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Max Verstappen has further extended his unbelievable lead in the 2023 F1 drivers' standings with yet another win at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Red Bull have now achieved their record-breaking 12th consecutive race win.
The two-time world champion started the race from P2 behind the Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton. But he managed to take the lead of the race at the very beginning, within the first lap of the race. From thereon, Verstappen maintained the lead and built it further, finishing ahead of Lando Norris and Sergio Perez.
As reported by Sky Sports, while speaking to F1 Junior, the Dutchman reflected on the race:
"It made my race a bit easier to have a good start and immediately go into the lead. Then basically you can just do your own pace. The car was very, very fast."
"From there onwards the car was very enjoyable to drive. We could do basically whatever we wanted with the strategy. Twelve in a row for the team is pretty incredible."
Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez seems to have finally broken out of his recent pattern of disappointing performances amidst the pressure of Daniel Ricciardo's return to F1. The Mexican drove a competitive race fighting to the front of the grid from P9 to secure the third podium place. He secured his second-place position in the standings.
Sky Sports F1's Danica Patrick commented on the Red Bull driver's recovery today. She said:
"It’s so cool to watch a driver when they get into that next mode when they can really access that really top end talent. He was on a mission today, he was wheeling his way through."
"He’s a good guy and I love to see him have a little redemption after what was a really tough weekend for him."
Lando Norris, on the other hand, for the first time in his career, secured a second-consecutive podium finish with P2 in Hungary. It reflected McLaren's significant progress over the past few races with the introduction of their new upgrades.
The Briton now stands eighth in the drivers' standings with 60 points to his name.
Oscar Piastri also finished in the top five, giving McLaren an unreal result for the weekend. The Australian rookie is very close to entering the top 10 in the drivers' standings, with a mere four-point gap to Esteban Ocon. The latter was forced to retire from the race for a second weekend in a row.
McLaren are certainly seeing an upward trend in performance. However, Alpine's troubles seem to be getting worse as the team experienced a second-consecutive double DNF in Hungary.
Daniel Ricciardo, who drove his first race of the season since the 2022 Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix, finished the race in P13. He crossed the finish line ahead of his AlphaTauri team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.
2023 F1 Driver Standings after the Hungarian GP
