Ocon and Alpine finish on top in a topsy-turvy affair.
BUDAPEST, Hungary—On Sunday in Budapest, Esteban Ocon responded loudly to those who believed he didn’t deserve a three-year extension on his Alpine contract. In mixed conditions, the young Frenchman held off Sebastian Vettel to take his maiden victory by 1.8 seconds at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton finished third.
Estaban Oban: What a moment! It felt so good. We had some difficult moments this season, but we overcame them together with the team. Congrats to Fernando as well. Thanks to him, it was possible. That’s teamwork.
The prize for pole-sitter Hamilton was retaking the lead (by seven points) from Max Verstappen in the Drivers Championship. Verstappen finished the race in an uncharacteristic spot, 10th place. While Hamilton was quick to acknowledge Ocon’s victory, he also pointed out his own shortcomings. “Today was definitely tough. I gave it everything, and I had nothing left in the end.”
It was a race that definitely didn’t go according to the script. Soon after Ocon took the opening lead from the 8th starting spot on the grid, Valtteri Bottas came down straightaway in light rainy conditions, broke too late, and struck McLaren’s Lando Norris. That incident began a chain reaction with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez. All three of those drivers were thrust out of the race. In addition, Verstappen struck Norris. Despite inflicting damage to the right side of his Red Bull car, Verstappen managed to continue as the safety car, and shortly the red flag, stopped the race for 20 minutes.
When the shower left the circuit, and the sun began to shine, Ocon, who had avoided all the mayhem, found himself first, with Vettel right behind him.
When the track began to dry, all of the drivers except Hamilton came in for slick tires. But Hamilton, who had begun the restart by himself, soon realized that keeping the intermediates was a mistake, and he came in for slicks on the very next lap.
Upon returning, Hamilton found himself in the last place, battling to get back into contention. Hamilton managed to move up the grid to sixth place, where he battled Alpine’s Fernando Alonso for many laps. He eventually overtook the Spaniard and passed Carlos Sainz Jr. in his Ferrari to take third. But nobody else, including Hamilton, could get close to Ocon and Vettel, who drove no more than two seconds apart throughout the race.
“Esteban didn’t make a single mistake,” Vettel said afterward. “While it’s a great result for us when it’s that close, you’re always looking at the win rather than second-place.”
Sainz Jr. held off Alonso for fourth place, while Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda took sixth and seventh, respectively. Williams scored their first points of the season dramatically, placing Nicholas Latifi and George Russell in eighth and ninth.
Only one other driver retired, Hass driver Nikita Mazepin, who was involved in an accident in the pitlane as Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen struck the Russian’s right-front tire when the Finn was involved in an unsafe release. This incident cost Raikkonen a ten-second penalty later in the race.
Ocon becomes the 111th different Grand Prix race winner in the history of the sport. And, now, he and his Alpine team can enjoy a well-deserved vacation. The annual August break is here, and the teams won’t reassemble until the last weekend of the month at Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian Grand Prix.
