Formula 1: Winners and losers from the 2018 Hungarian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton claimed his fifth win of the 2018 Formula 1 season at the Hungaroring. Who were the winners and losers from the Hungarian Grand Prix?

Formula 1 traveled to the idyllic Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary for the 2018 Hungarian Grand Prix, the final race before the summer break. Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport’s Lewis Hamilton checked out early and never looked back until the checkered flag dropped.

Hamilton benefited from clean pit stops, sound strategy and mechanical reliability that other teams dream of. The win was his second consecutive win, as he won the German Grand Prix the week prior.

This most recent race has propelled Hamilton further ahead of second place challenger Sebastian Vettel of Scuderia Ferrari in the driver standings, as Hamilton now sits 24 points ahead (213 to 189) of him.

The Hungarian Grand Prix brought highs and lows for multiple teams and drivers as everyone was looking to finish the first half for the season on a high note. Let’s take a look at the winners and losers from the race.

Winners

Lewis Hamilton

If you looked at Lewis Hamilton at the beginning of the season and compared him to the Hamilton we see now, it would be like seeing a new driver. Hamilton started the season slowly by winning only two of the first seven races on the schedule. In the last three races, he has finished in the top two, and he has won both of the last two races.

During the Hungarian Grand Prix, Hamilton ran his own race to perfection, finishing a full 17.123 seconds ahead of Sebastian Vettel in second place. This gap was maintained for the majority of the race due in part to Hamilton’s teammate, Valtteri Bottas, who held off the Ferrari drivers of Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen for much of the race. Hamilton goes into the summer break with renewed momentum and a sizable points lead.

Pierre Gasly

Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Pierre Gasly notched the second best result of his Formula 1 career by finishing in sixth place at the Hungarian Grand Prix. He has shown potential in his first full season as a Formula 1 driver with three points-scoring results so far this year.

Gasly surprised many people in qualifying by earning a sixth place starting position, and he was able to back that up with an equally impressive race. He ran at the front of the mid-pack with a surprising level of confidence and with little challenge from the usual mid-pack drivers.

Losers

Valtteri Bottas

Valtteri Bottas was potentially in the running to claim his first victory of the 2018 season, but he will have to wait until after the summer break. Starting from second place on the grid, he was unable to give much of a challenge to Hamilton, who pulled away after the first lap and seemed to never look back.

Through the race, Bottas scrapped hard with both Ferrari drivers and even made contact with Vettel as he passed by for second place. Bottas later made contact with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo, which caused damage to the cars of both and caused Bottas to be issued a 10-second penalty after the race.

In talks after the race, Bottas was labeled as a spectacular wingman by his team boss Toto Wolff, to which Bottas took offense. Wolff soon clarified his statement that Bottas only served as a wingman for this race and that the Finn was not relegated to a role as a secondary driver. Unfortunately, actions speak louder than words, and radio messages have told Bottas to allow Hamilton through, not to pass him or to back up other drivers.

Renault power units

Is it possible that Renault is becoming the new Honda in terms of delivering unreliable parts? During the Hungarian Grand Prix, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen experienced yet another engine component failure. This marked the eighth retirement, the fifth of which for a mechanical issue, for a Red Bull Racing driver in the 12 rounds of competition so far this season.

There has always been back and forth finger-pointing between Red Bull Racing and Renault and this seems to be a prime example of two parties not being on the same level in terms of goals and performance.

Red Bull Racing have committed to using Honda power units in the 2019 and 2020 seasons, which could potentially be putting a strain on Renault to deliver components that last. Regardless of the reason why, it is never good for an engine supplier to see a unit or component fail.

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The next Formula 1 race is the Belgian Grand Prix, which is scheduled to take place in under four weeks on Sunday, August 26 at the historic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, Belgium. Will Lewis Hamilton extend his lead in the driver stanidngs in this race?

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