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Commentary

Live: F1 Hungarian GP commentary and updates

Live commentary and updates on the 2022 edition of the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix, taking place at the Hungaroring this weekend.

Following Charles Leclerc’s crash while leading last weekend’s French GP, Max Verstappen picked up the win and extended his F1 world championship lead to 63 points.

The main talking point in the F1 paddock has been Sebastian Vettel’s announcement that he will retire from F1 at the end of 2022.

George Russell stormed to a maiden F1 pole position in qualifying, beating Ferrari duo Carlos Sainz and Leclerc. Lewis Hamilton suffered a DRS failure in Q3 and starts seventh, while Verstappen had an engine issue on his final qualifying run and dropped to 10th.

The Hungarian GP marks the final race before F1’s summer break.

By: Haydn Cobb, Megan White, Stephen Lickorish

Summary

Summary
  • Verstappen wins entertaining Hungarian GP, despite starting down in 10th and having a brief spin
  • Hamilton also rockets up the field to pass team-mate Russell to take second
  • It's a miserable day for Ferrari as it messes up strategy again, with Sainz fourth and Leclerc down in sixth
  • Decision to put Leclerc on hard tyres backfires and he has to pit for a third time
Leaderboard
  1. Verstappen, Red Bull
  2. Hamilton, Mercedes
  3. Russell, Mercedes
  4. Sainz, Ferrari
  5. Perez, Red Bull
  6. Leclerc, Ferrari
  7. Norris, McLaren
  8. Alonso, Alpine
  9. Ocon, Alpine
  10. Vettel, Aston Martin
Status: Stopped
It is time to say goodbye for today. We'll be back after the summer break for the Belgian GP on the 26-28 August. Until then, have a lovely few weeks. Go well!
With that, the fun and the thrust of the live action is over, as the paddock gets busy to pick through the bones of that one. Another Ferrari strategy blunder or were Red Bull, and to an extent Mercedes, just too good?
So, Verstappen's win sees him take an 80-point lead over Leclerc into the summer break. He could have the next three races off and still be in front.
Zhou finished 13th in front of Schumacher so it won't mean much regarding the points places. But one to keep an eye on later.
A Turn 13 incident involving Zhou and Schumacher will be investigated by the stewards for, presumably Zhou as he finished 0.2s ahead, leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
The top three move into the cooldown room and watch the highlights. "They were on the hards?!" Hamilton quizzes Verstappen and Russell, referring to Leclerc being overtaken by Verstappen. I think that's what Leclerc will also be asking Ferrari later.
 
Russell on his third place: "When it was spitting at the start and we were on the soft tyres I thought it [the win] was on. We had a strong start and good first stint, but on the mediums and a bit more rain we really struggled. But we are making progress."
Top three interviewer David Coulthard spots Hamilton's race suit is ripped on the left arm. He says he has no idea how that happened.
Hamilton on second place and his race pace: "I honestly don't know. I was struggling at the beginning of the race and wasn't sure if I could catch the guys up front."
Verstappen puts his spin to a clutch slip issue but he can laugh about it now, calling it "heating up the tyres".
Verstappen on his win: "I was hoping I could get close to a podium [at the start]... but even with the 360 we still won the race!"
 
That late Virtual Safety Car and rain made things iffy late on but Verstappen had plenty of time in hand to ease to victory. Remember, he started the race from 10th on the grid and spun during the race, but still won with ease!
Norris takes seventh ahead of the Alpines in eighth and ninth, with Vettel rounding off the points places
Russell completes the podium in third place ahead of Sainz as Perez just holds on to fifth from Leclerc.
Gasly crosses the line in 12th, having started from the pitlane
Yes he can! Verstappen wins the Hungarian Grand Prix! He takes victory by 7.8s from Hamilton!
Verstappen leads on the final lap but the gap to Hamilton is falling, can he reach the chequered flag in time?
Leclerc is told his car is OK as racing gets underway just as the rain arrives on the penultimate lap!
Virtual Safety Car is over as Bottas' car has been cleared
"Is the car all OK?" Leclerc asks over team radio. "Standby," is the reply. That really sums up his day.
This has rather nullified the late fights at the front with two-and-a-bit lap to go. Boo.
Virtual Safety Car is deployed as Bottas is sat just off track near Turn 11
Bottas comes to a halt on track after losing power
Leclerc's bemusing race still sees him in sixth but he's in range of catching Perez before the finish.
Vettel has now made it past Stroll for 10th, three days after announcing he'll retire at the end of this season
Hamilton is 10.9s behind Verstappen with five laps to go. That's probably too much to bridge without any further interventions.
On lap 65 Hamilton gets the job done on Russell to take second. He goes around the outside at Turn 1 and on the switch back applies the throttle to blast ahead at Turn 2.
Will Russell make it easy for his team-mate to overtake and chase after Verstappen? Not yet, as the younger Brit keeps his car planted in the way to stay second.
Such is Hamilton's superior pace he almost collects Sainz coming out of the final corner, but he blasts by the Ferrari on the main straight to easily take third. Both Ferraris off the podium as it stands.
Stroll passes Bottas for the final points place, with Vettel following his team-mate through
Hamilton is within DRS range of Sainz, so the fight for third place is on.
Verstappen is matching Russell's pace to keep that 8.6s gap in the lap, with Sainz quicker than the pair of them and then Hamilton quicker than all three. This isn't over yet.
"We think tyres will be fine to the end," Russell is told over team radio. He's aiming to hold on for second place from here, but will come under fire from Sainz and Hamilton before the finish.
Hamilton is the fastest driver on track, aided by his fresh softs, and puts in a new fastest lap of 1m21.560s. He's in fourth but is lapping 1.5s faster than Verstappen with a 15.3s gap to the leader.
The two Williams trade places, with Albon moving ahead of Latifi to take 17th
Verstappen, on the same tyres as Russell, holds a 8.6s lead over the Mercedes driver with 14 laps to go. Unless any further drama is to come, you'd think the Red Bull driver can see himself home from here.
Gasly moves ahead of Ricciardo for 13th

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