Lewis Hamilton apologises for poor start as Max Verstappen continues dominance at Hungarian Grand Prix
With Lewis Hamilton sitting in pole position for the first time in 20 months, there was at least the smallest glimmer of hope that Max Verstappen might not have everything his own way for once.
The tiniest of margins denied the Dutchman on Saturday, Hamilton’s legendary one-lap pace giving him a long-awaited pole. But after 70 laps of the Hungarian Grand Prix the gap from winner Verstappen to runner up Lando Norris was gargantuan, with Hamilton’s hopes of a victory disappearing by turn two.
It was a seventh win in a row for Verstappen, his ninth of 11 in 2023 and meant that his team broke McLaren’s long-standing record for the most consecutive grands prix wins.
Hamilton, so jubilant on Saturday, apologised to his team after his poor start lost him three places off the line. It was unlikely he would have challenged for the win even had he held the lead, but his sluggish getaway possibly cost him a podium.
Verstappen was frustrated after a qualifying session that was “all over the place” but described his Sunday afternoon drive as the “perfect” day. “They are very rare, days like this. I think that it’s that good,” he said after stretching his drivers’ championship lead to more than 100 points over team-mate Sergio Perez.
LIGHTS OUT & AWAY WE GO! 💥
Max Verstappen takes the lead & Lewis Hamilton is down to P4 😱 pic.twitter.com/0SKle7FhfT— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 23, 2023
Worryingly, the 33-second margin that separated Verstappen – in an upgraded RB19 – and Norris was the largest of the season. It left Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff describing the difference between Red Bull and the rest as one F1 car against a field of F2 cars.
Red Bull’s new record will be rightly celebrated at the team, but should be cause for great concern everywhere else. Who knows when their golden run will end? The prospect of them winning every round of this 22-race season is real.
The fact that it took so long for McLaren’s 1988 record of 11 wins in a row speaks volumes about how superior the current Red Bull is to its rivals. Plenty of teams have dominated since then: Ferrari in the 2000s, Mercedes in the 2010s and even Red Bull from 2008-2013. But this Red Bull in the hands of Verstappen – and with a fragmented opposition behind them – was described by Christian Horner as “phenomenal”.
“We achieved history today which is something very special for the whole team,” the Red Bull team principal said.
“It’s taken 35 years but we’re the team that have managed to beat that, particularly with the quality of the opposition we’re racing against, is a phenomenal achievement and one the whole team can be immensely proud of.
“How long can we keep this winning run going, who knows? We are just taking it one event at a time. You’re seeing a team operating at such a high level.”
Horner expressed some nervousness that the two front-row starters might replay one of their numerous clashes that characterised a tempestuous yet thrilling 2021 season.
“A starting grid that has Lewis and Max starting alongside each other is always one that as a team principal you’re thinking, I hope I see the car round the first turn.”
In reality, there was little for Horner to worry about. The gap that separated Verstappen and Hamilton in qualifying was just three-thousandths of a second, but in a little more than that, Hamilton’s hopes of taking victory on one of his most favoured tracks evaporated.
Verstappen, on the inside and dirty line, took advantage of Hamilton’s slightly slow start, claiming the lead with ease. He never looked back. Hamilton was soon on the radio apologising for losing three places off the line, falling behind not only Verstappen but also the two McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Within laps, even the tiniest threat of jeopardy over the destination of the winner’s trophy disappeared. Fourth was where the seven-time champion would finish, in a slightly frustrating afternoon.
We have been used to Mercedes’ ups and downs over the past 12 months, but there seems to be a greater sense of realism and perspective about their performances at the moment. On Saturday Hamilton said that his only chance of a win needed him to keep the lead at the start. But looking at the sheer pace of Verstappen’s Red Bull, had he retained first it would not have been for long.
“It wasn’t the worst start I’ve ever had but obviously it wasn’t as good as Max’s,” Hamilton said. “After that I just didn’t have the pace to keep up with the guys, the balance of the car was pretty awful.”
“To beat everyone in qualifying was really spectacular for us, [it] obviously shows that whilst we don’t have the best car it was an incredible lap.
“We have a lot of work to do. We are a long way off beating the Red Bull in the race.”
Norris took a second consecutive podium for the first time in his career, fighting back after losing a place to team-mate Piastri at the start. As much as Verstappen’s win was never in doubt, Norris had enough pace in his McLaren that a podium spot was never truly under serious threat either.
There was an outside chance that Sergio Perez – who had a much-needed solid race, rising to third from ninth on the grid – might steal second from him at the death, but the Red Bull driver did not have the pace in the closing stages.
The race, unlike the qualifying session, was a soporific affair. Perhaps the most exciting moment involving Verstappen was Norris breaking the winner’s trophy with an over-exuberant celebration on the podium.
“Not my problem, it’s his!” Norris joked afterwards. Yet Verstappen continuing to pick up that trophy, broken or not, is every other driver’s problem right now.
Max Verstappen wins Hungarian Grand Prix: As it happened
04:00 PM BST
Updated constructor standings
03:59 PM BST
Updated driver standings: Top 10
Verstappen’s lead stretches to over 100 points.
03:58 PM BST
Max Verstappen on a record-breaking win for Red Bull
12 in a row breaks McLaren’s record from 1988.
“Yeah, we had finally a really good start. Very happy with that we’ve been working on it a bit. then I knew of course when I had the inside that corner was mine [vs Hamilton]. It was just late on the brakes, heavy car, luckily it all worked out well and basically from there I could do my race and today the car was really, really quick.
“I think over one lap this weekend it was a bit of a struggle but maybe it was probably a good thing for today. We could look after the tyre wear and that’s why we could create such a gap.
“For the team, 12 wins in a row is just incredible. Hopefully we can keep this momentum going for a long time. It’s always good to look into yesterday for example to keep pushing and always wanting to do better. “
03:54 PM BST
Lando Norris reacts to a second second in a row
“Tough race, not an easy one especially with Checo catching at the end. He didn’t have enough pace to catch me so I’m happy. Another podium for us and for McLaren which is amazing. If Max retires or something then maybe. At the minute the guys are took quick. Unless they make mistakes or something happens... at the moment we’re very happy with the progress we’ve made.
“Our time will come later on in the year. A lot of hard work, great teamwork, everyone back in the factory did an amazing job. We got a lot of abuse for McLaren in saying they weren’t doing a good enough job but I am happy we’ve proved some people wrong.”
03:53 PM BST
Sergio Perez reacts to a podium
He needed that.
“Yeah, we got close to P2, unfortunately we got through a lot of backmarkers. The track was unbelievably dirty off line. I think overall it was a great strategy by the team and we managed to have an excellent result. I think this sort of days do help and from now I just look forward to basically be on the podium every single weekend.”
03:43 PM BST
Hungarian Grand Prix - Classification
VER
NOR
PER
HAM
PIA
RIS
LEC
SAO
ALO
STR
ALB
BOT
RIC
HUL
TSU
ZHO
MAG
OUT: SAR, OCO, GAS
03:42 PM BST
Max Verstappen wins the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix
I think it was perhaps in doubt for about 200 metres today. Red Bull break McLaren’s win record by beating McLaren. Not that Norris was ever much of a threat today. Still, a fine driver from Norris. Perez third, Hamilton fourth.
03:41 PM BST
FINAL LAP
Such a crushing win this will be...
03:40 PM BST
Lap 69 of 70 - This could be Verstappen's biggest win of the season
32.6sec he is ahead at the moment.
03:40 PM BST
Lap 68 of 70 - Sargeant spun at the chicane
Easily done.
03:39 PM BST
Lap 67 of 70 - Verstappen leads Norris by 29.7sec
Norris’s second second place in a row should be safe now. Hamilton will catch Perez at this rate. A full second faster. Looks like Logan Sargeant has stopped out on track in the middle sector.
03:37 PM BST
Lap 66 of 70 - Perez's pace has dropped off
Maybe caught backmarkers because he lost a second to him. Hamilton has decent pace, though perhaps not enough to catch Perez by the end of the race. Six-tenths faster the last lap, he was.
03:35 PM BST
Lap 65 of 70 - Russell gets ahead of Sainz for seventh at turn one
So I have to say I am not sure what he’s talking about. Why would he have stopped? He sounds fairly excited on the radio. “Yeah, baby!”. A much better Sunday than Saturday. Leclerc a bit too far ahead of him in sixth, though.
03:33 PM BST
Lap 64 of 70 - Top 10 and gaps
VER
NOR +25.6
PER +29.5
HAM +34.9
PIA +46.9
LEC +50.9
SAI +56.8
RUS +57.5
ALO +64.0
STR +79.6
03:32 PM BST
Lap 63 of 70 - Russell wants to pit because he's losing time
That would drop him out of the points, most likely, but he may be able to make it back into them. But it would probably still be a net loss. May as well stay where he is. Alonso is not MILES faster than him, anyway.
03:30 PM BST
Lap 62 of 70 - Norris loses 0.4sec to Perez that time
That’s more like it. However, I do wonder if he’s going to be vulnerable by the very end. Not the easiest place to overtake but Perez really needs a podium here for his own confidence if nothing else.
03:29 PM BST
Lap 61 of 70 - Into the final 10 laps
Verstappen leads by nearly a pit stop. As I say he may well end up pitting to change tyres and claim the fastest lap bonus point. Having said that he might not need to because he currently holds it and there’s nobody else in the top 10 that has a big enough gap to the car behind to attempt it.
03:28 PM BST
Lap 60 of 70 - Full order
VER
NOR
PER
HAM
PIA
LEC
SAI
RUS
ALO
STR
ALB
BOT
RIC
HUL
SAR
TSU
ZHO
MAG
OUT: OCO, GAS
03:27 PM BST
Lap 59 of 70 - Russell watch
He is in a solid eighth, and is closing down on Sainz in seventh. Just two seconds the gap.
03:27 PM BST
Lap 58 of 70 - Verstappen leads Norris by 16.1sec
Perez takes 0.7sec out of Norris on the last lap, which should worry the McLaren driver. A podium is likely safe, though, with Hamilton 12 seconds further back. Norris might have lost some time lapping backmarkers as he takes to the radio to complain.
03:24 PM BST
Lap 57 of 70 - Hamilton gets Piastri for fourth
Up the inside at turn one with DRS, easy as you like. Shame, Piastri has had a good race but is struggling with his pace a bit. Norris is losing around 0.4sec per lap to Perez behind but if that trend were to continue it might only get him to within DRS range by the chequered flag.
03:23 PM BST
Lap 56 of 70 - Ricciardo with an improved performance
Has moved himself up to 13th but is on 26-lap old mediums which are the oldest tyres anyone has on so he might need to stop again. Still, ahead of Tsunoda and that is what matters.
03:21 PM BST
Lap 55 of 70 - Verstappen complains about marbles in turn one
Perez is faster than Norris, but not hugely. Norris has newer tyres.
03:20 PM BST
Lap 54 of 70 - Top 10 and gaps
VER
NOR +12.9
PER +19.9
PIA +28.1
HAM +31.9
LEC +38.2
SAI +44.3
RUS +46.2
ALO +54.2
STR +62.2
Albon is doing well here, just outside of the points but will struggle to make up the 13 seconds he has to 10th placed Lance Stroll.
03:19 PM BST
Lap 53 of 70 - Verstappen sets the new fastest lap
It was 2.7sec of so faster than Norris’s latest time...
03:17 PM BST
Lap 52 of 70 - Verstappen now leads Norris by 11.7sec
They have both stopped twice and they - like all of the top five - are on the medium tyres until the end of the race.
The battles to watch out for are Hamilton vs Piastri for fourth, and Perez vs Norris for second. Russell might be able to charge down Sainz for seventh, just 2.1sec the gap...
03:15 PM BST
Lap 51 of 70 - I've seen more interesting races, I'll tell you that
Anyway, leader Max Verstappen pits and moves onto the medium tyres for the final 19 laps of the race.
03:14 PM BST
Lap 50 of 70 - Full order
VER
NOR
PER
PIA
HAM
LEC
SAI
RUS
ALO
STR
ALB
BOT
RIC
HUL
SAR
TSU
ZHO
MAG
OUT: OCO, GAS
03:13 PM BST
Lap 49 of 70 - Verstappen dominates... still
Norris is closing up to within a second of Hamilton and is about 1.5sec a lap faster currently... but then Hamilton pits so that battle is over, Norris retakes second.
03:10 PM BST
Lap 48 of 70 - Verstappen leads
Here’s the top 10:
VER
HAM
NOR
PER
PIA
LEC
SAI
RUS
ALO
STR
03:10 PM BST
Lap 47 of 70 - Perez and Piastri duel at the start of the lap
Piastri tries to defend, hugging the apex and Perez gets the move done around the outside of turn one but Piastri fights it, running out onto the grass at turn three! Anyway, that’s that move done and that might well be Piastri’s chances of a podium done.
03:09 PM BST
Lap 46 of 70 - Hamilton told he'll pick the pace up towards the end
“This is as fast as it goes,” he says. Five second penalty for Leclerc.
03:08 PM BST
Lap 45 of 70 - Verstappen leads Hamilton by 32sec
Alonso makes a mistake at the pit stop and loses some time in the pit stop. A couple of bad races for Aston Martin.
Piastri and Perez trading fastest laps, with the Red Bull on the rear wing of the McLaren.
Leclerc noted for speeding in the pit lane. That will likely be a five-second time penalty. That could cost him the place against his team-mate.
03:05 PM BST
Lap 44 of 70 - Leclerc pits
So that releases Piastri. Perez is 1.7sec behind him. Norris is about to come into the pit lane himself from second.
03:03 PM BST
Lap 43 of 70 - In comes Perez
And in comes Piastri. Bold and it might work for him. 1.9sec stop for Perez. Hamilton stays out and will probably lose a place here and be unable to leapfrog Piastri like he might have done.
Oscar pits for Mediums and exits just in front of PER.#HungarianGP 🇭🇺 [Lap 44/70] pic.twitter.com/d8nFkLwbSv
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) July 23, 2023
03:01 PM BST
Lap 42 of 70 - Verstappen sets his fastest lap of the race
That extends his lead to 17.5sec over Lando Norris. Hamilton is still hanging on... just about. Perez tries to go around the outside at turn two but cannot make it stick as Hamilton defends well.
03:00 PM BST
Lap 41 of 70 - Perez gets DRS on Hamilton
It’s surely a matter of time. He currently has a tyre advantage. Bottas pits.
03:00 PM BST
Lap 40 of 70 - Full order
VER
NOR
PIA
HAM
PER
SAI
LEC
ALO
RUS
BOT
TSU
STR
ALB
MAG
RIC
HUL
SAR
ZHO
OUT: OCO, GAS
02:58 PM BST
Lap 39 of 70 - Verstappen leads Norris by 15 seconds
This feels like one of those races where Verstappen puts on the soft tyres with two laps left and claims the fastest lap bonus point.... just because he can.
02:56 PM BST
Lap 38 of 70 - Piastri, Hamilton and Perez all converging
Perez is going to get Hamilton before Hamilton reaches Piastri. Perez looks likely for a podium here.
02:55 PM BST
Lap 37 of 70 - Top 10 and gaps
VER
NOR +12.3
PIA +19.5
HAM +24.3
PER +25.9
SAI +37.2
LEC +38.8
ALO +45.9
RUS +52.9
BOT +57.1
02:54 PM BST
Lap 36 of 70 - Perez is told the podium is on
Ricciardo, who wants Perez’s Red Bull seat, is not having a good Sunday. He is 17th and last but one on the road after getting involved in a first-lap incident.
02:52 PM BST
Lap 35 of 70 - We reach half distance
Which is pretty much half distance for the season too. Can’t say it has been a great one. Russell gets Bottas for 10th. He’s having a decent fightback.
02:51 PM BST
Lap 34 of 70 - Verstappen leads by 10 seconds
Taking around 0.7sec out of Norris that time around. Hamilton continues to reel in Piastri at around a second a lap.
02:49 PM BST
Lap 33 of 70 - Full order
VER
NOR
PIA
HAM
PER
SAI
LEC
ALO
STR
BOT
RUS
TSU
HUL
ZHO
MAG
SAR
ALB
RIC
OUT: OCO, GAS
02:49 PM BST
Lap 32 of 70 - Verstappen leads Norris by 8.7sec
Hamilton’s pace on the hard tyres is better than the McLarens’. Well, better than Piastri’s anyway.
02:48 PM BST
Lap 31 of 70 - Verstappen giving feedback on the radio
It’s about the tyre compound and is really not that interesting. Anyway, he is breezing this race. Russell is closing on Alexander Albon after getting Tsunoda previously but Albon pits, avoiding the danger of being overtaken on track.
02:47 PM BST
Lap 30 of 70 - Perez sets the fastest lap of the race
Sainz with his best lap of the race, too. Verstappen clearly in a management stage of the race as he stretches his lead to seven seconds.
02:44 PM BST
Lap 29 of 70 - Russell has now pitted
He is running in 14th and on the medium tyres.
02:44 PM BST
Lap 28 of 70 - Verstappen leads Norris by 6.8s
Piastri is a further 4.2s behind with Hamilton 10 seconds down the road, albeit closing a bit on the Australian.
02:43 PM BST
Lap 27 of 70 - Finally some decent on-track battles
Russell, Perez, Sainz and the two Ferraris get into the action. Perez gets Russell at the start of the lap to move to fifth. Hamilton the net man up the road by six seconds or so. Late on the brakes into turn two and he made it stick. Needed something like that, to be honest.
02:41 PM BST
Lap 26 of 70 - Mercedes' race pace is very poor
Hamilton is now 11 seconds behind Piastri. Norris 5.4sec behind Verstappen which, after 26 laps is not too bad, I guess. Around 0.225sec per lap. McLaren looking comfortably the second fastest team this weekend on race pace.
02:39 PM BST
Lap 25 of 70 - In comes Perez
Can he challenge for the podium today? Probably, if he keeps it on the black stuff. He’s out in seventh on the medium tyres which means it’s just Russell in the top 10, in fifth, who has yet to pit.
Hamilton asks if his team are turning the engine down? “Where am I losing time, the car’s slow?” he asks. He is told that the team are doing things to improve the engine temperatures, though.
02:36 PM BST
Lap 24 of 70 - Verstappen comes out on the hard tyre
And with a lead of 3.1sec over team-mate Perez, who is yet to stop.
02:35 PM BST
Lap 23 of 70 - Pretty serene stuff from Verstappen out front
And in he comes for his first stop of the race.
02:34 PM BST
Lap 22 of 70 - Norris with another fastest lap
A 1:23.499. 2.3sec the gap to Piastri behind is. Bit unfair on Piastri that Norris got the undercut and the place.
02:32 PM BST
Lap 21 of 70 - Alonso pits from third which means Norris and Piastri...
...are back up into third and fourth. A Red Bull 1-2 but neither of them have stopped.
02:31 PM BST
Lap 20 of 70 - Top 10 and gaps
The top three and Russell have yet to stop.
VER
PER +21.5
ALO +26.1
NOR +28.9
PIA +29.8
RUS +34.1
HAM +39.5
SAI +41.3
STR +45.5
LEC +47.7
02:28 PM BST
Lap 19 of 70 - Piastri losing bigger and bigger chunks to Verstappen now
Leclerc has a very slow stop, a nine-second one, and he loses a lot of places. Norris pits and then so does Piastri the lap after.
The undercut works for Norris, as he takes the place ahead of Piastri... he does it with the fastest final two sectors of the race and then does the fastest first sector of the next lap. Could still be a double podium for McLaren, though.
02:26 PM BST
Lap 18 of 70: Watch - the incident that ended Alpine's race
A nightmare weekend for Alpine 😬
Both Gasly and Ocon are OUT after contact with eachother 💥 pic.twitter.com/X7UQKIyPgb— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 23, 2023
Meanwhile, Hamilton stops and comes out in eighth ahead of Daniel Ricciardo. Hamilton is on the hard tyres.
02:25 PM BST
Lap 16 of 70 - Sainz comes in in a bit to undercut Perez
Well, not undercut but stay ahead. He comes out in 11th on the hard tyres.
02:23 PM BST
Lap 15 of 70 - Full order
VER
PIA
NOR
HAM
LEC
SAI
PER
ALO
HUL
RUS
MAG
RIC
STR
BOT
ALB
TSU
ZHO
SAR
OUT: OCO, GAS
02:22 PM BST
Lap 14 of 70 - Logan Sargeant comes in for his first stop
He goes onto the hard tyres. This might be an interesting race were Verstappen to retire...
02:21 PM BST
Lap 13 of 70 - Not really sure what to say about this race now
Currently no driver is within one second of another driver. Verstappen leads by five seconds.
02:20 PM BST
Lap 12 of 70 - Bottas with the new fastest lap
On his fresh hard tyres. Verstappen’s lead is now edging towards five seconds.
02:19 PM BST
Lap 11 of 70 - Verstappen extends his lead to four seconds
......
02:17 PM BST
Lap 10 of 70 - Top 10 and gaps
VER
PIA +3.1
NOR +5.5
HAM +7.5
LEC +9.4
SAI +12.0
PER +13.8
ALO +16.9
HUL +17.9
RUS +20.6
02:16 PM BST
Lap 9 of 70 - Stroll, Tsunoda and Bottas stop
The first scheduled stops for anyone, aside from Albon.
02:15 PM BST
Lap 8 of 70 - Verstappen with the fastest lap of the race so far
A 1:24.487, pretty much half a second faster than Piastri on that lap. Norris with some good middle sector times but isn’t rally closing up too much on his team-mate.
02:14 PM BST
Lap 7 of 70 - Verstappen extends his lead to two seconds
Just a few tenths faster than Piastri every time around, at least. Zhou gets a five-second time penalty for that collision at the start. Perez gets Alonso with a move down the inside at turn one. Alonso doesn’t fight it very hard, if at all.
02:11 PM BST
Lap 6 of 70 - Hulkenberg holding his ninth place well for Haas
He has Stroll and Tsunoda close behind on the soft tyres. Norris sets the fastest middle sector but is 1.5s behind team-mate Piastri.
02:10 PM BST
Lap 5 of 70 - Verstappen leads Piastri by 1.8s
Yes, this is a very familiar sight this season. Perez is up into eighth on the hard tyres and is now hassling Alonso on the mediums. DRS has been enabled and Sainz is within DRS range of Leclerc ahead of him, his Ferrari team-mate.
02:08 PM BST
Lap 4 of 70 - Verstappen leads Piastri by 1.3s
“Sorry about that guys,” Hamilton says. Zhou got an awful start and just did not get off the line quickly enough. Ricciardo went into the back of Ocon at turn one, possibly caused by Zhou, and then Ocon is launched across the rear wing of Gasly who has a broken rear wing. He has now retired.
Zhou collides with Ricciardo at the start, both drives drop down the field #HungarianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/WgI6Ih3SxZ
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 23, 2023
02:07 PM BST
Lap 3 of 70 - An awful start for Alfa Romeo
Fifth and seventh at the start and now Bottas is in 12th and Zhou is in 16th... not sure if he and Ricciardo got caught up in that lap one incident. Both Alpines are in the pit lane. Not sure if they will be able to carry on...
02:05 PM BST
Lap 2 of 70 - Top 10
It has changed slightly:
VER
PIA
NOR
HAM
LEC
SAI
ALO
PER
HUL
STR
Russell has had a fine start and is up to 13th on the hard tyres.
02:05 PM BST
The 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix is go!
Hamilton does not get a good start, getting slightly bogged down. Verstappen keeps the inside line and sticks it down the inside and takes the lead at turn one!
It gets worse for Hamilton, though, as he is then swamped at turns two and three and falls behind both McLarens with Piastri ahead of Norris.
⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️
⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️
LIGHTS OUT IN BUDAPEST!!! 🇭🇺
Verstappen beats Hamilton to Turn 1 and leads! #HungarianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/z1o1Ad7COF— Formula 1 (@F1) July 23, 2023
There’s an incident with a few backmarkers at turn one, involving the two Alpines, I believe. They are now in the last two places.
02:02 PM BST
Here we go...
This could be fun. Let’s not rule out Norris as a factor, either.
02:00 PM BST
The formation lap is go!
70 laps today, probably a two or three stopper. It’s hot out there, though there is some wind. Everyone away cleanly, anyway.
01:59 PM BST
Starting tyre types
Hamilton, Verstappen, Norris, Piastri, Zhou, Leclerc, Bottas, Alonso, Hulkenberg, Ocon, ricciardo, Albon, Magnussen, Sargeant: mediums
Perez, Russell: hards
Sainz, Stroll, Gasly, Tsunoda: softs
01:58 PM BST
Current conditions at the track
Track temp: 49.6c
Air temp: 28.6
Wind speed: 1.5m/s
Humidity: 34 per cent
Chance of rain: 0 per cent
01:53 PM BST
Predictions?
I mean... it would be nice were it to be a competitive race at the front, but can you really see that happening? Hamilton says he needs to “pull a rabbit out of the hat” against Verstappen today.
01:47 PM BST
Spotted in the paddock earlier on today
Christian Horner and Mohammed Ben Sulayem having a bit of a chat. It looked cordial and ended with a handshake.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem e Chris Horner #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/WEGhVBluOO
— Giulia Toninelli (@GiuliaToninell) July 23, 2023
01:45 PM BST
Strategy: It could be a two-stopper, it could be a three-stopper
Two stops are estimated to be the fastest race strategy for the #HungarianGP – but there are viable one and three-stop options too 🧮 #Fit4F1 pic.twitter.com/EqHuqciayO
— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) July 23, 2023
We often get divergent strategies here. Who can forget Michael Schumachers nine-stop strategy with 7,503 qualifying laps in a row in 1998? I joke. It was actually a three-stop strategy when almost everyone else did two. And it won him the race.
Anyway, just about 15 minutes to go until we begin the formation lap.
01:40 PM BST
How do the F1 teams fare in qualifying so far this year?
A few switches of position since this was last published, with McLaren moving up and Alpine down. A fairly rotten weekend for Alpine here so far. Esteban Ocon won here two years ago...
01:32 PM BST
Red Bull can break a long-standing F1 record today
A record for the most wins in a row. They currently share that record with McLaren in 1988, but it seems the most likely outcome by far today. It would be 11 this season and one at the end of last that would make that run up. That McLaren car won all but one of the races and is currently the most dominant statistically in F1’s history. To beat the record percentage win rate for a season Red Bull can only afford to not win one round from here until the end of the year. So that record may stay intact.
01:23 PM BST
The grid
How they line up today:
1 HAM 2. VER
3. NOR 4. PIA
5. ZHO 6. LEC
7. BOT 8. ALO
9. PER 10. HUL
11. SAI 12. OCO
13. RIC 14. STR
15. GAS 16. ALB
17. TSU 18. RUS
19. MAG 20. SAR
01:18 PM BST
What Ricciardo thinks about today
“I’ve been to a few races this year and usually at this time in the day I’m just eating ice cream or something so it’s cool to be back.
“I’m really happy to kind of just feel the car early on and during the two days and have that comfort level quite early, it’s a good sign that it’s something we can work with in the car. I think today is going to be another hill to climb. I haven’t really done any proper long runs yet so it will be a challenge to feel the car in high fuel, old tyres, so we will see how we fare.”
01:11 PM BST
Daniel Ricciardo watch
Daniel Ricciardo returned to F1 for the first time since his dropping by McLaren at the end of next year. He is on loan to Red Bull’s sister team AlphaTauri until the end of the season following Nyck de Vries’s dropping by the team.
How has he done? Well, it’s been a good start in what has been a difficult car so far this year. He out-qualified team-mate Yuki Tsunoda by a few spots and made it into Q2. That is as much as could be expected at this point and, in truth, if he finished where he started it wouldn’t be too bad.
Given Perez’s awful form which has continued this weekend, that path to Red Bull may just be opening up.
01:04 PM BST
Current constructor standings
12:59 PM BST
What Hamilton had to say after his long-awaited pole position
“It’s been a crazy year and half. I’ve lost my voice from shouting so much in the car. We’ve been pushing so hard over this time to get this pole, it just feels like the first time. I didn’t expect coming today that we’d be fighting for pole. When I went to the last run I gave it everything... there was nothing left in it.
“It’s been massively challenging for every single person in the team. It’s a big rollercoaster ride. None of us have lost faith... today we were losing so much time in turn four in and 11... I just sent it and hope I stayed on track.
“It’s going to continue to be tough moving on from here but this shows that we are hopefully on the right track. Right at the end the soft tyre felt extraordinary. For us finally having a relatively calm balance through the corners. Hats off to the team, we did a great job.”
12:53 PM BST
Current driver standings: Top 10
12:46 PM BST
Qualifying times
Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1min 16.609secs
Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:16.612
Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1:16.694
Oscar Piastri (Aus) McLaren 1:16.905
Guanyu Zhou (Chn) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:16.971
Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:16.992
Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:17.034
Fernando Alonso (Spa) Aston Martin 1:17.035
Sergio Perez (Mex) Red Bull 1:17.045
Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Haas F1 Team 1:17.186
Carlos Sainz Jr. (Spa) Ferrari 1:17.703
Esteban Ocon (Fra) Alpine 1:17.841
Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Scuderia AlphaTauri 1:18.002
Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin 1:18.144
Pierre Gasly (Fra) Alpine 1:18.217
Alexander Albon (Tha) Williams 1:18.917
Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) Scuderia AlphaTauri 1:18.919
George Russell (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:19.027
Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 Team 1:19.206
Logan Sargeant (USA) Williams 1:19.248
12:25 PM BST
Good afternoon F1 fans
Welcome to our coverage for the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring, just a little outside of Budapest. It may have been mentioned before, but the competitive picture at the very front this season has been pretty dire. Red Bull have dominated and Max Verstappen is strolling to a third drivers’ title. Yet in qualifying yesterday we had arguably the session of the season and one of the truly great and memorable Saturday afternoons in the last decade or so.
It was a long wait, but Lewis Hamilton secured his first pole position since Saudi Arabia 2023 with a lap time that was just 0.003sec faster than Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Lando Norris’s McLaren finished third and was within a tenth of a second of Hamilton. It follows his superb performances in the previous two rounds, which included a podium at the British Grand Prix.
In fact, the top 10 had a fairly unusual look to it, with just one Ferrari, two Alfa Romeos and the Haas of Nico Hulkenberg, who has been superb in qualifying all year. Sergio Perez made it into Q3 for the first time in five races, but finishing ninth is hardly much of an improvement.
Verstappen’s five-race long run of pole positions has ended, yes, but will his six-race long run of wins end here today? Well, understandably the bookies have him as an enormous favourite for the race. The Red Bull does not have a 100 per cent record in qualifying, but it does in races.
Beating it over one lap on Saturday is one thing but the race today takes place over 70 laps. As improved as some of Verstappen’s challengers are today, it is a big ask to expect them to do it over a full race distance. The Mercedes has, at least, been better in race trim than in qualifying usually, however.
Still, the Hungarian Grand Prix sometimes throws up unusual conditions and results even in the dry, so there is at least some optimism that a Mercedes or McLaren might at least be able to make Verstappen’s afternoon a little uncomfortable.
In any case, we will find out as the race begins at 2pm BST.