean
Posts: 692
Great race, there has been a couple of them now since France... (also Bahrain was a good one). Hamilton impressed today, nice to see him having to fight for it. Also really great drive by Verstappen. Also Sainz and Räikkönen did an amazing job. What happened to Kvyat, he just dropped off while his teammate rose into the points. Perez did really well also, gaining alot of positions. Not impressed by Gasly, Hulkenberg, Stroll, Kubica and Giovinazzi. Gio really can't keep his tyres in the working window it seems, could he be on the chopping block as well together with Gasly and Kubica and Grosjean?
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
That was a pretty good race, methinks, albeit not on par with the other 3. Max did well, but burned his tyres, and Merc' were just better at strategy. Honestly I kinda think Max' hands were tied due to the raw pace of Hammy and the superior strategy from Merc'. But good lord was that a 2-man scrap. Where were Ferrari?! I kinda standby that I feel they should've started at different tyres, but nothing would've saved that disgraceful showing! And it wasn't due to driver errors in the slightest!
Also really strong showing from Russell, that dude is doing wonders with a shoddy car. The same cannot be said for Gio and Gasly. And McLaren being solid yet again.
Kean
Posts: 692
I'm beginning to think that when Gasly won GP2 with Giovinazzi close behind, they really just were lucky that Prema had done everything right that year, basically they landed in the GP2 version of a Mercedes that year, they couldn't loose. Their performance this year is just awful. What speaks against that is Gasly's performance in Super Formula and last year. Perhaps winning GP2 or F2 shouldn't be used as the go to example when judging a drivers ability (I know I'm guilty of doing that, holding drivers in high regard for winning lower formula. But then I tend to do it if they win in their rookie season, but I digress). Looking at the winners of GP2: Rosberg, Hamilton, Glock, Pantano, Hülkenberg, Maldonado, Grosjean, Valsecci, Leimer, Palmer, Vandoorne, Gasly. How many have shone in F1, if they even made it? I say the two first winners, backed up by Hulk and there were flashes from Grosjean. But the last 3.... yeah not so much.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Could be, but I find it more likely that F1 differ so greatly from those other feeders that it might be tough to correlate success in them with success in F1. Just look at Stroll; 3 titles to his name, and he is vastly inferior to his team mate, whom is admittedly skilled but should be a decent benchmark to get close to.
Ram Samartha
Posts: 1,172
Really? Boring race that wouldn't have even been worth watching without Hamilton. I usually watch races twice but not this one. Another dud for F1 at Hungaroring.
f1ski
Posts: 726
i kind of agree boring race. This race shows why tires need to degrade faster to force multiple stops. perhaps have the compounds a little closer in durability so teams can have a choice that works best for the car