Hungary brought the first half of the 2021 F1 season to a close with an almighty bang. Producing a first-time winner and further shaking up the championship battle, it has left the second half of the season tantalisingly poised. But how did the drivers perform in the last race before the three-week summer break?
Esteban Ocon (1st) – 10
The first Frenchman to win in a French car powered by a French engine since Alain Prost with Renault in 1983, Esteban Ocon produced a brilliant drive in his Alpine to take his (and their) first ever F1 victory.
Benefitting from the first corner carnage, Ocon kept out of trouble by keeping his car glued to the inside of Turn 1, subsequently moving from eighth to second.
He then inherited the race lead following Mercedes’ decision to not pit Lewis Hamilton ahead of the restart after the red flag. From there, he kept his cool masterfully, producing a faultless display to keep the faster Aston Martin of Sebastian Vettel behind him. A well-deserved victory for the Frenchman.
Lewis Hamilton (2nd) – 9
The decision made by Mercedes not to pit Hamilton ahead of the race restart (Toto Wolff confirmed it was a Mercedes error, not a Hamilton error) dropped the Brit from first to last, costing him a comfortable victory.
On a track where overtaking is incredibly difficult, Hamilton then produced several great moves, including one round the outside of Yuki Tsunoda at Turn 4, to drive himself back up the order.
Despite being on softer and fresher tyres, however, his failure to pass Fernando Alonso’s Alpine for 10 laps cost him another chance at victory. While brilliant defending from the Spaniard, Hamilton would have expected to set up the move and get it done sooner.
Nonetheless, after being promoted to second following Vettel’s post-race disqualification, Hamilton will look back on this weekend as a fruitful one as he regained the Championship lead for the first time since round 4 in Spain.
Carlos Sainz (3rd) – 9
Carlos Sainz recovered brilliantly from his Saturday Q2 crash to finish fourth on the road, before later being promoted onto the podium following Vettel’s disqualification.
His second podium for the Scuderia, the Spaniard took his strategy into his own hands as he overruled his pit wall, extending his first stint to overcut the Williams of Nicholas Latifi and the AlphaTauri of Tsunoda and move himself up from fifth to third.
While he was powerless to stop the charging Hamilton from overtaking him three laps from the end, Vettel’s disqualification meant he regained third place and moved ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc in the Championship standings.
A great end to a good first half of the season for the Ferrari driver.
Fernando Alonso (4th) – 10
On the weekend where Fernando Alonso celebrated his 40th birthday, the Spaniard proved he is still one of the best drivers on the grid, producing a defensive masterclass to stall the progress of Hamilton’s Mercedes.
Indeed, Alonso was crucial to teammate Ocon’s victory: with the pace Hamilton was showing, he would surely have caught and overtaken the Frenchman had the Spaniard not delayed him for so long.
Eventually Alonso did succumb to the pressure, allowing Hamilton through with five laps remaining after locking up going into Turn 1.
Nonetheless, nobody can begrudge the two-time world champion that error after his defensive performance. A deserved driver of the day and proof that there’s plenty of life in the old dog yet.
Pierre Gasly (5th) – 8.5
Another excellent performance by Pierre Gasly saw him finish in fifth, his second-best result of the season.
As low as thirteenth at the end of the first lap after being forced wide by the incidents inside of him, the Frenchman showed excellent pace thereafter, exemplified by his gaining of the extra point for the fastest lap.
Having been one of the most consistent performers since his return to AlphaTauri, it is no wonder rumours are circulating about his moving to a team closer to the front of the grid.
Yuki Tsunoda (6th) – 8
A much better result for the rookie who recovered from a disappointing Q1 exit to secure his best-ever F1 finish to date.
Another benefactor of the Turn 1 incidents, Tsunoda found himself in fifth at the end of lap 1, gaining 11 places from his starting position.
That did not prevent some characteristic team radio anger, however, as he urged his team to tell Pierre Gasly to go faster after they switched positions.
Nicholas Latifi (7th) – 8.5
Nicholas Latifi scored his best-ever F1 result and his first ever F1 points with his seventh placed finish in Hungary.
Running as high as third following the restart after the red flag, the Canadian did well to keep the faster cars of Tsunoda and Sainz behind him during the first stint on dry tyres.
Although undercut by the AlphaTauri and overcut by the Ferrari, as well as overtaken by Hamilton as he made his way through the midfield, Latifi kept it on the road to secure Williams’ first points finish since the 2019 German Grand Prix, and their best since the 2017 Brazilian Grand Prix.
George Russell (8th) – 8
George Russell will surely take being knocked out in Q1 at every race with Williams if it means he scores points on Sunday.
Despite his failure to progress through to Q2, ending his remarkable Saturday run, Russell made up for it in the race as he scored his first points for the team, something that made the Brit quite emotional in his post-race interviews.
While he did well to keep both Daniel Ricciardo and later Max Verstappen behind him, there will still be some disappointment as found himself behind teammate Latifi after the first lap despite qualifying ahead of him.
Max Verstappen (9th) – 7.5
Is Max Verstappen the unluckiest driver on the grid right now? He is certainly a contender as the Dutchman’s race was ruined on Lap 1 after Valtteri Bottas sent Lando Norris charging into the side of his Red Bull.
Verstappen nonetheless continued with what was effectively half a car, gaining two points for his efforts. With the championship battle as close as it is, such persistence could prove to be vital come the end of the season.
Kimi Räikkönen (10th) – 7.5
Kimi Räikkönen recovered from a 10-second time penalty received for an unsafe release to claim only his second point of the season.
Running in eighth beforehand, Räikkönen would have secured a greater points haul had it not been for the penalty. Nonetheless, an overtake on Ricciardo two laps from the end meant he did not leave Hungary empty handed.
Daniel Ricciardo (11th) – 6.5
Like Verstappen, Ricciardo’s race was effectively ruined at Turn 1.
A victim of a separate incident, the McLaren driver almost emerged in second place before Lance Stroll ploughed into Charles Leclerc who consequently turned Riccardo around.
With a damaged car, the Aussie was unable to make any inroads into those in front of him, instead spending much of the race defending from Verstappen. Eventually passed by both the Dutchman and Räikkönen, the Aussie left Hungary without anything to show for his efforts, enduring another weekend of frustration.
A summer reset is needed for the honey badger.
Mick Schumacher (12th) – 8
How good was it to see Mick Schumacher and Haas battling with other cars?
The German, who was running as high as tenth after the restart – the first time all season that Haas have been in the points – finally got to display his wheel-to-wheel talent in F1.
Defending brilliantly from Verstappen, Schumacher managed to keep the damaged Red Bull behind for several laps, giving some joy to his team in what has been a torrid season to date.
Antonio Giovinnazi (13th) – 5.5
The last of the finishers, Giovinazzi gambled before the start of the race by pitting for slicks on the formation lap.
The Italian then ditched that strategy by putting on intermediates ahead of the restart, costing him a huge gain in track position as he pitted with every other driver for slicks.
To make matters worse, Giovinazzi received a stop-go penalty for speeding in the pit lane, leaving him with an insurmountable gap to make up over the course of the rest of the race.
With Williams securing a double points finish, it was not a good weekend for the Italian or his team.
Disqualified
Sebastian Vettel – 9.5
What a cruel way to have a podium finish taken away from you.
The German was disqualified in the hours after the race after the FIA were unable to take the mandatory one-litre sample of fuel from his Aston Martin.
Vettel nonetheless drove superbly, emerging from the Lap 1 chaos behind Ocon, thereafter pressuring the Frenchman for all 70 laps.
Although unable to overtake on track, he may have undercut the Alpine driver for the win had his pit stop been a second faster, although in hindsight this would have made his disqualification even harder to take.
Did not finish
Nikita Mazepin – 6
Mazepin could no nothing as Alfa Romeo released Kimi Räikkönen into his path during the pit stops before the restart. The incident ended his race, although the Russian would have been very unlikely to have scored any points had he been without such luck.
Lando Norris – 7
Lando Norris could do nothing as Valtteri Bottas misjudged his breaking point and careered into the back of his McLaren.
A victim of his own success, Norris had got off to a great start, jumping Bottas and challenging Perez for third before the Finn ended his race.
That brought an end to Norris’ 15-race scoring streak, the longest in McLaren’s history. He can nonetheless take solace from the fact he is still third in the driver standings heading into the summer break, comfortably outperforming teammate Ricciardo.
Valtteri Bottas – 4
A rookie error from a man under pressure to keep his seat at Mercedes for 2022.
He ended both Norris’ and Sergio Perez’s races, and ruined Verstappen’s as well. To make matters worse, he received a deserved five-place grid drop for the Belgian Grand Prix.
He will have to improve if he wants to quash the rumours surrounding his Mercedes future.
Sergio Perez – 6.5
After a disappointing qualifying session in which Perez was 8 tenths behind his teammate, a lightning start saw the Mexican overtake Bottas and challenge Norris for third heading into Turn 1.
Unfortunately for him, he could do nothing as Bottas then careered into his Red Bull having already collected Norris.
After a disappointing run of results since the French Grand Prix, the Mexican will need to improve after the summer break if he wants to keep the second Red Bull seat.
Lance Stroll – 4
In a similar fashion to Bottas, Lance Stroll carried far too much speed into Turn 1, misjudging his breaking point and consequently ending his race as well as that of Charles Leclerc’s. He therefore also deservedly received a five-place grid drop for the Belgian Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc – 7
Leclerc could do nothing as Stroll steamed up the inside and hit his Ferrari, ending his race.
Like Verstappen, the Monegasque has endured his fair share of bad luck this season, with victory a real possibility had Stroll not punted him.
Featured image by Michał Obrochta – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0; no changes made.
