The outcome of the Hungarian Grand Prix all boiled down to one event: what happened in the first corner. Largely dormant since 2021, the Lewis Hamilton-Max Verstappen rivalry resurfaced as the two locked out the front row, where Hamilton claimed his first Formula 1 pole since the two did battle amid the final year of the previous generation of cars.
If Verstappen suffered a repeat of his opening salvo in the British Grand Prix two weeks prior, Hamilton could theoretically employ the solid race pace present in the Mercedes, and realistically make life more difficult for Red Bull. Conversely, should the Dutchman get the upper hand into the tight opening corner, his hopes of delivering a 12th successive win for the Red Bull squad to break McLaren’s record-holding 11-race streak from 1988 would increase exponentially.
Naturally, with the way that 2023 has gone so far, it was no surprise that Verstappen collected the lead into the first corner and began his customary ride into the sunset.
In the end, it was almost too easy for Verstappen. When he crossed the line after 70 laps of the relentless Hungaroring – 12 miles north-east of Budapest – we had to wait 33.7 seconds before Lando Norris swept past the chequered flag for second. It represented Verstappen’s biggest margin of victory in a season that has yielded unprecedented dominance for him and his team.
Among the paddock, the hopes of a somewhat interesting race and a tete-a-tete battle were balanced precariously on that opening lap. Perhaps it was unrealistic, given the flaws that remain present in the Mercedes W14, to expect Hamilton to challenge
