 Sir Lewis Hamilton says his 'car was pretty awful' during the first half of a disappointing Hungarian Grand Prix. The seven-time world champion started on pole for the first time since 2021 at the Hungoraring but endured a dreadful start, with Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris all slipping by him after just the first few corners. His pace improved toward the end of the race however, as he closed in Sergio Perez, but was unable to make the podium, coming home in fourth-place. Though a first win since Saudi Arabia 2021 was always unlikely, it was an underwhelming race for the Mercedes man, though Hamilton was keen to praise the efforts of his team. 'The start, actually the initial getaway wasn't the worst I've ever had, but it obviously wasn't as good as Max's,' he told Sky Sports post-race. 'I had a bit of wheelspin, and then obviously Max was on the inside and he ran me wide, and I got done by the two McLarens. So definitely not a great start, kind of reminiscent of 2015 when I fell back from first. 'Then after that I just didn't have the pace to keep up with the guys. The balance of the car was pretty awful on that first stint. A lot of understeer, to snap oversteer, through corner balance – and I just couldn't keep up with them. Lewis Hamilton started on pole but finished fourth in Hungary (Photo: Getty) 'But then bit by bit as we got through the next couple of stints, the car started to become much more drivable, and then the last stint obviously was much better. If we had the pace we had at the end [earlier], we would have been a little bit better I think through the day. 'But I'm going to take the positives from yesterday. It was an amazing effort from the team to get to where we were and to beat everybody in qualifying was really spectacular for us.' Following some upgrades that were brought in in May, it looked as if Mercedes were solidifying their place as se){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Sir Lewis Hamilton says his ‘car was pretty awful’ during the first half of a disappointing Hungarian Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion started on pole for the first time since 2021 at the Hungoraring but endured a dreadful start, with Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris all slipping by him after just the first few corners.
His pace improved toward the end of the race however, as he closed in Sergio Perez, but was unable to make the podium, coming home in fourth-place.
Though a first win since Saudi Arabia 2021 was always unlikely, it was an underwhelming race for the Mercedes man, though Hamilton was keen to praise the efforts of his team.