Hamilton wins Hungarian Grand Prix with brilliant late charge

Lewis Hamilton stormed to a sensational come-from-behind victory for Mercedes in the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday at the Hungaroring. 

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen led from pole for much of the race, and heading into the final laps had a comfortable lead of up to 20 seconds as he appeared to be cruising to a fine victory.

But Hamilton was running on the faster medium tyres in the closing stages of the race and was reducing the gap significantly every single lap. On lap 67, he was finally able to pass his rival and then from there built his own large gap in the front en route to the chequered flag.

Hamilton won in a total race time of 1h 35m 03.796s. He completed the sprint 17.796s clear of Verstappen, while Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel captured the final podium step 1m 01.433s behind the winner.

With the result, Hamilton claimed his 81st win in Formula 1 and his eighth of the season in 12 races. It was also his seventh victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix, equalling the Canadian Grand Prix as his most successful race for wins.

Vettel enjoyed his own late overtake against teammate Charles Leclerc, who was classified fourth.

Carlos Sainz Jr of McLaren was an impressive fifth, while Pierre Gasly in the other Red Bull car finished sixth. Rounding out the top 10 were Kimi Raikkonen of Alfa Romeo Racing, Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes car, Lando Norris in the othe McLaren and Alexander Albon of Toro Rosso.

Following his win, Hamilton commented: “We’ve been together for seven years, but this feeling never gets old. If it wasn’t for
everyone here and back at the factory, this wouldn’t have been possible. I’m so grateful to be a part of it and for the team for continuing to believe in me, push the limits and take a risk.

“We struggled a little with the brakes today, so I was trying to save as much as I could for when I had a chance to pass Max. It was very, very difficult to get by. I wasn’t sure if I could close the 19-second gap, but the team said to just get your head down, so I did. I kept pushing, the gap closed and the laps were like Qualifying laps.

“I was on the limit all the way. I take my hat off to the team and I think if Niki were here today, he would take his hat off too.”

Following the race, Hamilton improved to 250 points atop the Drivers’ Championship standings, followed by Bottas with 188 and Verstappen with 181. Mercedes also lead the Constructors’ standings with 438 points, followed by Ferrari with 288 and Red Bull Racing with 244.

With 12 races complete, the Formula 1 season is now headed for a nearly a month-long summer break. The second half of the season, which will feature nine more Grands Prix, will resume in Belgium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps with the Belgian Grand Prix on September 1.