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Max Verstappen wins Formula 1 race in Hungary

Lthey are awkward, the weather forecasters of Mogyoród. At the 37th Hungarian Grand Prix, it was unclear for a long time what they would be serving up on the Hungaroring on Sunday afternoon. It is often boring on the narrow, slow and winding track, where overtaking is difficult. The many tens of thousands of spectators longed for a heavy downpour, so that it could spice up the racing events. Admittedly, these hopes were not fulfilled; at best, it dribbled slightly. Nevertheless, it was a turbulent racing Sunday with many overtaking manoeuvres, at the end of which Max Verstappen was surprisingly waved off as the winner.

The success in Mogyoród, half an hour’s drive from Budapest, is the second triumph in a row for the Dutchman and the next step on the way to defending his title – Verstappen started from tenth place. And on a track where Ferrari had previously been considered a favourite. Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes finished second ahead of his teammate George Russell. For Ferrari it was only enough for fourth place (Carlos Sainz) and sixth place (Charles Leclerc). Sebastian Vettel, who had announced the end of his career before the race weekend, collected a championship point in tenth place. Mick Schumacher got off to a very good start in the Haas-Ferrari, initially moving up to eleventh place, but ultimately finishing 14th but without any points.

Before the start of the Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon, showers kept falling over the Hungaroring. The thermometer showed 19 degrees Celsius, the asphalt was hardly warmer (27). It was important for the drivers to increase the tire temperature in order to gain traction and not to slide hopelessly over the winding track. Surprisingly, Mercedes driver George Russell won the qualification on Saturday and thus secured the first pole position of his career.

For the first time this season, a Silver Arrow was at the front of the starting grid. The Brit was 0.04 seconds faster than the favorite Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz, who secured second place on the grid ahead of team-mate Charles Leclerc. Max Verstappen could not keep up with the time hunt. Due to problems with the MGU-K electric machine, the championship leader only qualified for tenth place on the grid – actually a heavy burden at the Hungaroring.

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