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Formula 1 has been waiting for years for a fierce battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. The Hungarian Grand Prix finally delivered it, and what a pleasure it resulted.
Verstappen in a slower Red Bull blocking Hamilton in a faster Mercedes, their teams fighting for a strategic battle as much as the drivers were fighting not to lose track – this resulted in a race that not only delighted the moment present, but has stimulated the appetite for what could be coming when F1 resumes after the four-week summer break in Belgium on 1 September.
Even Hamilton was thrilled by the battle – which became a reality as soon as the world champion overtook teammate Valtteri Bottas in the third round in the first round and settled behind Verstappen.
"As soon as I came in second," said Hamilton, "I was like:" OK, all this battle we talked about is about me and Max, we're going to have it aujourd & # 39; hui ". And it was really great. "
"I absolutely did not think:" Engineering "
As they dragged themselves to the front, the two men were racing apart, Hamilton more than a minute ahead of the third Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel, at the end of the Grand Prix.
Hamilton has always seemed faster, but the position of the track is very important at the Hungaroring, a narrow and winding track in a dusty amphitheater located about twenty kilometers from Budapest.
Hamilton rarely gave Verstappen time to breathe, and Verstappen defended with maturity and skill.
Never more than two seconds behind, Hamilton increased the pressure on Verstappen while the window allowed him to make a pit stop and join the Ferrari, then the approach of Charles Leclerc.
This forced Red Bull to stop Verstappen as soon as possible – in order to prevent Hamilton from stopping first and skipping the Dutchman that way.
This first pit stop meant that Mercedes could run longer for Hamilton, to give him cooler tires for his fight in the second stint, which was then scheduled for the end of the race.
After this first stop, Hamilton was everywhere in Verstappen. But after a breathtaking overtaking attempt around the outside of the ultra-fast Turn Four turn, he began to doubt that he could succeed in doubling.
It was turn 39 and, immediately after, Mercedes strategists began to consider the idea of a second stop. That would make them lose 20 seconds, but the idea was that Hamilton would come back to Verstappen like a rocket.
They badyzed and discussed the issue for seven laps and then moved on from hard tires to moderately average tires for the last 22 laps, in which Hamilton would have to catch up to 20 seconds and probably overtake the most aggressive driver and the most uncompromising sports.
It was an unusually aggressive and aggressive strategy from a team that was cautious – and impressively – just a week after being criticized for its dubious rainy strategy at Hockenheim, their worst race ever since. years with Hamilton.
Hamilton was far from sure it was the right idea.
"I really did not think," Genie, "he says. Did I think "it's worth trying"? I have a different point of view in the car. I went out (from the first pit stop) with cooler tires of six or seven laps and at the time, I was much faster and I thought to myself: 'OK, I have to just keep the pressure on it.
"But then, they told me we were going twice and that I could not calculate how it would work.
"I thought I could make the tough guys come to the end and I knew that he would be able to do the same thing, I thought the bites would be difficult and I did not even have it. the chance to think about which tire.
"They put me on the medium and it did not feel good at first, and then he started to match my time."
On the radio, doubt in Hamilton 's mind as to the wisdom of the strategy was clear. He had to buckle a second per lap, but after narrowing the gap to 16 seconds, Verstappen started doing the same times. Hamilton cooled his brakes, which were on the limit, but once they were back in the right temperature window, he relaxed.
"I thought," God, it's really risky, "said Hamilton." In the end, you simply have to go: "Go ahead, give it all." Do not worry if you do not catch it. Just focus on making perfect towers. "
It was what Mercedes and Hamilton call "hammer time". From 15.4 seconds, the gap was reduced to 10 turns.
"I've seen his era grow and I was like:" I'm going to catch him and as soon as I catch him, I pbad, no messing around. " was such a relief when I pbaded because it is your dream. "
Training and victory clearly made as much impression on Hamilton as on those who watched.
"It looks like a first (win)," he said. "I do not know how, I've been doing this for a long time but it's like one of the first ones."
Two men in a league apart
According to Mercedes team leader Toto Wolff, Hamilton's driving was "in another dimension".
In reality, there were two men in this dimension. Verstappen was also very impressive. His pole position Saturday was sensational and he lost to a faster car driven by an excellent top driver and a bold strategy that Red Bull could not answer.
"We were not fast enough," said Verstappen. "I've tried everything to stay alive with this hard tire.Always, second lap, fastest lap, good weekend." Congratulations to Lewis, he was pushing me hard, I like that. just a bit of adhesion, we tried a one – stop shop, they had the opportunity to spend two and it worked well.
Hamilton congratulated Verstappen for the way he had driven in the heat of the moment.
"A strong competitor and an excellent driver at his best," said Hamilton. "It's great to see the respect between us, a very respectful conduct and I hope to continue in this way.
"He put the car in good places, I gave him space and more, and if we were on the same points (at the championship) he might have been a lot more aggressive, but that's not the case. It was not necessary – it was just finally doing a pbading maneuver that was swept thoroughly. "
Respect went both ways. Then, at the press conference, a fascinating exchange took place between the two men when they were asked to score on 10 for the first half of the season.
After Vettel gave himself five points, he said "dissatisfied with the first half, I can do a better job" – Hamilton gave a "8.9 / 8.8 – if it was not the last race (in Germany), it would be a little higher.
"It's the best start to the season and one of the best starts I've ever had, but there are areas I can continue to work on. This is the major badet of this sport, you can always improve. "
Verstappen refused to give himself a number saying, "I hate to put a number on it because it reminds me of a school that was not so old.I am always quite critical, it can always be better.I am never satisfied was very positive and I had good results.
Hamilton did so for him, highlighting the two victories won by Verstappen in the three races immediately preceding Hungary.
"The last races are very good," Hamilton said of Verstappen. "I do not remember all the races, but he flew exceptionally and continues like that, it will be nine."
Finally, the quality of their race was summed up by their former rival Fernando Alonso, double champion, who retired at the end of last season, watching the home race.
"Bravo Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen," wrote Alonso on Twitter. "Push 70 laps to the maximum.More than a minute to the third, almost + one and a half turn to the top five.Impromising.Thank you for the show."
A nervous wait for Bottas
As Hamilton enters the summer break with an extension to his championship lead and a sixth title to be sealed well before the end of the season, his Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas, faces a much less comfortable month.
He is out of contract this year and Wolff will spend the summer holidays deciding whether he wants to keep Bottas or replace him with substitute driver Esteban Ocon.
It was therefore a bad time for Bottas to have such a race. Second in the first corner, he was 4th as he headed for Turn Four in the first lap, and with a broken front wing, having locked his wheels in the first two corners, overtaken by Hamilton, touching him slightly. teammate then overtaken by Leclerc, who broke the front wing of the Mercedes at the same time.
This led to a tough afternoon and an eighth place.
Wolff said, "I am so sad for him, he was so excited yesterday, his qualifying performance was brilliant and he was in a good state of mind before the race.
"And then the unfortunate incident in the flat puncture, the contact with Lewis, the contact with Leclerc and then suddenly, in a U-turn, all the work is gone and it's just awful for him and I'm sorry for him. "
Wolff said the future of Bottas would not revolve around this performance.
"We will not let a race result influence our decision," he said. "It's more about compiling all the data, then making a decision about stability, a great personality and a very good driver, as opposed to giving young people a chance with all the reward and all the risks that it can bring. , and we have not done it yet.
"We will start the process tomorrow and it will not be easy."
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