Red Bull’s Max Verstappen came from 10th on the grid to claim his eighth win of the 2022 Formula 1 season at the Hungaroring. Verstappen’s efforts during the race earned him F1’s Driver of the Day for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix lived up to its hype following a thrilling qualifying session that saw Mercedes’ George Russell claim his first ever pole position in the sport. The British driver led the opening stages of the race, though he was ultimately passed by Charles Leclerc, whose race untangled after a switch onto the hard compound tyre.
This opened the door for Verstappen, who despite spinning on the entry to the final turn romped to victory after overtaking Leclerc on track for a second time.
Behind him, Lewis Hamilton had yet another great race going from seventh on the grid to second. The seven-time world champion was on fire during the latter part of the race setting the fastest lap as he charged past Carlos Sainz and his teammate Russell to claim second.
Verstappen’s maturity pays off
Despite having an engine issue that saw him start the race from 10th on the grid, Verstappen put in a mature drive navigating a tricky start, and saw him pick off the slower cars ahead of him.
Working his way up to fourth, the Dutchman pitted earlier than the drivers ahead of him to benefit from an undercut during the second round of pit stops. Verstappen then proceeded to overtake Leclerc, who was struggling on his hard compound tires, before spinning and being forced to overtake the Monegasque driver once more.
From here, Verstappen was able to ease to win number eight and extend his lead in the Drivers’ Championship heading into the season’s summer break.
