MSeveral hours after the crazy horsepower thriller in the Puszta, the memorable Hungarian Grand Prix took another crazy turn. Sebastian Vettel was disqualified on Sunday evening because of insufficient fuel in his Aston Martin. The 34-year-old native of Heppenheim was already on his way home when the race stewards announced the momentous decision on the Hungaroring.
Instead of a “bit” of disappointment about the missed first Grand Prix victory in almost two years, the Formula 1 holidays for Vettel should have started with huge frustration. 0.3 liters were found during the examination of the technical delegate in Vettel’s car – at least 1.0 liters are required. In the unsuccessful attempt to catch the 24-year-old sensational winner Esteban Ocon in the Alpine, Vettel had consumed too much.
And that also had consequences for the World Cup ranking. Because behind Ocon and Vettel, Lewis Hamilton raced to third place in the rousing eleventh race of the season with a mass crash in the rain and lots of action. The seven-time world champion had started from pole for the 101st time in the Silver Arrow, but in the meantime slipped to last place before he had started an exhausting race to catch up.
Sebastian Vettel (left) initially benefited from the crash in the first lap
Quelle: Getty Images/Pool
“There is nothing in me anymore. I’m pumped out, “said Hamilton, and that’s how he looked on the podium – next to and with Vettel. Second place gave the Briton 18 instead of 15 points. His lead in the recaptured World Championship lead grew to eight points over Max Verstappen.
The Dutchman was one of the victims of the opening crash, his team-mate Sergio Perez had to give up completely. “This is another bad experience for us,” said Red Bull team boss Chris Horner. “That is really brutal.”
Another Mercedes sent Verstappen off the track
The biggest excitement came shortly after the start. Verstappen was again knocked off the track by a Mercedes driver. After the Red Bull driver drove into Hamilton at the British Grand Prix two weeks ago, this time Valtteri Bottas crashed Lando Norris’ McLaren, which in turn crashed into Verstappen.
The accident was clearly the Finn’s fault. “Unfortunately Bottas has overestimated himself again”, Sky expert Ralf Schumacher commented on the scene. Bottas started from second place and was conceded by many competitors even before the first corner. Then the accident happened.
Unlike at Silverstone, Verstappen was initially able to continue. His car was badly damaged, however, and the Dutchman dropped a few places. Hamilton, who had started from position one, was spared the mass accident.
Some other cars, including that of Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari, who smugly commented on the incident with a “nice bowling game” on Twitter, were so badly damaged in the pile-up that the race had to be briefly interrupted. Too many vehicle parts were lying on the track.
Vettel at the restart in third place
Norris, who got off to a good start and had meanwhile moved up to third place before Bottas rammed him from behind, had to park the car. “I don’t know why you have to take such a risk,” said Norris in a TV interview. Sergio Pérez, Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate, also had to quit.
Before the restart, Vettel was now in third place. Together with Hamilton, he was actually one of the beneficiaries of the accident. And that despite the fact that the Aston Martin driver got off to a terrible start. His wheels were spinning and he was getting off the spot with difficulty. But that’s exactly what helped him because he was able to avoid the accident.
Mercedes misses the moment of the tire change
The strange race continued at the restart. The track was now dry and almost everyone came into the pits to switch to dry tires. Only one not: Hamilton. He stood there alone with his mixed tires and drove off. The rest followed from the pit lane. Hamilton seemed to have been responsible for why Mercedes hadn’t changed the tires directly. He came in after one lap and came out last. “Sorry, guys,” Hamilton radioed to the pits.
Almost 20 seconds separated him from first place, on which Ocon was now driving, Vettel was behind, while Nicholas Latifi was first in the Williams on three. Mick Schumacher initially finished tenth in the points – ahead of Verstappen, who initially struggled to get past.
At the next tire change, Hamilton and Mercedes were spot on and made up two places in the pits alone. And the 36-year-old Briton, who has already won eight times in Hungary, remained in the mood to attack, the World Cup lead came closer with every successful overtaking maneuver, while Verstappen had to struggle more with his demolished Red Bull than with the competition.
For Esteban Ocon it was the first Formula 1 victory of his career
Source: Getty Images / Mark Thompson
From the leading trio, Vettel came in first for the next tire change, but his stop lasted a second longer than Ocon’s one lap later. Hamilton also came back and went all out. “Lewis, you can win that,” team boss Toto Wolff intervened on the pit radio. At Alonso, however, it was over for the time being, the former teammates at McLaren fought a rock-hard duel before Hamilton got past four laps before the end of the race. Hamilton should not have expected that he would overtake again several hours later.
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