Starting from 10th following a loss of power in qualifying, the Reddish Bull driver took through the field at the Hungaroring in Budapest to secure his 2nd straight victory after success in France a week ago.
With both Ferraris beginning in the front 3, it had appeared set to be a time of damage manage, but it ended with Verstappen adding an additional 17 points to his lead more than Charles Leclerc in the championship.
Now trailing the runaway head by 80 factors, more strategic mishaps compounded another devastating day for Leclerc and Ferrari. The Monegasque driver was the only racer in the top 15 to be pitted three times as he finished sixth, along with teammate Carlos Sainz falling from a second-place start to fourth.
A decision to change Leclerc to hard tires penned the latest blunder onto an increasing list of calamitous strategy decisions by Ferrari, just one week on from an embarrassing radio stations back-and-forth with Sainz.
It meant for the 2nd race running, Ferrari’s misery was contrasted by celebration within the Mercedes garage, as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell finished second plus third respectively to secure back-to-back double podium finishes for the group.
‘It was an insane race’
Despite race on a narrow monitor notoriously difficult just for overtaking, Verstappen wasted no time in trimming away at their deficit, rising to sixth by panel seven.
Even a 360-degree spin and rewrite on the 43rd panel couldn’t halt the charging Red Bull driver, who retrieved superbly to correct the particular slide and avert a crisis. Though Leclerc seized upon the slip to jump ahead, Verstappen experienced taken the place back again two laps afterwards and never looked back again.
Their lead over the going after Hamilton at the close was so broad that, as the anticipated rain finally fell, Verstappen could ease off the throttle within the final lap to rule out any possibility of a dramatic late mistake and seal his eighth triumph of the season.
“I was, of course , expecting I would get near to the podium, but it has been very tricky circumstances out there, ” Verstappen said.
“We had a great strategy, we were really reactive, always pitting at the right time. I think we had the right outlaps, but despite the 360, all of us still won the race.
“I was battling a lot of guys also it was a lot of fun out there. It was a crazy race but , of course , very happy we all won it. ”
‘We are clearly closing the gap’
A second-straight dual podium continued a great run of recent form for Mercedes, with Russell’s failure to convert their first career rod start into a success only a minor dampener on the day.
Fourth in the driver’s championship, the 24-year-old continues to impress in his debut season with the team.
“Again, an amazing work by the team in pole position recently, double podium, we have been definitely making improvement so really proud of the work everyone has completed, ” Russell stated.
“I’m sure there’s a lot I will look over and am could have done better… we pitted quite early on both stints, so you’re looking to eat the car tire out to the end, wanting to push as hard as possible at the same time. A challenging position to stay but nevertheless pleased to come away with a podium. ”
A second-straight runner-up finish with regard to Hamilton saw the particular seven-time world champ close the gap with Ferrari’s Sainz to 10 points in the driver’s championship — and twelve to teammate Russell — ahead of the summertime break.
“We’ve had a challenging year and for each cars to be in the podium is an incredible way to go into the split, ” Hamilton told Sky Sports.
“The other guys have an edge, but we are clearly closing the space. Hopefully, we can bring some more into the second half of the season and start fighting with them. inch