No one saw it coming but Esteban Ocon has released its track record in Formula 1 with a victory that will be talked about for a long time. The French prevailed Sebastian vettel Y Lewis hamilton, who was left without victory for two reasons: an unthinkable error by Mercedes at the start and the team work of Fernando Alonsor.
The Asturian finished 5th, but was named rider of the day, with Carlos Sainz 4th in a test that nobody could foresee.
The nonsense of the start of the Hungarian GP
The start of the 2021 Hungarian GP will be remembered for years to come. The rain that fell hours before the start made the start in the wet, something for which many drivers were not prepared.
The first was Valtteri Bottas. The Finn wore Lando norris, which in turn rammed Max verstappen. With the car wrecked on one side, the Dutchman was able to hit the track, but ahead Lance Stroll Y Charles Leclerc They touched and the commissioners, seeing what was coming, decided to raise the red flag.
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Once everyone was calm, the stewards said that they would start from the grid … but as they all went out to do the formation lap with intermediate tires, they got into the pits to ride dry. All but one: Lewis hamilton.
The seven-time champion made the most grotesque pit exit ever remembered in Formula 1: by himself.
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The problem for Hamilton is that he had to get in next to mount dry tires, leaving an unprecedented lead to Esteban Ocon, Sebastian Vettel Y Nicholas latifi, with Carlos Sainz Y Fernando Alonso behind.
Sainz’s rebellion and the Hamilton attack
Hamilton was forced to come back from the back of the grid, which was not easy. While ahead Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso fought for an unexpected third place, once Latifi got out of the way, the management moments began.
There Carlos Sainz pulled off character: from Ferrari they rushed to advance a new blunder in their strategy, and the Madrilenian asked to be allowed to stay on the track. It was key, because he arrived in better condition than his rivals at the end of the first round.
Hamilton decided to change strategy and instead of waiting on the track, he asked to get on medium tires. They had already been wrong once, it would be bad if they did it twice. With better wheels than his predecessors, despite momentarily losing fourth place to Fernando Alonso, the seven-time champion thought he would be able to achieve victory. They said so on the radio … but they weren’t expecting to find themselves at the Alpine wall.
Fight of the titans between Alonso and Hamilton
Fernando Alonso He confessed it after the race: Hamilton made the same three mistakes in the final part of the circuit, which benefited him to defend the position.
More than five laps the Briton was trying to get rid of his former teammate, in a duel that is already Formula 1 history.
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These laps defending Hamilton by Alonso was key so that the British did not reach the head of the race, since Sainz was hardly a rival for him. Vettel and Ocon were already too far to hunt them down, so the seven-time champion ultimately had to settle for third place. Given that Verstappen finished 10th, it is not a bad result.
Hungarian Grand Prix Race Times Table
After this race, Max verstappen loses the championship lead: now it is Lewis hamilton with 192 points, by 186 of the Dutch.