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Hungarian F1 Grand Prix 2019 Results: Lewis Hamilton Wins for 7th Time
August 4, 2019
Lewis Hamilton won the 2019 Formula One Hungary Grand Prix after finishing ahead of Max Verstappen in Mogyorod on Sunday.
Hamilton has stalled Verstappen's momentum after the latter won the German Grand Prix last Sunday in style. It's also a seventh win on the Hungaroring for the defending champion.
Sebastian Vettel did enough to finish third, but Ferrari rarely got close to the top two.
Verstappen took advantage of being on pole to set the early pace, but things didn't begin as well for Mercedes. Valtteri Bottas sustained damage after a collision with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
It was a tough beginning for Bottas, but the Finn rallied well to put himself back in the mix, eventually finishing eighth. While Bottas was fighting back, his Silver Arrows team-mate was keeping the pressure on Verstappen.
The latter was handling it well, though, staying in front and leaving Hamilton frustrated. Hamilton's attempts to go wide at Turn 2 didn't allow him to overtake as the race reached its halfway point.
Pit stops led to the lead changing hands, with Hamilton going in front first, before Verstappen regained the initiative once the five-time world champion came to a stop of his own.
Once both drivers were back on track, the intense battle for the lead resumed, with little separating the two:
The only thing able to slow either driver down were events outside their control. Verstappen grew irked by Red Bull's inability to provide him with maximum power, despite his team's assurances that his Honda engine was already running at full pelt.
Meanwhile, Hamilton was also victim of the elements and the limits of his car:
The Briton eventually took the surprise decision to pit again. It seemed to revive the 34-year-old, who set a record for the fastest lap and began closing the gap to the man in front:
Things had now become straightforward for Hamilton, who was urged by Mercedes to abandon tactics and forget concerns about the durability of his tyres to simply focus on chasing Verstappen down.
The gung-ho approach appeared to be working when Hamilton closed the gap to a mere six seconds with seven laps left. At the exact moment Hamilton was closing in, Verstappen's tyres seemed ruined, leaving Hamilton an opportunity to overtake on the main straight.
It was a chance Hamilton duly took as Verstappen struggled to drive on tyres no longer fit for purpose:
Hamilton had seized the initiative at the crucial moment to leave Verstappen frustrated. Mercedes' decision to switch tyres during the late pit stop proved the difference.