F1 Hungarian GP Live Commentary and Updates – Race day
By: Haydn Cobb, Megan White, Stephen Lickorish
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Status: Stopped
It is time to say goodbye for today. We'll be back after the summer break for the Belgian GP on the 26-28 August. Until then, have a lovely few weeks. Go well!
With that, the fun and the thrust of the live action is over, as the paddock gets busy to pick through the bones of that one. Another Ferrari strategy blunder or were Red Bull, and to an extent Mercedes, just too good?
So, Verstappen's win sees him take an 80-point lead over Leclerc into the summer break. He could have the next three races off and still be in front.
Zhou finished 13th in front of Schumacher so it won't mean much regarding the points places. But one to keep an eye on later.
A Turn 13 incident involving Zhou and Schumacher will be investigated by the stewards for, presumably Zhou as he finished 0.2s ahead, leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
The top three move into the cooldown room and watch the highlights. "They were on the hards?!" Hamilton quizzes Verstappen and Russell, referring to Leclerc being overtaken by Verstappen. I think that's what Leclerc will also be asking Ferrari later.
Russell on his third place: "When it was spitting at the start and we were on the soft tyres I thought it [the win] was on. We had a strong start and good first stint, but on the mediums and a bit more rain we really struggled. But we are making progress."
Top three interviewer David Coulthard spots Hamilton's race suit is ripped on the left arm. He says he has no idea how that happened.
Hamilton on second place and his race pace: "I honestly don't know. I was struggling at the beginning of the race and wasn't sure if I could catch the guys up front."
Verstappen puts his spin to a clutch slip issue but he can laugh about it now, calling it "heating up the tyres".
Verstappen on his win: "I was hoping I could get close to a podium [at the start]... but even with the 360 we still won the race!"
That late Virtual Safety Car and rain made things iffy late on but Verstappen had plenty of time in hand to ease to victory. Remember, he started the race from 10th on the grid and spun during the race, but still won with ease!
Norris takes seventh ahead of the Alpines in eighth and ninth, with Vettel rounding off the points places
Russell completes the podium in third place ahead of Sainz as Perez just holds on to fifth from Leclerc.
Verstappen leads on the final lap but the gap to Hamilton is falling, can he reach the chequered flag in time?
Leclerc is told his car is OK as racing gets underway just as the rain arrives on the penultimate lap!
"Is the car all OK?" Leclerc asks over team radio. "Standby," is the reply. That really sums up his day.
Leclerc's bemusing race still sees him in sixth but he's in range of catching Perez before the finish.
Vettel has now made it past Stroll for 10th, three days after announcing he'll retire at the end of this season
Hamilton is 10.9s behind Verstappen with five laps to go. That's probably too much to bridge without any further interventions.
On lap 65 Hamilton gets the job done on Russell to take second. He goes around the outside at Turn 1 and on the switch back applies the throttle to blast ahead at Turn 2.
Will Russell make it easy for his team-mate to overtake and chase after Verstappen? Not yet, as the younger Brit keeps his car planted in the way to stay second.
Such is Hamilton's superior pace he almost collects Sainz coming out of the final corner, but he blasts by the Ferrari on the main straight to easily take third. Both Ferraris off the podium as it stands.
Verstappen is matching Russell's pace to keep that 8.6s gap in the lap, with Sainz quicker than the pair of them and then Hamilton quicker than all three. This isn't over yet.
"We think tyres will be fine to the end," Russell is told over team radio. He's aiming to hold on for second place from here, but will come under fire from Sainz and Hamilton before the finish.
Hamilton is the fastest driver on track, aided by his fresh softs, and puts in a new fastest lap of 1m21.560s. He's in fourth but is lapping 1.5s faster than Verstappen with a 15.3s gap to the leader.
Verstappen, on the same tyres as Russell, holds a 8.6s lead over the Mercedes driver with 14 laps to go. Unless any further drama is to come, you'd think the Red Bull driver can see himself home from here.
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