Versatappen wins Hungarian Grand Prix
Max Verstappen of Red Bull, took his eighth win in 13 races and his 28th victory after driving from the 10th on the gird, leaving him with an 80-point lead over Leclerc, in the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Hungary. Verstappen passed title rival Charles Leclerc twice. Red Bull’s pit strategy vaulted Verstappen ahead of pole-sitter George Russell, who lost out on a second place to team-mate Lewis Hamilton. Carlos Sainz was fourth and Leclerc sixth as Ferrari’s season imploded.
Verstappen used soft tyres for start to gain ground in the first stint, and by the tie, the field had settled down after the first pit stops he was in fourth place and within three seconds of Russell, Leclerc, and Sainz. Ferrari pitted the Spaniard four laps earlier than his teammate in an attempt to get Leclerc in front. Ferrari’s Leclerc took the lead on lap 31, and Verstappen was still fourth when he pitted for a second time, seven laps after the second set of mediums. Leclerc and Russell followed him in a lap later trying to cover him off, but Russell came out behind the Red Bull and Ferrari made an error by fitting the hard tyres on which Leclerc found no grip. Within two laps of his stop, Verstappen had passed Leclerc, only to spin at the penultimate corner on the next lap, landing the de facto lead back to the Ferrari, before catching and passing him again four laps later. Once in the lead, Verstappen never really looked back.