Relentless Max Verstappen makes it seven in a row after Hungarian GP victory

Dutchman now leads drivers' championship by 110 points after Red Bull secure record-breaking 12th consecutive win

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen celebrates on the podium after winning the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring, on July 23, 2023. AFP

Race winner Max Verstappen stops in parc ferme after his victory. Getty

Race winner Max Verstappen with second placed Lando Norris, left, and Sergio Perez, right, who ws third. Getty

Max Verstappen celebrates after the race in Budapest. Getty

Race winner Max Verstappen celebrates with his Red Bull team. Getty

Dutch driver Max Verstappen takes the chequered flag to win the race. AP

Max Verstappen overtakes Mercedes driver driver Lewis Hamilton at the start of the race. AP

McLaren's British driver Lando Norris on his way to second place. AP

Red Bull's Sergio Perez finished third in Hungary. Getty

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who finished seventh, makes a pit stop during the race. Reuters

Relentless reigning champion Max Verstappen made it seven wins in a row this season after winning the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday.

Victory also meant his Red Bull team secured a record-breaking 12th consecutive Formula One wins, surpassing the feat of McLaren who won 11 races in 1988 courtesy of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.

Verstappen stretched his lead over teammate Sergio Perez – who finished third at the Hungaroring, behind McLaren's Lando Norris in second – to 110 points in the drivers' championship.

Lewis Hamilton set off from pole for the first time in 33 races but a poor start dashed the Mercedes driver's hopes of a 104th career win, with Verstappen and both McLaren drivers moving ahead of him inside the first two bends of Sunday's 70-lap race, and he had to settle for fourth.

“Yeah finally we had a really good start, very happy with that, we’ve been working on that quite a bit to try to get a good bite and yeah I know of course when I had the inside that corner was mine,” said Verstappen.

“It was just late on the brakes you are heavy car so luckily it all worked out well and from there I could do my race and today the car was really, really quick.

“I think over one lap this weekend it was a bit of a struggle but maybe it was probably a good thing for today so, yeah, the car was good on any tyre and we could look after the tyre wear and basically that’s why we could create such a big gap.”

On his record-breaking Red Bull team, Verstappen added: “It’s just incredible, what we’ve been going through the last few years is just unbelievable and hopefully we can keep this momentum going for a long time and also just to work with the whole team is always very enjoyable.

“Of course you know it’s always good to look into it, yesterday for example to keep pushing, wanting to do better, but today is just perfect.”

Twenty-four hours after he ended a 595-day wait for pole position, Hamilton's challenge to end a losing streak that now stands at 34 races was over after a few hundred metres.

His initial reaction to the lights turning green was fine, but he struggled for traction in the next phase, with Verstappen moving alongside the Mercedes and then ahead under braking for the first right-hander.

Hamilton, sharing the front row with Verstappen for the first time since he was denied a record eighth world title at the controversial 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi, could do nothing to prevent his rival from barging his way through.

The Briton's attempts to hold on to the lead by squeezing Verstappen tight to the inside cost him two further positions, as the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Norris also passed him and demoted him to fourth place where he would end the race.

Hamilton's teammate George Russell drove a strong race from 18th on the grid to finish sixth. Russell finished seventh on the road, but moved ahead of Charles Leclerc after the Ferrari driver was given a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.

Leclerc's teammate Carlos Sainz was eighth ahead of the two Aston Martins, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, who finished ninth and 10th, respectively.