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Formula 1
Hungarian GP
F1 Hungarian GP Live Commentary and Updates - Race
Minute-by-minute updates for the 2023 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix
Lewis Hamilton starts from a record-breaking ninth pole position at the Hungarian GP, having beaten Max Verstappen by 0.003s in a dramatic qualifying on Saturday.
It is an all-McLaren second row with Lando Norris third and Oscar Piastri fourth to cement the team’s drastic improvements in recent rounds, while Zhou Guanyu recorded the best qualifying result of his F1 career in fifth.
Further back Sergio Perez will attack from ninth place, while Carlos Sainz in 11th and George Russell in 18th will also be aiming to climb the order after a disappointing qualifying.
Daniel Ricciardo makes his F1 race return starting 13th for AlphaTauri, after replacing Nyck de Vries for the rest of the season coming into this weekend.
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On lap 42, Perez makes his first proposition to Hamilton, looking for a way around the outside at Turn 2, but the Mercedes driver shuts the door into Turn 3.
After running a longer second stint, Bottas pits and rejoins behind Stroll and Albon. That trio look like they're the players in contention for the final point as things stand.
This one will be settled in the pits. Piastri and Perez pit together, as Hamilton stays out, at the end of lap 42. It is a rapid 1.9s pitstop by Red Bull to allow Perez to close right on to the rear wing of the McLaren.
Tsunoda has yet to make his second stop, and his hold on tenth is brief as Stroll zaps by into Turn 1.
Pit stop
Ferrari tells Leclerc to pit next time around, but ahead of him Norris and Hamilton don't pit to cover off the undercut by Perez.
Pit stop
Alonso has made his second stop for another set of hards, releasing Russell. The Aston driver rejoins just ahead of Stroll, whose tyres already have a few miles on their clock.
Pit stop
Norris does pit at the end of the next lap, ditching the hards for mediums with a 2.1s pitstop, to put him back out comfortably ahead of Piastri and Perez.
Replays show Alonso's stop was hindered by a stubborn left-rear that wanted another go. He's now eight seconds back from Sainz.
Leclerc has leapfrogged Ferrari team-mate Sainz in the pitstop sequence but he is under investigation for speeding in the pitlane. Uh oh.
Pit stop
Russell now pits for a second time, ditching his mediums. He rejoins eighth on another set of mediums, comfortably ahead of Alonso.
Perez, with DRS, with a classic Turn 1 to Turn 2 overtake on Piastri. The young Australian doesn't give it up and is ushered on to the grass on the Turn 2 exit, so he has to yield. Perez up to fourth.
The benefits of stopping later are paying dividends now for Bottas, who has closed in on Albon for 11th position. If he does get by the Williams, it's a yawning gap to Stroll ahead though.
Penalty
Leclerc has been give a five-second penalty for speeding in the pitlane. He is currently sixth and the penalty would drop him behind Sainz.
Piastri has been shown the black and white flag for track limits at Turn 4, so he's got to be super careful for the rest of the race to avoid a penalty.
Pit stop
Hamilton pits for mediums and comes out in fifth place, behind Norris, Perez and Piastri.
By dint of cutting short his stint on the hard tyres, Ricciardo has moved up to 13th but may soon be nearing he end of his medium tyres' life. Tsunoda really appeared to struggle on his hard tyre stint and now runs P16 after his stop, but could sticking with it pay dividends further down the road?
The Piastri vs Perez battle was noted by race control for Piastri being shown the Hungarian grass at the exit of Turn 2 by Perez but it will not be investigated by the stewards.
Verstappen, with the freedom of the Hungaroring, pits at the end of lap 51. A 2.6s pitstop means he returns to the lead with a 12s advantage over Norris.
Bottas has been within DRS range of Albon for a few laps now, but the Williams is holding firmly onto that 11th place for now.
It doesn't seem like DRS is making much difference for Bottas, who keeps running out of straight to get the move done on Albon. That Williams looks rather handy in a straight line.
Stopwatch
Verstappen, demonstrating his superiority, produces a 1m20.504s to regain the fastest lap - just the 1.5s quicker than anyone else.
The longer this duel goes on for, the more secure Aston Martin look in securing a double points finish. But with Alonso ninth and Stroll tenth, it's not a result for the Silverstone team to write home about. In 2022 maybe, but not given the peaks reached so far this term.
So, barring divine intervention, Verstappen has another victory sewn up. Norris, in second, has a 6.5s gap to use to the finish to keep Perez behind him. Further back Piastri is being caught by Hamilton for fourth.
Norris gives a flustered response over the team radio as he is reminded of the gap he has over Perez. But it is the other McLaren that is in greater danger of losing a place, with Hamilton in DRS range.
Russell in eighth is 2.3s behind Sainz ahead. Could the Spaniard be deployed as a delaying device to keep Leclerc ahead once his penalty is applied?
Hamilton, with DRS, dives down the inside of Piastri at Turn 1 to take fourth place.
Verstappen has now lapped everybody up to Ricciardo in 13th. Next up is the ongoing Albon-Bottas duel. Could that present an opportunity for Bottas?
Perez has got the gap to Norris down to 3.6s as we head into the final 10 laps.
Norris is losing his cool with the lapped cars, as he leaks time stuck behind them. Can the McLaren driver keep out of Perez's grasp before the finish?
Ricciardo is keeping his medium tyres alive and managing to keep a six-second gap to Hulkenberg behind him. Having haemorrhaged ground by getting embroiled in the drama at the start, he's currently back in the position he started, 13th.
Hamilton has dropped Piastri but isn't making many gains on Perez ahead of him, as this race begins to wind down now.
It appears Bottas has used the best of his tyres being bottled up behind Albon. After several laps within a second, he's now dropped out of DRS range. Having lost ground at the start jinking around Zhou off the line, he's never been able to recover.
Russell has now got within DRS range of Sainz. The fight for seventh is truly on.
Verstappen's lead is approaching 26s which is one heck of an advantage. Just utterly dominant by the Dutch driver.
Norris, now partly aided by the traffic that he earlier cursed, has kept the gap to Perez between 3-4s as we enter the final five laps.
A wobble through the final corner from Sainz meant Russell was right on him across the line, and the Mercedes man would probably have got the move done even without DRS assistance. Up to seventh now for the Mercedes man.
If anything, Perez's pace has somewhat dipped, and Norris is now over 5s clear and Hamilton has closed to 3.3s behind him. The podium order isn't rubber stamped yet.
The closest battle on track is for 14th between a group of cars that have had to move off-line while being lapped. Hulkenberg has Sargeant and Tsunoda right on his tail.
Two laps to go and Hamilton has the gap to Perez under two seconds.
Sargeant has lost positions to Tsunoda and Zhou, and it's caused by a slow speed rotation at the chicane. Not one he'll want to watch back.
By: Autosport Staff
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