Budapest, Aug 2: Frenchman Esteban Ocon won a chaotic Hungarian Grand Prix for his maiden Formula 1 victory while an exhausted Lewis Hamilton moved up to second place in the race after Sebastian Vettel’s disqualification, increasing his Formula One championship lead over Max Verstappen to eight points heading into the midseason break.
Vettel’s penalty fell late Sunday night after officials were unable to take the required fuel sample of 1 liter from his Aston Martin. “The team was given several opportunities to attempt to remove the required amount of fuel from the tank, however it was only possible to pump 0.3 litres out,” governing body FIA said in a statement. Aston Martin has appealed the decision. The ruling bumped Hamilton up to second, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. to third and Verstappen to ninth — but with an adverse effect for Verstappen as he fell further back overall to eight points, not six.
Verstappen was taken out early in the race by Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas in a first-lap crash that caused Bottas and four others to retire. It was Ocon’s second podium, following a second-place finish at the Sakhir GP in Bahrain last year. Ocon’s teammate Fernando Alonso moved up to fourth. The crash in the rain was caused by Bottas, who retired as a result. The race restarted in absurd fashion with only Hamilton on the grid, while others were changing their tires because the track had dried.
Hamilton did the same a lap later and came out in last place, a couple of spots behind Verstappen. (AP)
