Red Eye’s Hungarian Grand Prix Highlights

A first-corner melee, changeable weather conditions, championship permutations and a very popular maiden winner – the Formula 1 ® Hungarian Grand Prix last weekend had something for everyone.

Here at Red Eye HQ, we’ve cast another look over some of our favourite moments from arguably the race of the season so far…

First corner chaos at the Hungaroring

It was difficult to know where to look as the field made their way down to the first corner in slippery conditions, as two separate incidents took out a quarter of the runners.

The more high-profile happened after Valtteri Bottas locked up, spearing into the back of Lando Norris’ McLaren, the pair then hitting Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen’s Red Bull’s respectively.

The other claimed both the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll and Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, the Canadian getting out of shape in the treacherous conditions and tagging the side of the Monegasque’s SF21.

It left the race with a jumbled order, and with several key contenders either on the sidelines or in the pits in dire need of repairs. Fetch the popcorn!

 Selfless Russell, and Williams finally score points

“If you need to compromise my race to help Nicky, do it,” was the call into the Williams pit box from George Russell, then running seventh, with team-mate Nicholas Latifi occupying the final podium spot in third.

A selfless call from the young Brit went down a hit with fans and, although both cars ultimately ended slipping back to seventh and eighth at the chequered flag, the team’s first points since Germany in 2019 provided a much-needed boost to the Grove team after several near-misses this season.

It also means they leapfrog Alfa Romeo into eighth spot in the Constructors standings, which could prove crucial come the end of the season.

Verstappen and Schumacher go wheel-to-wheel

A quick search online will return photos of Max Verstappen in his infancy meeting seven-time World Champion, Michael Schumacher, in the peak of his career at Ferrari whilst Max’s father Jos was still on the grid himself.

With that in mind, the Dutch ace’s thrilling wheel-to-wheel battle with Michael’s son, Mick, seemed rather poignant, as both second-generation drivers kept us on the edge of our seats.

Although Verstappen eventually got the move done around the outside of Turn 2, despite marginal contact between the pair, Schumacher Jr’s race craft  gave us a glimpse of what might be possible in the future.

Alonso vs. Hamilton

When Lewis Hamilton pitted for a fresh set of medium tyres as the Grand Prix entered a crucial phase, it was imperative for Alpine – leading the race with Esteban Ocon – to halt the reigning World Champion’s progress as much as possible.

And who better to fill the vacancy than Hamilton’s ‘original’ rival, former McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso?

The two haven’t had many wheel-to-wheel encounters since the Spaniard returned to the sport at the beginning of the season, but this certainly made up for it.

In total, Alonso kept the much-faster Mercedes behind for 11 laps, during which time Hamilton’s pace matched that of race leader Ocon. Had he made the move stick sooner, it may well have been a different story at the front…

Esteban Ocon takes a popular maiden victory

But nobody would deny Esteban Ocon a first Grand Prix victory for both himself and the Alpine team, the Frenchman crossing the line just 1.8 seconds clear of Sebastian Vettel, who would later be disqualified after being unable to provide a fuel sample.

It marks an important step in Ocon’s career, from Force India protegee, to being side-lined for a season and then coming back into the fold with Renault (now Alpine).

Although he owes his victory in part to Alonso’s heroics, the 24-year-old did remarkably well to soak up race-long pressure from Vettel and keep his cool with Hamilton charging through the order behind.

A repeat performance seems unlikely based on pure pace in the short term, but Ocon has shown the sport’s top brass he can perform under pressure. There’s little doubting his already-high stock has risen further in the last few days.

What were your favourite moments from the race? Let us know in the comments!