F1 Hungarian GP Live Commentary and Updates – Race
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2024 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix.
F1 takes on a double-header dash before the summer break, starting in Hungary before a trip to Spa-Francorchamps, following the thrilling recent trio of races concluded by Lewis Hamilton’s emotional British GP triumph.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri locked out the front row of the grid in qualifying in Budapest, with Max Verstappen lurking from third on the grid.
Who will take victory? The race gets under way at 3pm BST.
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"Well that's some gentle introduction," Lambiase tells Verstappen over team radio about his tyres - but the reply is far from friendly: "No mate. Don't give me that s***. You guys gave me this s*** strategy, OK? I'm trying to rescue what's left. F***."
What's more, Verstappen also has a nine-lap tyre life advantage over Hamilton, while he is on mediums against the Brit's hards. The fight for the final podium spot is 100% on, but can Verstappen turn it into a fight for something more?
Verstappen posts a new fastest lap of 1m20.908s - just the two seconds quicker on that lap than Leclerc - so he is flying up to the rear of the Ferrari.
Verstappen pits at the end of lap 49 to drop to fifth, behind Leclerc, but he has the freshest tyres of them all for the sprint to the finish. The Dutch driver has 4.5s to catch Leclerc first up.
Piastri runs wide at Turn 12 and dips his left-hand side wheels on the gravel to give McLaren a fright. He gets away with it.
Norris is told over McLaren team radio to "reestablish the order at your convenience" which is a very polite way of saying give the lead back to Piastri before the end of the race.
Such is the pace that Perez and Russell have displayed since being released, the Red Bull has stopped for the second time and returned ahead of Tsunoda.
A lap later Piastri does pit and also gets another set of mediums but he comes out behind Norris. McLaren has told the Australian "to not worry about Norris". Will McLaren enact a switch later in the race?
Piastri doesn't pit on the next lap so he is at risk of being undercut by Norris...
Alonso will jump back into the points as Stroll makes his second stop.
The gap is decreasing to Tsunoda and the RB driver may well look for a late second stop anyway.
Norris pits at the end of lap 45, taking on mediums, and comes out in fourth to cover the undercut from Hamilton.
Leclerc hasn't found a way by Hamilton despite the theoretical tyre advantage at the start of this stint on his mediums compared to the British driver's hard. The gap between the two is 1.2s.
A replay shows how Piastri lost all that time earlier, as he ran wide coming out of Turn 11 on lap 33 all on his own which cost him about 2s. His lead is currently at 1.6s over Norris.
An easy overtake for Alonso to get back towards the top 10 - Bottas tamely yields into T1.
But there's a 10-second gap to Tsunoda in P10 now for the two-time champion.
Verstappen has another jab at Red Bull over team radio, this time over his race strategy having been undercut by Hamilton in the earlier stops. The Dutch driver is very grumpy today.
Hamilton is out on another set of hards, while Leclerc is on fresh mediums. Hamilton heads Leclerc in fifth as they build up the tyre life in order to make it to the finish with 28 laps to go.
"Mode 9, press and hold the overtake," Verstappen is told over team radio. But he doesn't need that advice, as Hamilton pits for Mercedes and is followed in by Leclerc.
Russell has made his way past Stroll now, that's P8 for the Briton and he has just three seconds to Perez. That could be a battle worth following as the race nears its end in thirty laps time.
Norris is given the OK to fight team-mate Piastri for the time being over team radio. The Australian leads by 1.3s, while both McLarens are over 8s clear of Hamilton who continues to hold off Verstappen.
Verstappen can haul in Hamilton under traction, and with DRS, but he doesn't appear confident to attack under braking today. Another lap goes by with Hamilton able to make his Mercedes wide enough to block the Red Bull.
Alonso had cycled back through to P7 but is following the trend of making a second stop. He returns in P13, but we have seen the effect of fresh tyres already.
Verstappen is back in DRS range of Hamilton, so they restart their fight for third. This fight is also letting Leclerc close in on both of them.
From Alpine: “We have retired Pierre’s car as a result of a suspected hydraulic leak.”
Perez is really on a charge, this time disposing of Stroll for P8. Alonso is only two seconds up the road - a solid race when Perez most needed it.
At the front Piastri's lead has dropped to 1.6s over Norris, but the Hamilton and Verstappen fight has allowed the McLaren pair to pull clear with a 6s buffer.
"I'm minus 5 brake bias and this thing just doesn't f****** turn. It's unbelievable," Verstappen fumes over team radio.
On lap 35, Verstappen with DRS looks to charge up the inside at Turn 1 as Hamilton locks up. Hamilton takes to the inside of Turn 2 to force Verstappen around the outside but the Red Bull driver drifts on to the marbles and off track.
Gasly becomes the first retirement from the race as Alpine tells him to return to the pits.
Russell finally makes his pitstop and has lost a lot of time to Perez. He returns in P11, 7.6s down on the Red Bull.
Verstappen is in DRS range of Hamilton and sniffs for a way around the outside at Turn 3. The Mercedes has little defence as he is sliding around on his older tyres.
A close call in the battle for P10 as Perez slides one to the inside of Tsunoda into Turn 1.
The RB stays in the battle and will not give up, but runs wide and eventually yields. Perez into the points.
Hamilton slides his Mercedes out of Turn 12, not intentionally, as he's being hauled in by Verstappen. The gap is 1.1s at the start of lap 33 so he will likely be in DRS range next time around.
Piastri is putting in a quietly flawless performance so far, with his lead up to 4.3s over Norris. He's doing everything right to secure his maiden grand prix victory as he approaches half-race distance.
Another move for Perez, a late-braking effort into Turn 1 on Magnussen to move into P11.
Tsunoda follows Perez a lap later and rejoins ahead of Magnussen, whilst the Mexican passes Bottas to ensure only one car separates him from the RB.
Russell extends for now.
Leclerc, who might still be aiming for a bold one-stop, has duly dropped off the tail of Verstappen but is the fastest driver on track right now. A 1m22.182s was seven-tenths quicker than Verstappen on the last lap.
Perez pits, as does Gasly and Ricciardo - the RB for a second time.
Red Bull has put its driver onto mediums, now down in P15 but with much fresher tyres than those around him.
A rare burst of frustration from Albon, who bemoans indecisiveness after being told of a change to Plan B by Williams.
On lap 28 Piastri leads by 3.8s from Norris with Hamilton a further 3.6s back. Verstappen is still reeling Hamilton in with the gap own to 2.5s.
A big move for Alonso's afternoon. The Aston Martin ducks to the inside of Hulkenberg for P11 as the Haas locks up.
That will be a chunk of points once the pitstops cycle through. Stroll follows a lap later.
By: Autosport Staff
