Red Bull sets record of 12th consecutive win with dominant Verstappen victory in Hungary

Updated: Feb 1, 2024, 08:26 pm
Max Verstappen wins his seventh race in a row of the 2023 season in Hungary after overtaking Lewis Hamilton in the first corner.
Max Verstappen wins his seventh race in a row of the 2023 season in Hungary after overtaking Lewis Hamilton in the first corner.
ANP via Getty Images

BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Max Verstappen extended his Formula One winning streak to seven races in a row after dominating Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix with a victory margin of 33.7 seconds over Lando Norris in second.

The win was Red Bull's 12th win a row, setting a record that eclipses McLaren's run from 1988.

Along with the bonus point for fastest lap, Verstappen extended his championship lead over teammate Sergio Perez to 110 points at the midway point of the season.

"What an unbelievable rocket ship that was today," Verstappen said.

Norris confirmed McLaren's recent renaissance in form with his second podium finish in as many races, although he had to hold off Perez in the closing stages, who battled his way up to third position after starting ninth on the grid.

A perfect weekend slipped away from Verstappen on Saturday when he was beaten to pole position by Lewis Hamilton, but any threat posed by the Mercedes driver evaporated by Turn 1 as Verstappen made a better start and claimed the lead under braking. Hamilton slipped to fourth on the opening lap, which is where he finished after passing Oscar Piastri for the position on lap 58 of 70.

George Russell recovered from a disastrous qualifying Saturday to leap from 18th on the grid to sixth at the finish. He actually finished seventh on the road behind Charles Leclerc, but gained an extra position after the Ferrari driver was penalised for speeding in the pit lane at his second pit stop.

Leclerc's teammate Carlos Sainz was passed by Russell with five laps remaining and finished eighth ahead of the two Aston Martins of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, which struggled for pace throughout the weekend.

Daniel Ricciardo started and finished 13th on his return to Formula One with AlphaTauri. The Australian, who has replaced Nyck de Vries for the rest of the season, was hit by Zhou Guanyu at the first corner and dropped to last place. He recovered to 13th after opting to pit into free air midway through the race and nurse a set of tyres over 40-lap stint to the finish.

Red Bull head into next weekend's Belgian Grand Prix with a points lead of 229.