7 winners and 6 losers at the Hungarian Grand Prix – who goes big into the summer break?

A rain shower created the conditions for an exciting, action-packed Hungarian Grand Prix, in which some jumped into the summer break and others had to regret what might have been. We picked our seven winners and six losers from the Hungaroring …

Winner: Esteban Ocon and Alpine

Esteban Ocon made his mark when he won a world championship race as the 111th driver in his 78th start.

Sure, it was lucky he kept his nose clean in the first corner hand-to-hand fight, but under the intense pressure of Sebastian Vettel he still held the nerve to take the win and become the 14th French rider to compete in the F1 wins on top of that.

MUST SEE: See how Alpine’s Esteban Ocon became the Grand Prix winner

The last French driver to win in a French car with a French engine was Alain Prost with Renault at the Austrian Grand Prix in 1983. This was the 50th victory for the Enstone team and the first under the banner of the Alps.

Ocon celebrated his victory with his teammate – who was instrumental in the final result

And with Fernando Alonso playing a key role in holding up Lewis Hamilton for about 10 laps to neutralize the threat to Ocon’s lead and crossing the finish line fifth, the team’s points increase lifted the team two places to fifth in the Constructors’ Championship.

Loser: Valtteri Bottas

Valtteri Bottas had looked quick all weekend as he continued his upward trend in form by locking out the front row alongside teammate Hamilton. But his race only lasted a few hundred meters after he misjudged his braking point and Lando Norris slipped into the rear.

For the first time in his career, the Finn was eliminated on the first lap of the race. In his credit, he held up his hands and took the blame while also apologizing to Norris and Sergio Perez, who both had to give up because of the collision that Bottas had caused.

READ MORE: “Apologies don’t change anything” – Norris slams Bottas when Finn admits he made “a mess”

Bottas made a very costly mistake on the first lap and will have to retire from the grid for the next race to exacerbate his problems

Winner: Sebastian Vettel and Aston Martin

On Sunday there were signs of old Sebastian Vettel in Hungary, the German put pressure on Ocon when he sniffed out the chance of victory. If he hadn’t lost a few seconds in the pit stop, he might have skipped the French.

The second starting place was still a very impressive result, with his second podium of the year and the eighth podium at the Hungaroring.

READ MORE: Ocon claims his first shock win at the action-packed Hungarian Grand Prix when Vettel was disqualified from P2

It was a strong end to the first half of the season, while the points were decisive for Aston Martin in the close battle with Alpine and AlphaTauri for fifth place in the constructors’ championship – but then there was a turn on Sunday evening….

Hungarian Grand Prix 2021: Ocon and Vettel take the podium

Losers: Sebastian Vettel and Aston Martin

Vettel stopped on the track instead of returning to the pits after finishing the Grand Prix and it later emerged that race officials were unable to get the required fuel sample.

As a result, Vettel was disqualified from the event, robbing him of the team and his second podium of the year. Aston Martin said they will appeal, which is not surprising given the large number of points at stake.

Winner: Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton stayed calm on team radio as he sat alone on the grid at the restart while everyone else pitted, knowing he would fall back from first to last if he pitted the following lap.

READ MORE: Hamilton Explains Decision Not To Pit For Dry Tires On Restart As Wolff Claims Mercedes “Did The Right Thing”

He is back at the top of the championship but it wasn’t a flawless performance by Hamilton in Hungary

But he stayed cool and made his way through the field, eventually overtaking Alonso after a gigantic fight before picking up Carlos Sainz and finishing third, who finished second after Vettel was disqualified. When he got out of the car, he did not feel well, he felt tired and slightly dizzy.

In the overall standings, however, he can comfort himself a little, in which he has regained the championship lead for the first time since before the Monaco Grand Prix, as he is now eight points ahead of Max Verstappen, a swing of 40 in two races.

Loser: Max Verstappen

These weren’t good events for Verstappen and Red Bull, with the team only scoring five points – including those accumulated in the F1 sprint – thanks to the Dutch racer. In Hungary they were only a fraction behind Mercedes in sheer performance, with Verstappen’s race taking a blow when he was hit at the start, causing significant damage to his RB16B – and his title hopes.

READ MORE: Verstappen laments the frustrating run on P9 in Hungary after it was “turned off again by a Mercedes”

Verstappen was overtaken by the accidents on the first lap and had to drive a badly damaged car

Although he continued, he could only fight his way back to 10th, which was ninth with Vettel’s DSQ and meant that he gave up the championship lead. Red Bull falls further behind the Silver Arrows with a deficit of 12 points.

Winner: Carlos Sainz

Carlos Sainz has made a name for himself as the comeback king – and he only strengthened this day on Sunday with a mature drive from the 15th.

READ MORE: What the Teams Said – Race Day in Hungary

He kept his nose clean at the start – and then showed a strong pace in the open air after Nicholas Latifi pitted – securing his fourth straight top five finish when he finished 15th or lower started. This brings him up to sixth place in the drivers’ standings, ahead of his team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Sainz seems to do his best when he’s against it – as he was on the grid from P15

Loser: Charles Leclerc

There was little Leclerc could do when Lance Stroll slipped into him, the Monegasque’s Ferrari damaged so badly that it couldn’t continue.

It was the second time he missed the checkered flag this season, finishing a series of three races in the points, including his brilliant drive to almost win the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Winner: Williams

Williams hasn’t had the best luck this season as George Russell has already missed points several times – but these were undeniable in Hungary.

READ MORE: Russell says he “shed a tear” after winning his first points for Williams in Hungary

A double score for Williams was rightly celebrated like a victory on Sunday

Latifi briefly finished third – but was able to maintain his place in the top 10, finishing eighth (who finished seventh) for his first career points, while giving the team their best result since the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Russell, who offered to compromise his race to give Latifi a better result, eventually scored his first points for Williams on his 48th start for the team.

Taken together, they move up to eighth in the constructors’ championship with 10 points – the first double point classification since Monza in 2018 – seven points ahead of Alfa Romeo. In a season when the bottom three rarely score, this is a remarkable result.

Loser: Red Bull

Red Bull left the home race in Austria 44 points ahead of Mercedes in the constructors’ championship, but just two races later they are starting the summer break 12 points behind – 56 points behind.

READ MORE: Perez fears costly engine damage after “big mistake” by Bottas

They had turned down their request to review Hamilton’s Silverstone penalty in Hungary on Thursday and things didn’t really improve from then on with Mercedes having the upper hand on the track.

Just not their day – and worse news could come if Perez’s aggregate cannot be saved

The team’s race was essentially ruined in the first corner after Bottas triggered a collision with several cars that knocked out Perez on the spot and caused so much damage to Verstappen’s car that he could only lag in 10th place, the one after Vettel’s follow-up race DSQ was ninth. You will be determined to beat the blocks when the season starts again in Belgium.

Winner: Mick Schumacher

There weren’t any points, but this was another example of Mick Schumacher’s potential when the Haas driver made up 10 places at the start to make it into the top 10.

READ MORE: Facts & Stats on the Hungarian GP – Ocon secured the first French triple since Prost – and there is a new record for Alonso

He then did an excellent job of defending against Verstappen and Russell, and although he eventually lost positions, he didn’t make it easy for any of these much more experienced drivers. He crossed the finish line 13th to hold his 100% final record.

Hungarian Grand Prix 2021: Russell overtook Schumacher with a brilliant move in Turn 2

Loser: Lance Stroll

Lance Stroll’s Hungarian Grand Prix didn’t last long, the Canadian stalling while braking and losing control of his Aston Martin in slippery conditions.

It crashed into Leclerc, causing damage that forced both of them to retreat. It was the fifth race of the year in which Stroll could not score.

READ MORE: Bottas and Stroll gave up five places at the Belgian GP because they crashed in Turn 1 in Hungary

Winner: AlphaTauri

AlphaTauri scored points with both vehicles for the second time this season – and although it lost a place in the constructors’ championship to race winner Alpine, a double chase for points is keeping an eye on only 11 points behind.

Pierre Gasly’s sixth place was his eighth points result of the year, while a late stop for Softs earned him an extra point for the fastest lap. Although Yuki Tsunoda felt uncomfortable in the car all weekend, he stayed out of trouble and finished seventh, his best career result.