Verstappen Leads Chaotic 2026 F1 Race as Hamilton Charges Through the Field
The race restarted on lap 13, and Max Verstappen immediately pounced on Kimi Antonelli to take the lead, with George Russell moving into second. Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, struggled at first and dropped to 15th before recovering quickly. He climbed to 11th within a lap and had moved up to fifth within 10 laps of the restart.
Further down the field, Fernando Alonso was also enjoying a strong race.
Alonso’s Aston Martin had been several seconds slower than the front-runners at the start of the season, but aerodynamic updates designed by Adrian Newey and introduced in Hungary have helped close the gap. Honda also brought a second power unit upgrade, improving drivability despite the lack of power compared with other power units.
Although Aston Martin’s package was not as effective as Hamilton’s Ferrari, Alonso steadily moved forward. By lap 40, he had reached his final points position in 10th place.
Fernando Alonso will be racing in F1 for at least another year. He entered the sport in 2001.
Credit: Jace Illman/Getty Images
Verstappen maintained a commanding lead at the front, while Antonelli overtook Russell for second. Antonelli initially asked his team whether he could let Russell back through, but that did not happen.
Late-race chaos changes the podium fight
Alex Albon’s Williams then suffered a gearbox failure on lap 43, triggering the virtual safety car. Verstappen and Hamilton stopped for tires, followed one lap later by Antonelli, Russell and the other Red Bull driver, Izak Hajjar.
Because the Williams transmission had failed and the car could not be moved easily, the safety car was deployed. The race was scheduled to restart on lap 52 of 55, but further drama followed on lap 50 when Russell stopped at the side of the track just past the pit exit.
The failure ended Russell’s hopes of finishing on the podium. After the race, he acknowledged that his 2026 title chances were over.
“This was a mistake when I was definitely aiming for the podium. It’s difficult to take. Unfortunately, that has happened many times this season, and yes, this is exactly where we are,” Russell said.
Source: arstechnica.com