- Frenchman’s victory is also a first for the Alpine team
- Lewis Hamilton third to retake lead in title race
Esteban Ocon won the Hungarian Grand Prix, grabbing his chance to put in a peerless performance for Alpine as the leading contenders were waylaid in dramatic fashion. The Frenchman saw off a fierce challenge for almost the entire race distance from Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel in second. Lewis Hamilton came back brilliantly to third after dropping to the back of the field while Max Verstappen was tenth after being hit on the opening lap. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was in fourth, with Ocon’s teammate Fernando Alonso in fifth.
It was a superb first career win for the 24-year-old Frenchman who had Vettel barely a second behind him for almost the entire race and a consummate display of controlled driving under pressure. But for Hamilton and Verstappen the race was about damage limitation. Hamilton had dropped to last after a restart where Mercedes did not pit their man for dry tyres as the rest of the field did so. He drove the wheels off his Mercedes to comeback for third in dramatic fashion. Verstappen took damage after being hit in turn one off the start line and could do nothing more with his stricken car.
Related: F1 Hungarian GP: Esteban Ocon takes victory after eventful race – live!