Hungarian Grand Prix result: Lando Norris wins from Max Verstappen with Kimi Antonelli third
Verstappen was unhappy with his car for most of the race, but Red Bull made a masterful move by installing soft tires on his car during the second pit stop.
The aim was to challenge Hamilton in the following laps after the seven-time champion made an early second pit stop with 40 laps remaining.
The situation was heading towards a tense climax when Piastri’s retirement brought VSC into existence.
This led to late pit stops and Ferrari picked up both drivers and placed them behind Verstappen.
Hamilton emerged from the pits after the Italian driver had fallen below the VSC and passed Antonelli at the first corner, but had to give up his place after the restart as the Mercedes driver had just crossed the key line on the track ahead.
Antonelli and Hamilton began chasing towards Verstappen but were delayed as they lapped Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto.
It looked like a decisive result but in the end Verstappen was able to comfortably keep Antonelli at bay, crossing the line 3.6 seconds ahead.
Another important point in Verstappen’s race was that Ferrari passed Hamilton again after taking the lead for a short time after the first pit stop.
This gave him a breath of fresh air and allowed the Dutchman to consolidate his third-place race position behind the McLarens, laying the foundations for Red Bull’s recent strategy call.
Hamilton will leave Hungary with another penalty – the penalty for speeding in the pit lane was his second in two days after blocking Piastri in qualifying, and followed two other penalties in the previous two races in Belgium and England.
Behind him, Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar was sixth ahead of Russell, who responded strongly and dropped to 21st on the first lap after the anti-stall feature was activated at the start.
In the Aston Martin, Lance Stroll finished 13th ahead of teammate Fernando Alonso; their positions were determined to some extent by luck and the influence of different strategies in the VSC.
But the key was that Alonso in particular was able to challenge other cars for the first time and run a long first lap on soft tires before switching to mediums, a bold strategy.
The long-awaited upgrade to their car, which was new except for the front suspension, engine and gearbox, shaved lap times by nearly two seconds.
There will be a Honda engine upgrade for the next race in the next four weeks after the summer break, the Dutch Grand Prix, and the team are hoping this will push them even higher and potentially open up the possibility of occasional points.
