Pastor Maldonado Wins Hungarian Grand Prix, First 2022 Podium for Precision

Qualifying:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Q1	Q2	Diff.
1	57	Dean Stoneman		1:24.530	1:24.265
2	63	George Russell		1:24.763	1:26.484	+0.498
3	23	Alexander Albon		1:27.083	1:26.796	+2.531
4	1	Artem Markelov		1:26.036	1:27.112	+2.771
5	37	Victoria Desai		1:27.193	1:27.118	+2.853
6	39	Sho Tsuboi		1:27.236	1:27.166	+2.901
7	70	Pastor Maldonado		1:27.390	1:27.190	+2.925
8	33	Max Verstappen		1:27.273	1:27.583	+3.008
9	18	Sebastian Vettel		1:27.410	1:27.279	+3.014
10	29	Roger Ibe		1:27.592	1:27.363	+3.098
11	47	Lando Norris		1:27.945	1:27.603	+3.338
12	26	Robert Shwartzman		1:27.684	1:27.921	+3.419
13	20	Kevin Magnussen		1:27.912	1:27.880	+3.615
14	77	Valtteri Bottas		1:28.290	1:27.889	+3.624
15	4	Robin Frijns		1:28.886	1:28.515	+4.250
16	55	Carlos Sainz, Jr.		1:29.376	1:28.837	+4.572
17	31	Esteban Ocon		1:29.116	1:29.289	+4.851
18	95	Beitske Visser		1:29.810	1:29.603	+5.338
19	11	Terry Hawkin		1:29.803	1:29.796	+5.531
20	23	Jules Bianchi		1:30.371	1:30.160	+5.895
21	56	Einar Ármannsson		1:30.991	1:30.569	+6.304
22	46	Alessandro Cicognani		1:31.286	1:31.081	+6.816
23	7	Charles Leclerc		1:32.371	1:32.704	+8.106
24	84	Jack Aitken		1:33.440	1:33.243	+8.978

Report:

As the new aerodynamic regulations came with the promise of increasing overtaking and making the racing better, many saw the Hungaroring as the essential test for this idea. Last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix was an exciting classic.

The race certainly delivered on its promise, we had excitement from the pointy end of the field down to the very backmarkers both at the beginning of the race and near the end of it. Fans certainly went home happy.

Overtaking proved essential, as Pastor Maldonado won the Hungarian Grand Prix by being the first to make a successful pass against Artem Markelov. The Venezuelan driver inherited the lead from Albon after the Ferrari driver retired.

Speaking of Ferrari, they suffered a double retirement that may have ruined their title hopes. Sho Tsuboi and Roger Ibe at least finished, but got nothing out of it after they received penalties for crashing with other drivers.

Race:

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Time/Retired	Points
1	70	Pastor Maldonado		65:49.235	15
2	57	Dean Stoneman		+15.269	12
3	18	Sebastian Vettel		+16.401	10
4	1	Artem Markelov		+18.035	8
5	33	Max Verstappen		+21.048	6
6	47	Lando Norris		+31.353	5
7	26	Robert Shwartzman		+34.359	4
8	63	George Russell		+47.031	3
9	20	Kevin Magnussen		+72.825	2
10	77	Valtteri Bottas		+74.412	1
11	39	Sho Tsuboi		+55.950*
12	29	Roger Ibe		+55.357**
13	14	Esteban Ocon		1 Lap
14	95	Beitske Visser		1 Lap
15	11	Terry Hawkin		1 Lap
16	56	Einar Ármannsson		1 Lap
17	7	Charles Leclerc		2 Laps
18	4	Robin Frijns		2 Laps
19	55	Carlos Sainz, Jr.		2 Laps
20	85	Jack Aitken		2 Laps
DNF	23	Alexander Albon		Transmission
DNF	23	Jules Bianchi		Puncture
DNF	46	Alessandro Cicognani		Transmission
DNF	37	Victoria Desai		Loose Wheel

* 20-second penalty for causing an avoidable accident
** 30-second penalty for causing an avoidable accident

Fastest Lap:

Pastor Maldonado – 1:29.652

Infinite Improbability Drive Of The Race:

Dean Stoneman – Precision is still alive and can still get podiums.

Reject Of The Race:

Roger Ibe – hitting a backmarker after being placed at the back by a driver hitting you takes a special kind of insipidity.