The 2021 F1 Hungarian Grand Prix had all the inklings of being a regular race but it turned out to be anything but that. The action-packed race had several hear thumping moments with the biggest shocker being Esteban Ocon taking his win. The Alpine driver fended competition from Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel to claim his first victory in the sport. Coming in third was pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton making a late recovery in the race.
Carlos Sainz claimed fourth ahead of a spectacular Fernando Alonso. Both Alpine drivers performed extremely well for the team. Pierre Gasly beat teammate Yuki Tsunoda to sixth, and also managed to grab an extra point by setting the fastest lap late in the race. It turned out to be a big day for Williams as well with Nicholas Latifi and George Russell securing P8 and P9. Taking the final point was Max Verstappen in P10.
The race kicked off with a crash as Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas slid into the back of Lando Norris that impacted both Red Bull cars. Bottas retired with a damaged car while Verstappen led Norris and Perez away. Meanwhile, another incident on Turn 1 saw Aston Martin's Lance Stroll slide into the grass and then collide with Charles Leclerc's Ferrari. The incident ended up damaging Stroll's car, while Leclerc ended up making contact with Daniel Ricciardo, who spun to the back of the grid. Joining Bottas in the retires were Leclerc, Stroll and Perez. The debris field prompted the safety car to be called out, which helped Red Bull to pit Verstappen, while Ocon moved up and rand behind Hamilton and ahead of Vettel.
At the restart, Hamilton lined up alone on the grid as other drivers pitted to switch to slicks from intermediates. The decision moved against Mercedes as Hamilton dropped the order as he pitted at the end of Lap 1 after the restart. The pole-sitter joined in 14th place, while Ocon was now leading the pack with Vettel at his tail. The duo made for some incredible racing as Ocon fended off the attacks from Vettel, while a slow pitstop also dampened the driver's efforts at claiming his first win of the season.
Ocon ensured to keep it together until the chequered flag was out with Vettel claiming his second podium of the season. Hamilton recovered to P3 after an incredible drive. it was also enough to regain the lead in the world championship from Verstappen.
