With an impressive comeback, the Formula 1 world champion secures victory at the Hungaroring. He benefits once again from a debacle for Ferrari. Charles Leclerc continues to lose ground in the World Cup.
Impressive performance: World Champion Max Verstappen moves up from tenth place in Hungary
Laughing and cheering at Red Bull and Mercedes, but embarrassed faces at Ferrari: A week after the disappointing race in France, Scuderia Ferrari again missed the podium with both drivers and experienced the next debacle of the season. Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc started the race from second and third on the grid, but ultimately only finished fourth and sixth. Instead, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen once again secured victory. The Dutchman celebrated his eighth win of the season in the 13th race of the year at the Hungaroring and further extended his championship lead.
After technical problems in qualifying, Verstappen only started the race from tenth on the grid, but managed to catch up impressively. The gap at the start and a spin when he briefly lost control of his car at the end of a corner could not stop the 24-year-old. “I was hoping to get close to the podium,” said Verstappen at the finish. “The conditions were difficult. But we had a great strategy and I still won despite the spin.” Behind the world champion from the Netherlands, the two Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell occupied the other podium places.
Ferrari not competitive on hard tires
The result was also a bitter disappointment for Ferrari because Leclerc was on course for victory until the middle of the race. But when the Monegasque, in the lead after 40 of 70 laps, switched to the white, hard tyre, his fate took a turn. Leclerc couldn't cope at all with the hard tire compound. His Ferrari had no grip in the corners, it slipped and wobbled, the difficulty accelerating out was correspondingly great. Leclerc, who was third at the time, was no longer able to keep up with the lap times of the others. A short time later he was overtaken by Verstappen.
Scuderia Ferrari and their team boss Mattia Binotto experienced in Hungary Have a nice Sunday
Although the two changed positions again briefly because of Verstappen's spin, it didn't last long. Only a few laps after his mishap, Verstappen started to overtake again and let Leclerc stand as easily as if the Monegasse were a lapped driver . A little later, the Ferrari driver also had to let the qualifying winner Russell pass almost without resistance.
“We have to discuss this with the team and see what was behind the strategy,” said Leclerc on the Sky microphone after the race. “We were strong on the medium tyre, I don't know why we switched to the hard tyre. I slipped all over the place. We actually lost the race there.” In order to be able to keep up again, Leclerc was called into the pits again with 15 laps to go, put on soft tires, but dropped back to sixth place due to the stop. As a result, his gap to Verstappen in the World Cup grew to 80 points.
Sebastian Vettel in the top ten
Sebastian Vettel drove a strong race. The four-time world champion, who announced his retirement at the end of the season on Thursday, moved up from 18th on the grid to tenth in the Aston Martin, thus scoring a championship point. The second German pilot, Mick Schumacher, steered his Haas to 14th place and got nothing. Formula 1 said goodbye to a nearly four-week summer break with the Hungarian Grand Prix. On the 27th/28th August it continues in the Belgian Spa.
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The Hungarian Grand Prix in Numbers:
Result: 1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1:39:35.912 hours, 2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:39:43.746, 3.George Russell (Mercedes) 1:39:48.249, 4. Carlos Sainz jr. (Ferrari) 1:39:50.491, 5. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) 1:39:51.6, 6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 1:39: 51.959, 7. Lando Norris (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:40:54.212, one lap down: 8. Fernando Alonso (Alpine-Renault), 9. Esteban Ocon (Alpine-Renault), 10. Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin-Mercedes)
Championship standings: 1. Verstappen 258 points, 2nd Leclerc 178, 3rd Perez 173, 4th Russell 158, 5th Sainz jr. 156, 6. Hamilton 146, 7. Norris 76
- < img src="https://static.dw.com/image/62370518_303.jpg" /> Formula 1: Heavy accidents with a good outcome
Total write-off
In 2007, Sauber pilot Robert Kubica took off spectacularly in Montreal. His car crashes into the wall and is thrown across the track into the other wall. The car comes to a standstill on its side, Kubica is unconscious. The Pole is back on his feet the very next day. All he has is bruises, a minor concussion and a sprained foot.
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Formula 1: Heavy accidents with a good outcome
28 seconds in the fire
Shortly after the start in Bahrain, Romain Grosjean collided with Daniil Kvyat in 2020 and crashed into the guardrail at over 200 kilometers per hour. His haas breaks and turns into a fireball. Grosjean sits in the flames for almost half a minute before he can free himself. Two burned hands, a broken foot – miraculously, nothing else happens to the Frenchman.
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Formula 1: Violent accidents with a good outcome
Landing on the “roof”
In 2001 there was a violent crash in Hockenheim. Michael Schumacher has a problem with the gearshift at the start and cannot get away. The Brazilian Luciano Burti drives Schumi's Ferrari into the rear, is catapulted upwards and crashes onto the non-existent roof. Minutes later, Burti – now with a replacement car – is behind the wheel again when the car restarts. Only his arm hurts a bit.
Formula 1: Heavy accidents with a good outcome
Schumacher candle in Melbourne
Similar to Burti Ralf Schumacher a year later in Melbourne – and again a Ferrari is the trigger: Rubens Barrichello tries to prevent Schumacher from overtaking by constantly changing lanes right after the start. Schumacher crashes into the Brazilian's rear and is catapulted into the air. After a hard landing, he comes to a halt in the tire wall at the end of the run-off zone.
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Formula 1: Heavy accidents with a good outcome
Lots of scrap< /h2>
In 1987, chaos reigned at the Austrian Grand Prix: there was a pile-up at the start. The second attempt to take off also brought many collisions because Nigel Mansell and Gerhard Berger started very badly and blocked the way for the following pilots. With the exception of one driver, all of them are present for the third attempt to start – many, however, in the replacement vehicle from the pit lane.
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Formula 1: Serious accidents with good results
Back flip
In 1993, at a time when Formula 1 cars were nowhere near as safe as they are today, Christian Fittipaldi was extremely lucky: after a collision on the Monza start-finish straight, his car took off and performed a backflip . The Minardi-Ford lands back on the tires and Fittipaldi is completely unhurt. “I was born again that day,” he says later.
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Formula 1: Violent accidents with good results
Rollover with flying steering wheel
In 2010, Mark Webber is about to overtake in Valencia when Heikki Kovalainen suddenly applies the brakes. Webber's Red Bull crashes into the Finn's rear, is shot up and rolls over. Webber crashes violently into the tire wall, but is not injured, but above all pissed off. As an impressive sign of life, he throws his steering wheel out of the car onto the asphalt.
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Formula 1: Serious accidents with a good outcome
Jump over Leclerc
In 2018 there was a bang at the start of the Belgian Grand Prix. Nico Hülkenberg drives Fernando Alonso into the rear, who then flies over Charles Leclerc's car in his McLaren. The halo protects the Monegasque from bad consequences: Studies by the world association FIA show that Leclerc would have been hit in the head by Alonso's front wheel if the bar had not protected him.
- < img src="https://static.dw.com/image/62370409_303.jpg" /> Formula 1: Serious accidents with good results
25 meter flight into the wall
Two years earlier, Alonso had a capable guardian angel: in Melbourne he collided with Esteban Gutierrez and lost control of his car. His McLaren takes off, flies about 25 meters and crashes headfirst into the track barrier. “My mother is watching, I wanted to get out quickly so she would know I'm ok,” the uninjured Spaniard says afterwards.
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Formula 1: Serious accidents with a good outcome
A heap of scrap
Gyanyu Zhou's accident at Silverstone in 2022 was similar: Georg Russell touches Zhou's Alfa so unhappily that the car turns around and slides hundreds of meters the wrong way over the asphalt and through the gravel. In the end he flies over the tire stacks into the safety fence. The Chinese is being examined after the horror crash, but is able to leave the Medical Center unharmed after a short time.
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