Verstappen recovers from P10 to take Hungarian GP win as Mercedes secure double podium
Max Verstappen won the 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix from P10 with pitch-perfect execution of Red Bull’s strategy, while Lewis Hamilton finished second ahead of his pole-sitting Mercedes team mate George Russell.
Verstappen entered race day in damage limitation mode after an error on his first qualifying lap was followed by a power unit issue on his second effort. That left him mired in 10th place on the grid—and hoping to salvage points. Instead, he claimed his 28th career victory and it is now a case of when not if he secures his second world title.
Mercedes driver George Russell led the first lap on his maiden pole on soft tires and pitted on Lap 15, soft-shod Verstappen pitting from P5 a lap later to force Carlos Sainz to pit from the lead. Charles Leclerc meanwhile stayed out in the lead, extending his first stint until Lap 22. Russell led again but was passed by Sainz on Lap 31. So, from P4, Verstappen forced the issue with a second stop for mediums on Lap 39.
Crucially, with that stop, Verstappen had pulled off an undercut on Sainz and had an advantage on Leclerc too, who started on mediums to swap for the same compound after a lengthy first stint – and from the lead pitting from hard tires well after Verstappen. Verstappen cleared LeClerc with ease soon after that and it became clear that hard tires weren’t the answer as Leclerc fell to P6 quickly where he switched again for softs while Verstappen won by 7.8s.[vc_single_image image="4619" img_size="full" add_caption="yes" alignment="center" onclick="link_image"]“It feels crazy to have won the race today from P10, especially on a track like this where it’s very hard to pass," said Verstappen post race. “We made all the right calls today, there were some good undercuts and overall we did a great job today as a Team. This was definitely one of my best races, despite the little 360-degree spin! I’m very happy with the lead that we have, but of course we have to keep pushing and win more races.”
Now, Verstappen enters Formula 1’s month-long summer recess with a commanding 80-point advantage after an the victory, as Ferrari once again continues their blundering season while Mercedes marches forwards with another podium finish as they seem to have made the right changes to their car.
“They were on the Hards,” said a bemused Lewis Hamilton in the pre-podium cool-down room.
“Yeah,” chuckled Verstappen.
While shocking that the one-time arch rivals were unified in their surprise, almost mocking, of Ferrari’s strategy, it was equally as shocking that this was another race at which Ferrari blundered away another double podium finish.
Ferrari turned second and third starting positions, combined with favorable track position much of the day into fourth and sixth place finishes by the checkered flag.
Frankly, their title ambitions are over before the autumnal rounds have begun, and now it surely cannot even be assured of second amid the resurgence of Mercedes.
As for Verstappen, while as a driver he had to do his part to secure a stunning come back win, this race was won from the pit wall with Red Bull Formula 1 strategist Hannah Schmitz as she has proved herself to be one of the best in the sport this season making the right calls in multiple races this season thus creating putting Red Bull on the cusp of back to back drivers championships and pulling the team that much closer to a Constuctors Title.
“You can’t afford many mistakes,” Verstappen said after the race. “It’s of course very hard to always be on the good side, let’s say it like that. But I think we have a lot of good guys and girls in the team. Today, I think Hannah, our strategist, was insanely calm. Yeah, she’s very good.”
What’s next?
Red Bull enjoy a 97-point lead in the constructors’ championship; Verstappen has an 80-point lead in the drivers’ standings, and the teams and drivers have a break to reflect on the first half of the season. Action resumes with the Belgian Grand Prix on August 26-28.[vc_single_image image="4616" img_size="full" alignment="center"][vc_single_image image="4617" img_size="full" alignment="center"][vc_single_image image="4618" img_size="full" alignment="center"]
