Max Verstappen recovered from a poor qualifying in the best way possible: by winning the Hungarian Grand Prix for the first time in his career.
The Dutchman recovered from starting P10 at the Hungaroring, to win the unpredictable race, which also saw Verstappen spin 360 degrees and still claim victory.
However, it wasn’t the best weekend of Verstappen’s season, despite the incredible comeback.
The reigning World Champion suffered from reliability problems once again, which was the reason for his poor Saturday.
READ: Mattia Binotto ‘in danger’ of getting fired by Ferrari in coming weeks
The Dutchman’s RB18 had no power during Q3 on Saturday, which resulted in the P10 start.
Verstappen also suffered from a clutch issue during the race, which thankfully didn’t affect his performance too much.
His biggest title challenger, Charles Leclerc, was unable to capitalise on Verstappen’s poor qualifying, resulting in the Dutch driver having an 80-point lead going into the summer break.
Verstappen is pleased with the lead he’s taking into the summer break but is aware that nothing can be taken for granted until he stops suffering from reliability issues.
“Of course, it’s a great lead,” said Verstappen.
“But we cannot have too many days like we had on Saturday.
“And even in the race, you know, we had a few little issues with the clutch and the upshifts, which was not great to drive.
“Overall, of course, it’s good, but we just keep on working, keep on trying to improve things.”
Leclerc would’ve most likely won the race in Hungary, had it not been for yet another Ferrari strategic error.
Whilst leading the race, Leclerc was fitted with the Hard compound tyre, even though Pirelli advised the teams not to use the tyre.
Cool track temperatures meant the Hard tyre was extremely difficult to warm-up, something Leclerc found out.
In the end, Leclerc was forced into an extra-stop after sliding all over the circuit, resulting in a P6 finish.
Verstappen, on the other hand, had a perfect strategy, with the Dutchman explaining after the race how “incredibly important” a good strategy is to “fight” for the title.
READ: ‘They will never happen’: Fernando Alonso reacts to apparent rift with Esteban Ocon
“It’s incredibly important if you want to fight for a Championship.
“You know, you can’t afford many mistakes. It’s of course, very hard, to always be on the good side, let’s say it like that.
“But we have a lot of good guys in the team, and girls. I think Hannah [Schmitz], our strategist, was insanely calm. Yeah, she’s very good.”