It’s been a long time coming. 33 races in the making. That’s how long it’s been since Lewis Hamilton started a race from pole position. It was back in 2021 at the Saudi Arabian GP. That’s a season and a half. Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton have been working toward this since then, and it was evident how much it meant to him with the way he was celebrating after crossing the line, with the way his throat was more sore than his neck during the post-qualifying interview. After 33 race weekends, Lewis Hamilton will finally be leading the pack off the line, and he hopes to retain that position while finishing the race.

The Hungaroring is a track Lewis loves. And he also knows how difficult it is to overtake. With the Red Bull being almost half a second faster than his W14 on race pace, he knows how crucial the race start is. With Max Verstappen starting alongside him in second, there’s no doubt the Dutchman will be on the attack as soon as the five lights go off. But Hamilton won’t let go of the lead so easily.

Considering that Red Bull’s pure pace is faster than Mercedes’, you would think that Hamilton would let Max pass as easily as Lando Norris did in Silverstone. In a post-qualifying interview, Sky Sports thought so, too, and asked the Briton what he would do. As quoted by formulapassion.it, he said, “Step aside to let Max [Verstappen] pass? No, I’m not moving. He will certainly be fast, it won’t be easy to keep up with him, but I certainly won’t give up. If I have the chance to hold the position, I will. I won’t give it up without a fight.” [Translated by Google]

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Red Bull has been unbeatable this season. But it’s been showing signs of slowing down over the past few race weekends. Even so, the future is unclear, and for all we know, this could be Hamilton and Mercedes’ only chance this season to fight Red Bull as it did in 2021. So they will make the most of the opportunity, fight all they can, and try to squeeze out a victory. But a lot is at stake in the Hungarian GP, for Red Bull and Lewis Hamilton alike.

What records can and have been broken at the 2023 Hungarian GP?

As Lewis Hamilton snatched pole position from Max Verstappen by just 0.003s, he took pole in Hungary for the ninth time and became the only driver to achieve that feat in history. Courtesy of his 9th pole here, he’s now at a record 104 poles. And as he chases his record-104th race win, he would become the first driver to win 9 races at a single venue. As much as this weekend holds significance for Hamilton and Mercedes, it does so even for Verstappen.

After winning the British GP, Red Bull equaled McLaren’s 1988 record of winning 11 races in a row. The Milton-Keynes would look to break that 35-year-old record in the Hungarian GP. Considering what’s at stake for Red Bull, Verstappen will be gunning for the win as much as Lewis Hamilton is.

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Who will come out on top? Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen?

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