BUDAPEST: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen stormed to victory over Lando Norris and Sergio Perez with another commanding performance in the Hungarian Grand Prix.
With the victory the reigning double world champion clinched his seventh straight victory and the Red Bull their 12th in a row – beating McLaren’s long-standing record.
With their astonishing score already one above the 11 McLaren accomplished with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost during the 1988 season, it ensures Red Bull will extend their perfect winning streak for the 2023 season and set a new overall milestone in terms of consecutive race wins.
Verstappen passed pole-sitting Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton at the start before settling into the lead and pulling clear of the chasing pack with aplomb, chalking up a lights-to-flag win that puts further distance between himself and teammate Perez in the drivers’ standings.
Verstappen easily led Norris to the finish line, while Perez—one of just two drivers, along with George Russell, to go long in the first stint on hard tyres—rose from ninth to third with another strong comeback. Norris had fallen behind fellow McLaren driver Oscar Piastri early on but had gained it back at the start of pit stops.
The seven-time champion managed to salvage fourth place by making a late move on the Australian rookie Piastri, but his hopes of turning his 104th pole position into a 104th victory were dashed early on when he lost to Verstappen, Piastri, and Norris in quick succession.
After the finish line, Charles Leclerc slid to sixth place after being assessed a five-second time penalty for speeding in the pit lane, with Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz finishing eighth. Russell, driving the other Mercedes, had fought his way up from 18th.
Fernando Alonso, the final driver to stay on the same lap as winner Verstappen in ninth, and teammate Stroll, who finished one tour down in 10th, completed Aston Martin’s nondescript race weekend with a small double points finish. (ANI)