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The numbers and records are still up for Max Verstappen and Red Bull after his victory at the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix. But they weren’t the only driver and team deserving of props, plaudits and five years in Budapest. Read on as we pick the five winners and five losers from Hungary.
Winner: Max Verstappen
We’ll start with Verstappen, however, who, after feeling frustrated losing the lead by 0.003 seconds, managed to win on race day by 33.731 seconds. It was the largest winning margin since Lewis Hamilton’s victory at the 2021 Russian Grand Prix.
But it was also Verstappen’s seventh consecutive win, a feat achieved by only four other drivers in F1 history: Alberto Ascari, Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel.
2023 Hungarian Grand Prix: Verstappen crosses the line as Red Bull’s record-breaking 12th consecutive win
Loser: Alpine
Friday looked great for Alpine as the team, after a management restructuring, watched Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon take P3 and P5 in Free Practice 2.
But their optimism was dealt a metaphorical blow when both drivers were ruled out in the second quarter. It was even worse, as Gasly and Ocon were then caught in a very literal blow, in the form of a smash from the race’s first corner where the net effect was to put them both out of the race – the team’s second consecutive double DNF.
Winner: Red Bull
Records are there to be broken. However, McLaren’s winning record in 1988 – 11 consecutive wins at the start of the season – has stood the test of time through periods of absolute dominance from the likes of Williams, Ferrari, Mercedes… and even Red Bull themselves.
Facts and stats: Red Bull scored a lot as the champions finished 250th
But on Sunday, the team underlined its current inevitability by showcasing the 35-year-old’s record-breaking McLaren, claiming its 12th successive win since the start of the year in a watershed moment in F1.
Perez put together a good recovery drive to get him two bulls on the podium
Loser: Chu Junyu
It almost seems cruel to have to put Zhou Guanyu in this section, given the Chinese driver’s sheer joy in finishing fifth best on the grid – a shocking result for an Alfa Romeo team that found 2023 difficult.
But a poor start dropped him into the jaws of the chasing group, before dirty air then contributed to the shooting of Daniel Ricciardo returning into Turn 1, who self-injured Ocon, who self-injured Gasly. Zhou was able to continue but finished well on P16, on a day that promised a lot.
Winner: McLaren
What a racing McLaren has had his ride since first Lando Norris and then Oscar Piastri received a major upgrade package for the car at Austria and Silverstone. Norris’ annoyance at not taking pole position on Saturday at the Hungaroring (by just 0.085 seconds) shows just how high the Briton is running at the moment, while his P3 was ably supported by teammate Piastri’s P4 in qualifying.
Norris scored back-to-back podium finishes for the first time in his career
It was the Australian rookie who made the better start on race day, but Norris redeemed himself ahead of his teammate before finishing behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen and ahead of the Red Bull of Sergio Pérez to claim his second consecutive second-place finish.
Meanwhile, Bystre finished fifth to give himself a best-of-five consecutive finishes. McLaren scored 28 points – two shy of Silverstone’s 30 – to move within 40 points of Alpine as they consolidated their fifth place in the constructors’ championship.
Loser: Aston Martin
It was a time when Aston Martin’s two-point finish would have been cause for celebration. But Fernando Alonso’s podium successes earlier in the season (he still scores the same record as Sergio Perez for this year, with six) has dramatically raised the bar for Lawrence Stroll’s women’s and men’s green, meaning Alonso’s P9 and P10 and Lance Stroll’s are a relative disappointment.
Alonso has now not tasted a Ferrari Trento since Canada, four races ago – prodding the Spaniard and Stroll’s Aston Martin to push them back into battle with the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren aggressively after rushing.
2023 Hungarian Grand Prix: Perez and Bystri go head-to-head for the P4 in Hungary
Winner: Lewis Hamilton
There is an argument that falling from P1 to P4 marks a bad day at the office for a driver with Lewis Hamilton’s lofty expectations for himself – not least at a track he adores.
Yes, a record ninth victory in one place didn’t come his way on Sunday, as a poor haven lowered him a few places in the standings. But the stunning upset of Saturday’s lap – which Hamilton admitted, smiling coyly, afterwards was “good” – gave him a historic 104 pole position (his first since Jeddah 2021), extending that record while setting a new benchmark of nine pole positions in one.
Loser: Haas
Nico Hulkenberg continues to extract an excellent one-lap pace from his Haas VF-23. But his appearance in Q3 – and the new blonde hairdo – were among Haas’ few bright spots this weekend, with the team still struggling to race.
Hamilton’s positives, despite his position of starting the turn into P4 at the flag
On the other side of the garage, Kevin Magnussen admitted that he never felt comfortable during the three days of work in Hungary, where he finished last of all on race day. It wasn’t all bad, as he at least had a new fan to cheer him on – as Kevin and his wife Louise welcomed Agnes Magnussen into the world before the race.
Winner: Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo has been the winner since the Tuesday before last, testing Red Bull at Silverstone enough to earn him a place back on the grid, in place of Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri.
Comfortably qualifying teammate Yuki Tsunoda on his return was impressive, while on race day he was able to overcome a fall at the back of the field after getting caught in a Cho/Okon/Gasly brawl to overtake Tsunoda for take off – he eventually finished in the P13 position he started in, as Tsunoda took P15 – while thanks to a three from Ricciardo, AlphaTaur finished.
Read more: No points but lots of positives from Ricciardo’s first race
Ricardo’s signature smile returned to normal
Loser: George Russell
George Russell couldn’t deny that he had enjoyed his reckless hitting on Sunday in Hungary, slogging around the field to finish P6 on race day, aided by some impressive attacking moves and the advantage of a penalty from Charles Leclerc.
He had to do it, though, after the Mercedes driver found himself sloshing through traffic in the final moments of Q1, knocking him out the first time he asked and starting the P18 race.
But the biggest loser was team principal Toto Wolff’s long-suffering office in the Mercedes garage, which suffered another frustrating blow from Austria’s fists – Wolff’s temper at least eased Hamilton’s pole position after 40 minutes.
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