Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen stormed to victory on Sunday at the Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix, which served as round 12 of the 2023 F1 season.
It was his seventh straight win and the ninth this season, placing him in a prime position to take home a third championship title this year. McLaren's Lando Norris finished second, 33 seconds behind the winner, while Red Bull's other driver, Sergio Perez, rounded out the top three by finishing 37 seconds behind his teammate.
Verstappen started the race on the front row, though pole position went to Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes-Benz AMG. The Red Bull driver got the better start and was able to quickly build up a gap with the rest of the field, leaving him unchallenged for the remainder of the race.
Hamilton also soon fell back behind McLaren's Oscar Piastri first, and then Norris. There were few changes from there until the first round of pit stops, with Hamilton the first among the leaders to stop.
2023 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix
Verstappen stayed out and continued to build a gap, while Norris stopped soon after Hamilton. His change was quick enough that he came out in front of Piastri. Verstappen stopped a few laps later but was able to retain the lead spot.
Perez meanwhile was fighting his way up the order following yet another poor qualifying performance that left him starting the race at ninth on the grid. Following his first pit stop, Perez put in an impressive drive to pass Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and then Mercedes' George Russell to rise to fifth.
Perez didn't stop, and with quicker laps than Hamilton and Piastri ahead, he eventually made his way up to third by the end of the race. Hamilton was also able to pass Piastri in the closing laps thanks to some help from the DRS.
Following the weekend's action, Verstappen leads the 2023 Drivers' Championship with a healthy 281 points. Perez is second with 171 points and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso is third with 139 points. In the Constructors' Championship, Red Bull leads with 452 points, versus the 223 of Mercedes and 184 of Aston Martin in second and third places. The next race on the calendar is the Belgian Grand Prix this coming weekend.
2023 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix
Below are the full results from the 2023 Formula 1 Hungarian Grand Prix:
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing
2) Lando Norris, McLaren +33.731 seconds
3) Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing +37.603 seconds
4) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-Benz AMG +39.134 seconds
5) Oscar Piastri, McLaren +62.572 seconds
6) George Russell, Mercedes-Benz AMG +65.825 seconds
7) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari +70.317 seconds
8) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari +71.073 seconds
9) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin +75.709 seconds
10) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin +1 lap
11) Alexander Albon, Williams +1 lap
12) Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo +1 lap
13) Daniel Ricciardo, AlphaTauri +1 lap
14) Nico Hulkenberg, Haas +1 lap
15) Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri +1 lap
16) Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo +1 lap
17) Kevin Magnussen, Haas +1 lap
18) Logan Sargeant, Williams – DNF
NC) Esteban Ocon, Alpine – DNF
NC) Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri – DNF
