Hamilton easy winner in Budapest

Whether it rains or not, Lewis Hamilton remains the boss. Undisputed, undeniable. Unlike his teammate Mercedes Valtteri Bottas who accompanied him on the front row, the six-time world champion did not mess up his takeoff on the greasy-wet Hungaroring and already had a 3-second lead at the end of the opening lap.

Like the entire peloton, Hamilton quickly swapped his intermediate tires for a set of medium tires, the Briton making the change on the 4th lap. The pilots Haas made the bet to mount slicks at the end of the formation lap and found themselves propelled to 3rd and 4th rows.

When the lights went out, Bottas seemed to make a false start but as Sebastian Vettel at Suzuka last year, the Finn was not even worried by the slightest investigation. The Mercedes driver, however, did not escape a serious fall in the peloton and was in 6th place at the first corner.

Conversely, Max Verstappen started his GP like a rocket to go from 7th to 3rd place in the space of a few meters. The pilot's race Red Bull had almost never started. Surprised during the grid lap, Verstappen hit the barriers and left his front wing there. What about his suspension? The Red Bull mechanics worked on the grid and the Dutchman was able to take the start narrowly.

In the 3rd round, Verstappen had already eclipsed Lance stroll (Racing Point), started well from 3rd place on the grid, to climb into 2nd position.

After these first lively laps on the track and in the pit lane, the positions became rigid and certain strategies proved less judicious than others. This was particularly the case for Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), sent back to the track with Softs while Mediums were the best option.

Hamilton then stopped on lap 38 to put on a new set of mediums. The track having been declared "wet" by the race management, the drivers were not required to use different tire compounds.

The leader, however, made a 3rd and final pit stop to mount Softs and set the fastest lap in the race, synonymous with a bonus point. Hamilton thus equals Michael Schumacher the greatest number of victories in the same race (8 for the German in France).

Behind, Verstappen, on a strategy of only 2 stops, resisted until the end the return of a Bottas who had pitted 3 times and therefore shod with fresher tires.

Stroll delivered a very solid performance to maintain his 4th place. Having started badly from 4th place on the grid, his teammate Sergio Pérez manages to grab 7th position but Racing Point is not immune to a new claim from Renault.

Between the RP20s slips the Red Bull ofAlexander albon and Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari. The Thai is, however, under investigation by the stewards because his mechanics used blowers to dry out his grid position before the start.

Daniel Ricciardo achieved an honest 8th place for Renault, while Magnussen made his daring strategy work to glean the 2 points for 9th place. Carlos Sainz (McLaren) dispossesses Leclerc of the last unit put into play by finishing 10th.

By achieving a solid result this Sunday in Hungary, Hamilton takes the lead in the Drivers' standings for the first time this season.

Discover the full report and analysis of the Hungarian Grand Prix, produced by our special correspondent in Budapest, in AUTO issue 2270hebdo, available tomorrow evening in digital version and this Wednesday on newsstands.