Many Have Tried To Win Against Red Bull Racing, but They All Failed in 2023

Qualifying on Saturday gave us a hint as to what might happen during the main event. Lewis Hamilton almost cried joy as he took his 104th career Pole. But Max Verstappen was breathing down his neck with a gap of just 0.003 seconds.

Whereas last year it felt that George Russell could become the following top British driver in F1, this year all eyes are fixed on Lando Norris instead. Mclaren's ace driver was third overall in qualifying, and it seemed almost inevitable that he would be on the podium by the end of the weekend.

Everyone hoped to see an intense battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton on Sunday. But the fight only lasted moments, as the Flying Dutchman took control of the race going into turn one on the first lap. While people were joyous in the Red Bull Racing pits, disaster struck Alpine as both drivers crashed and were about to face retirement. At the start of the race, one of the most exciting things was seeing Rookie driver Oscar Piastri jumping into P2 behind Verstappen.

It's a matter of time before the young gun gets his first F1 podium, as he deserves it. By lap six, Sergio Perez was starting to put pressure on Fernando Alonso in the battle for P7. It took the Mexican driver two laps to overtake the F1 veteran, and he seemed eager to continue climbing up the ladder for the remainder of the race. By lap 19, Checo was already in P2, 21 seconds behind his teammate.

He went up and down the grid throughout the race, losing positions and gaining them back. It was like watching a one-person show, which was still more exciting than seeing Verstappen leading the race with no stress whatsoever. Still, by the end, he had to settle for P3, as Lando Norris crossed the finish line four seconds sooner. This is Perez's 32nd F1 podium, but strangely enough, only his first one at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

For Norris, the stats are even more impressive. It's his second race in a row in P2 and his best result at the Hungaroring in his career. This outcome also ends Mclaren's dry spell in Mogyorod, as Lewis Hamilton was the last driver to deliver a podium finish for the team in 2012! And if you think that is impressive, please sit down and acknowledge some of Red Bull Racing's stats after the end of this race. No other team has been as dominant in Formula One since McLaren in 1988, as Christian Horner's squad scored its 12th consecutive victory in the World Championship.

Verstappen's seventh successive win puts him on par with some of the greatest drivers of all time: Alberto Ascari, Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, and Nico Rosberg. Still, it's only his 44th victory in F1, which has him sitting fifth on a list of F1's most successful drivers.

He is now potentially eight races away from surpassing Alain Prost and ten from getting ahead of Sebastian Vettel. But catching up to Lewis Hamilton is something that might never happen. Max has extended his championship lead and has more than double the points as Fernando Alonso, who is still in P3.

Given that Hamilton was faster than the Spaniard in Hungary, the gap between them has now been reduced to just six points, so it will be interesting to see how it all plays out between them by the end of the season. Oscar Piastri was the fifth driver to cross the finish line at the Hungaroring, which brought him an extra 10 points in the overall rankings. If he keeps driving like this, there's a good chance he will take Esteban Ocon's place in the Top 10 this year.

George Russell put on a phenomenal show, recovering from P18 to P6. He is fifth overall in the series rankings, but both Ferrari drivers are close behind, despite their rather disappointing performance as of late. Even though the gap between Leclerc and Norris is 20 points right now, there's no doubt that it can become a severe problem for Fredric Vasseur's team if Mclaren's main driver continues to drive like this.

Seeing that Daniel Ricciardo has just returned to the series this weekend, it's good to see him in action again, trying to score some points for his team. He finished the race in P13, ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, and we wouldn't be surprised if he managed to improve Alpha Tauri's situation within the subsequent few events. The gap between Alfa Romeo is seven points and nine to Haas and Williams. It's obvious that Red Bull Racing is in complete control of this season, so it's down to Mercedes, Aston Martin, and Ferrari to put on a show for P2 and P3.