Verstappen hands Red Bull a record win in Hungary

Max Verstappen created history following his win at the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix, as Red Bull now have won a record 12 races in a row, making it the most number of consecutive wins by a team in Formula One history. McLaren held the record for most consecutive wins with 11 in 1988, courtesy of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna. 

It was yet another commanding win from Verstappen as he gave pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton no chance to even fight for a win. Lando Norris made back-to-back podiums for McLaren as he finished second, while Sergio Pérez rounded out the podium places, finishing third after starting ninth.

This is also Verstappen’s seventh consecutive win of the season. The Dutchman looks more and more likely to close out his third World Title. 

Pole-sitter Hamilton got the better start off the line, but Verstappen got Hamilton going into Turn 1. Oscar Piastri also got Hamilton for second place as his teammate Norris dropped the pole-sitter to P4 inside the opening corner.

The two Alpine drivers then came together as Zhou Guanyu hit them from behind. AlphaTauri’s new signing Daniel Ricciardo also got caught up in the incident. The incident resulted in a double DNF for the Alpine duo and dropped Zhou to P16 and Ricciardo to P18. Zhou was later handed a five-second penalty for causing the first-lap incident. 

Pérez got Fernando Alonso for P7 on Lap 8 as he was once again looking to make up for a poor Saturday. The Mexican got Carlos Sainz for P6 on Lap 15, as the Ferrari driver came in for his pit stop. Hamilton came in for his stop on Lap 17 and re-joined in P9. Norris pitted the following lap and got back in P5. A slow stop from Leclerc’s crew saw him re-join in P11. 

Verstappen got his first stop on Lap 24. A swift stop from the Red Bull crew saw him re-join with his lead intact and his teammate Pérez in second place, almost three seconds behind him.

By Lap 30, Verstappen had built up a seven-second gap to Norris in P2, with Piastri behind Pérez. 

George Russell got past Valtteri Bottas for P9 on the main straight on Lap 35. There was more action on the main straight a couple of laps later as further down the grid Alex Albon breezed past Kevin Magnussen for P15.

Back up top, Pérez came in for his second stop on Lap 43, and so did Piastri, and while the Australian rookie came out in P6, the Mexican was just behind him in P7 as the Red Bull crew clocked in a stellar 1.9s pit stop. 

Ferrari called in Leclerc for his second stop on Lap 44. The Monégasque re-joined in P8, while Alonso had a slower stop and got back in P9.

The second pit stops kept rolling, as Norris was called in from P2 and re-joined in P3 thanks to a quick stop from the McLaren crew, just ahead of his teammate Piastri.

Pérez, meanwhile, took P4 from Piastri, going on the outside at Turn 1, while Leclerc was handed a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane. 

By Lap 50, Verstappen led from Norris by 35 seconds, while Pérez was in third, a further eight seconds behind. Verstappen pitted for his second stop on Lap 52 and re-joined in first place with a 12-second lead, while Hamilton got Piastri for P4 going on the inside at Turn 1.

With five laps to go, it was Verstappen leading with a 25-second gap to Norris, with Pérez another three seconds behind. Behind them, Russell zoomed past Sainz on the main straight for P7 on Lap 65, with the Ferrari driver having no answer to the Mercedes pace.

Verstappen ultimately took yet another win, as Norris managed to hold off Pérez for P2. Hamilton finished P4 ahead of Piastri in P5, with Russell finishing P6. Leclerc finished P7 ahead of Carlos Sainz in P8, with the two Aston Martin drivers rounding out the top ten places, as Alonso finished ahead of Lance Stroll.

This is Max Verstappen’s 44th career win and Red Bull’s 250th team podium. The Dutchman has now matched the likes of Alberto Ascari, Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel in getting seven consecutive wins in Formula One. Lando Norris, meanwhile, has managed his first-ever back-to-back podiums in his F1 career.

Verstappen now has a 110-point lead over Sergio Pérez in the Drivers’ Standings, while Lewis Hamilton’s P4 finish sees him bring down the gap to Fernando Alonso in third place to six points.