Which means we’re done here. Thanks all for your company, and join us again next week for the Belgian Grand Prix. If the field set off now, they might just get close to Red Bull and Verstappen. Peace out, people.
And here’s Giles Richards’ report from the Hungaroring, get it while it’s hot it’s lovely.
Driver standings
Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 281
Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) 171
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 139
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 133
George Russell (Mercedes) 90
Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari) 87
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 80
Lando Norrish (McLaren) 60
Verstappen raises a trophy that looks a bit like the Henri Delaunay but made of plastic. He won’t mind, and Norris, taking his first-ever second podium in a row – if that makes sense – is delighted. Champagmne is sprayed, and I’ve no idea how far Red Bull will go from here.
The first three step onto the podium and Verstappen enjoys the Dutch anthem.
Also going on (or not):
Verstappen says Red Bull have been working on the start once he got the inside, he knew he was gone. He says the car wasn’t great over one lap but very quick today through the race and he’s pleased for the team breaking McLaren’s record. Sebastian Vettel won nine races in a row in 2013; Verstappen is now on seven, and no one would be surprised to see him beat the existing mark.
Final placings
Max Verstappen
Lando Norris (McLaren)
Sergio Pérez (Red Bull)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
George Russell (Mercedes)
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari)
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
Alex Albon (Williams)
Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri)
Niko Hulkenberg (Haas)
Yuku Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
DNF: Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Pierre Gasly (Alpine), Logan Sargeant (Williams)
Verstappen disembarks, standing on his car, leaping off the chassis, and hugging his team. He is very, very good.
“Not a bad race car,” deadpans Christian Horner. Verstappen is proud, thanking his team and saying how great the car is – it’s won by a giant 33.7s – and using the word “unbelievable” as many times as necessary to emphasise its ridiculous superiorty.
Oh, and well done George Russell! He finishes sixth, but gets close enough to Leclerc to pinch fifth once the five-second penalty for speeding in the it lane is applied.
Max Verstappen wins the Hungarian Grand Prix, winning his seventh race in a row; Red Bull win a record 12th race in a row!
McLaren’s 1988 record goes! Norris is second, Perez third, Hamilton fourth and Piastri fifth!
Updated
Lap 70/70 Sargeant is retired on the final lap as Hamilton closes to 1.528; can he sneak third? Red Bull and Verstappen, meanwhile, are going to record their 12th and seventh straight wins respectively. They are a joke.
Lap 69/70 Now the gap is below two seconds, 1.7s roughly, and it looks like Hamilton is going to be a lap short of what he needs.
Lap 68/70 Hamilton cuts Perez’s lead to 2.412s and with no back markers in the way, can he snaffle third? I don’t think so, but Perez has lost his pace – perhaps his tyres are jiggered.
Lap 67/70 Perez will know he’s not taxing P2 off Norris, and will be looking over his shoulder at Hamilton, now just 3.244s behind him. I think he’ll hold it down, but you never know…
Lap 66/70 Hamilton is miles ahead of Piastri now, but he’s still 4.035s behind Perez; I can’t see him making up that gap in what’s left of this race, and he’ll rue that start that cost him his podium.
Lap 65/70 Terrific from Russell, who gets a really good position form which attack Sainz and nails him by halfway down the straight! The Mercedes is a different proposition once its fuel has burned down a bit.
Lap 64/70 Norris hasn’t yet made consecutive podiums, but he’s on for that here and has earned the achievement. Russell, meanwhile, attacks Sainz in the knowledge that if he gets by, the five-second penalty might see him finish above Leclerc too.
Lap 63/70 Perez is struggling to get any closer to Norris, the gap still just over 3.5s. Norris is doing a pretty good job.
Lap 62/70 The dominance of Red Bull and Verstappen has become accepted fact so quickly. This win has been disquietingly competent and frictionless.
Lap 61/70 Yup, Perez is at Norris now, 3.628s the difference, while Leclerc, who’ll get a five-second penalty at the end, is just a little more than that ahead of his teammate, Sainz Jr.
Lap 60/70 Verstappen continues stacking seconds, almost 19 of them ahead of Norris … whose lead over Perez is now a mere 3.203s. Tsunoda is also between them, but I doubt it’ll be long before he’s passed and the battle for second us on in earnest.
Lap 59/70 Perez has taken two more seconds off Norris, the gap now 4.512s, but the gap to Hamilton has widened to 12.234. It looks like Perez can snaffle second, but third looks a lock for Nozza.
Lap 58/70 Russell, who started 18th, has driven pretty well to make eighth, and will fancy a hack at Sainz before the chequered flag.
Lap 57/70 As Hamilton’s fuel burns down he’s the fastest man on the track and is just 0.4s behind Piastri now, who can’t resist. DRS gets the former champ in front, helps him streak away, and he’s now 10s behind Perez. He’ll do well to catch him, but it’s not inconceivable.
Lap 56/70 Verstappen scythes through the back markers and Norris, advised that Perez is closing on him, impatiently tells his team that he knows and is doing everything he can. The gap is 6.946s.
Verstappen
Norris
Perez
Piastri
Hamilton
Leclerc
Sainz
Russell
Alonso
Stroll
Albon
Bottas
Updated
Lap 55/70 Hamilton will be within striking distance of Piastri in four laps, while Perez will need a couple more to get at Norris. But it feels like both those leading are on borrowed time.
Lap 54/70 Verstappen punishes the fastest lap, the extra point for that surely his. He’s just enjoying a mid-afternoon jaunt and who can blame him? Meantime behind him, Perez takes a second off Norris and Hamilton does likewise to Piastri.
Lap 53/70 Verstappen’s lead is 11.877s and behind him, Norris is 8.249s in front of Perez.
Lap 52/70 Red Bull’s 12 in a row now looks a certainty, Verstappen finished with pitting; failing disaster, we can consider not only this supreme effort, but where it might end. Will any other team win a race this season? Will anyone apart from Verstappen with a race in what’s left of this season?
Lap 51/70 Hamilton might well have the gas to bet by Piastri, who’s fourth, and Norris, who’s second but might struggle to hold of Perez. Ah, and now Verstappen comes in, saving Stroll the indignity of being lapped.
Lap 50/70 Now Hamilton pits, coming out in fifth 7.397s behind Piastri; at some point, Verstappen will have to do likewise, but with a lead of 34.519s it barely matters.
Lap 49/70 Russell is up to eighth now, having pitted a second time, while Hamilton, still out there, will find himself a distant fifth when he stops.
Lap 48/70 Leclerc is penalised five seconds for speeding in the pit lane – maybe they’ll let him take a speed awareness course – and he sits sixth, but his teammate, Sainz Jr, is effectively ahead of him now.
Lap 47/70 Hamilton is now second – “this is a fast as it goes” he tells his team – and his hope of a safety-car situation looks a forlorn one. He’ll pit next time round, I think, having stayed out there for as long as he could, and try to fight his way back to second once again. Meantime, Perez nips in front of Piastri, and holds off the revenge attack.
Lap 46/70 Perez is now 0.6412 behind Piastri, who sets fifth, while Leclerc might’ve gone too quickly in the pit lane; more to follow on that.
Lap 45/70 Now Norris stops, takes some mediums, and is out in 2.1s, emerging in third, while Piastri and Perez were held up by Sainz, unable to use undercut; Perez sets a new fastest lap nonetheless.
Lap 44/70 McLaren might want Norris in now, the track around him clear, but it’s Leclerc, who was fifth, in next, and he’s out again pretty sharply.
Verstappen
Norris
Hamilton
Sainz
Piastri
Perez
Russell
Leclerc
Alonso
Stroll
Lap 43/70 Piastri pits, taking advantage of Hamilton slowing down Perez, Perez stops too, and Hamilton is up to third – for now.
Lap 42/70 Verstappen’s superiority is just ridiculous, his lead 18s, and Perez goes at Hamilton … but Hamilton takes up a great position on the track, his defensive nous enough to see him rinse away – for this lap, at least.
Lap 41/70 Perez relentlessly, remorselessly sticks to Hamilton, but Hamilton closes the door then extends his lead from roughly 0.5s to roughly 0.8s.
Updated
Lap 40/70 Hamilton, meanwhile, is around 3.5s off Piastri, but might need another stop before he can get close enough to challenge.
Lap 39/70 Perez is now within half a second of Hamilton, and might have DRS on him shortly.
Lap 38/70 Do we think Mercedes can get close to Red Bull next season, and if not, then what? On the one hand, dominant champions are good for individual sports, people tuning in to see if they lose, but when they’ve such a mechanical advantage, it might also kill casual interest.
Lap 37/70 Verstappen is enjoying a long, lonely drive, 12.996s in front of Norris. Meantime, Perez attacks Hamilton, the gap between them 1.449s.
Lap 36/70 Piastri is asking for medium tyres and is told by his team he’ll need to drive to a structured lap time if he foes that. He leads Hamilton by roughly 1.5s, but Perez is 1.712 behind the former champ and will surely take him out at some point; Hamilton is coasting into corners to try and sort his engine temperature.
Lap 35/70 At halfway, Verstappen leads by miles, and behind him both Hamilton and Perez close on Norris and Piastri.
Lap 34/70 Verstappen is going to win this unless something very strange happens, but behind him, how those in pursuit structure their stops could be crucial. I’d expect the McLarens to go first, trying to combat the pace of Perez’s Red Bull.
Lap 33/70 Verstappen builds his lead which is now 8.771s while Russell again advances through the field.
Verstappen
Norris
Piastri
Hamilton
Perez
Sainz
Leclerc
Alonso
Stroll
Bottas
Russell
Tsunoda
Lap 32/70 Perez is driving with real – as opposed to imaginary – aggression and conviction, He’s desperate for a podium finish and I’d not be surprised to see him get it.
Lap 31/70 Perez took a second out of Hamilton on lap 29 then another half-second on 30; that’s going to be a ruckus, though Hamilton is cutting into Piastri’s lead over him.
Lap 30/70 Verstappen now leads Nozza by 6.989, Piastri a further 4.858 behind and Hamilton, now up to fourth, another 9.463 away. Having started in pole, he’ll be raging that he’s already roughly 20s down, but we are where we are.
Updated
Lap 29/70 Russell pits and emerges 13th, behind Albon and Tsunoda … and Hulkenberg. But with new tyres on, I’d expect him to make up a few places in fairly short order.
Lap 28/70 Yup, Perez – seeking a podium – eases by Russell, who tyres have nothing left to give, while Verstappen’s lead is now above six seconds.
Lap 27/70 Perez moves past Sainz, who was tucked up behind Russell – Russell hasn’t yet stopped – and I’d not be surprised to see him advance beyond the Mercedeseseseseses.
Lap 26/70 Following the elation of yesterday, Hamilton is back in the real world, let down by a car that’s giving him nowhere near what he needs from it. Yesterday was him, his genius enough, at full expression, to pull out a lap. But now he needs 70 of the blighters, not a chance.
Lap 25/70 Now Perez stops and Norris takes over in second; Perez emerges in seventh, while Hamilton asks for his team to help cool his engine down. He sits fourth now, Russell fifth.
Lap 24/70 Verstappen rebuilds his lead, a second already added to it.
Verstappen
Perez
Norris
Piastri
Russell
Hamilton
Sainz
Leclerc
Lap 23/70 The two McLarens are starting to cut Verstappen’s lead on their newer tyres, so he stops and will, come out still in front, having timed the pit to perfection. His team quickly slap on the hards – that’s a great change – and the lead is now 2.847 and already growing.
Lap 22/70 Hamilton is closing on Russell who, having started 18th, opted to stick out there as long as possible. He’s fifth currently, but when he pits will come out way down the field.
Lap 21/70 Alonso pits and it’s a slow stop that sends him back out in 11th; Verstappen leads Perez by 22.139s, but will have to put presently. Norris is a further 5.233 back, Piastri another 2.409 away.
Lap 20/70 Ricciardo, eighth a moment ago, is now back in 18th while Norris set a fastest lap a few moments ago. He is flying now.
Lap 19/70 Ferrari make a dreadful hash of Leclerc’s stop, cost him in the region of seven seconds, and when Piastri pits, he comes out to be undercut by Norris! Thus do the McLarens swap places, while it’s now Red Bull first and second.
Verstappen
Perez
Alonso
Norrish
Piastri
Russell
Hamilton
Sainz
Stroll
Leclerc
Lap 18/70 A poor stop from Leclerc and the placing are all over the show, so:
Verstappen
Piastri
Perez
Alonso
Norris
Russell
Hamilton
Ricciardo
Sainz
Stroll
Leclerc
Bottas
Updated
Lap 17/70 Hamilton gets out quickly, ahead of Ricciardo, and sits eighth; Norris then stops having built a decent buffer to rejoin the race ahead of the Brit.
Lap 16/70 Yup, Sainz pits and Christian Horner, who was nervous at the start of the race, is more relaxed now. He’s really happy with how Verstappen attacked the first corner and wants to keep building the gap so there’s greater scope to respond to anything that happens behind. He also wants to help Perez through the field and, as Hamilton pits, reckons that’s “borderline three-stop” strategy.
Lap 15/70 Sainz is thinking about stopping while, at the front, Verstappen’s lead is 7.061s.
Lap 14/70 The two McLarens are keen to attack Hamilton, who might be thinking about stopping soon; Sargeant does and gets out quickly enough, in 18th and last place.
Lap 13/70 Piastri is told his tyres are fine so he doesn’t need to manage his performance; rather he can attack the race.
Verstappen
Piastri
Norris
Hamilton
Leclerc
Sainz
Perez
Alonso
Lap 12/70 Bottas pits and it’ll be interesting to see what uptick he can derive from his new tyres – I daresay the rest will be watching – while we’re seeing little movement now the race order is settled.
Lap 11/70 Verstappen extends his lead to 4.423s, and he is just so good.
Lap 10/70 Of course, Red Bull need one win to break the record of 11 straight wins, and it’s hard to see anything stopping them from breaking that – and setting the new mark somewhere very silly.
Lap 9/70 Albon pits and Zhou is issued with a five-second penalty for causing the crash that saw the end of Ocon and Gasly’s races.
Lap 8/70 Perez goes at Alonso again, this time when the DRS kicks in he moves past, kicks away with the advantage still pushing him on, and Alonso has to let him go.
Lap 7/70 I said Russell would carve through the field and he’s up from 18th to 13th, while Verstappen massages his lead to 2.284s. The Red Bull – with him in it – is unstoppable.
Lap 6/70 Perez has DRS and tries to get past Alonso, then again on the inside … but the old master is having no such thing, shutting the door emphatically.
Lap 5/70 Meantime, Verstappen keeps setting fastest laps; he leads Piastri by 1.650s, with Norris a further 1.435s behind.
Updated
Lap 4/70 Poor old Gasly, involved in a collision with Ocon and Ricciardo; Zhou looks responsible for it and either way, both Alpines are out! What a disaster for them.
Updated
Lap 3/70 I’m not quite sure what happened to Gasly, but “might be terminal” is what we hear over the radio. And looking at the start again, Hamilton got away well, but Verstappen then got into a great position to go by and the power took over.
Lap 2/70 Gasly is in the pit and his car is a mess; given Sainz is on softs, Ferrari might send him past Leclerc, but they don’t and he can’t do it himself.
Verstappen
Piastri
Norris
Hamilton
Leclerc
Sainz Jr
Alonso
Perez
Hulkenberg
Lap 1/70 Norris saw the space that Piastri took but couldn’t get over to it, so Verstappen leads, from Piastri, Norris and Hamilton. Leclerc is fifth.
Lap 1/70 Great reaction from rom Hamilton and Bottas passes Zhou, but Verstappen finds that racing line and goes first, Piastri takes him out too, Sainz is up to sixth, and what a start!
Updated
Off we go on the formation lap, almost everyone on mediums; Perez is on on hards, while Sainz, Stroll, Gasly and one or two others at the back of the grid have taken softs.
Last year, Verstappen nailed Leclerc on the exit to turn one. I’m not sure Hamilton will make it as easy, but he might not have enough ballast to stick in front.
I love Misan Harriman’s work. Check him out.
Team LH ALWAYS!! @LewisHamilton ✊🏾✊🏾❤️ pic.twitter.com/TKv9vMDf3l
— Misan Harriman (@misanharriman) July 23, 2023
Updated
The track temperature is a ludicrous 53 degrees, so we may be looking at three-stop strategies, tyres chewed up by the heat. And, given the driver championship is effectively settled, both Hamilton and Verstappen have liberty to pursue risky strategies.
Russell, 18th on the grid, says he and Mercedes don’t make mistakes often so he’s not too troubled about a poor weekend so far. I’d expect him to carve through the field pretty quickly as this track is pretty friendly for would-be overtakers.
Anthem time, Himnusz performed by a school choir.
Michael Strahan is also about. He’s never got in an F1 car but would like to, problem being he’s 6”5.
Terry Crews is roaming the pit lane. He’s been working out, but really, who hasn’t?
It’s so nice to see Ricciardo back. He looked well-placed to really make a mark a few years ago, but he’s not the first to hit a bump in the road, and still has plenty of time to develop and maximise his talent.
I know we’re all thinking about Verstappen passing Hamilton, but I wonder how Norris is going to attack this race. He’s growing in confidence and had plenty to start with; I bet he’s not planning to simply hang onto his podium spot and leave it at that.
We now watch footage showing the cleaner racing line coming from P2, not pole. Hamilton is a brilliant starter, but he’ll need to be bang at it to stop Verstappen from marching past at lights out.
Updated
Verstappen isn’t too bothered about Norris’ tyres, nor about Hamilton being in pole; “it’s a long race,” he says – and one he won from 10th on the grid last term. I fear he’ll cope.
Updated
Zac thinks Verstappen’s speed down the straight will be too much for Hamilton, while Hamilton himself says he was lost for words at his pole. He had early success on this track and has always loved racing on it, so yesterday meant the world for him; he knows it’ll take something magical to bring home the win, though, and will do all he can to pull a rabbit from the hat.
Updated
Turns out that Sky – UK and Deutschland – will have a feed presented for kids, by kids, and Zac is a young go-karter involved. What a great idea.
Oh man, this is so cool. We watch VT of a young, black reporter is chatting to Hamilton explaining what it means to see a black driver ripping it up. He’s got some talent.
While our coverage was breaking, Hamilton and Verstappen passed each other by, refusing to exchange looks. It’s getting tense, and we’ve not even started yet.
We’ve got all sorts for you this afternoon:
The grid
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
Lando Norris (McLaren)
Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo)
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo)
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
Sergio Pérez (Red Bull)
Niko Hulkenberg (Haas)
Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari)
Esteban Ocon (Alpine)
Daniel Ricciardo (AlphaTauri)
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
Alex Albon (Williams)
Yuku Tsunoda (AlphaTauri)
George Russell (Mercedes)
Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
Logan Sargeant (Williams)
Updated
Preamble
Is it too much to hope things are changing? Though we’re not here just to see who wins, Max Verstappen’s dominance – six wins a in a row this season, along with 11 for Red Bull since last, the record being McLaren’s 12 in 1988 – has made this season too predictable for many. Of course, we can only admire his driving and Red Bull’s car, but it’d be nice to see a contest – if not this season next – and perhaps, eventually, we’ll look back at this weekend at the one that Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes got it together again.
By the sounds of things, Hamilton wasn’t expecting pole today, but a tremendous drive in qualifying reminded us – and him! – that he’s a maestro of epochal proportions. Whether he has the speed to lead the field home is a different question, but his reaction after yesterday’s lap was everything we wanted and needed to hear. He is not going anywhere.
He will, though, have Verstappen behind him on the grid, and with Lando Norris starting in P3, today’s ruckus might be one we’re enjoying for a good few years to come.
Lights out: 3pm local, 2pm BST
Updated
