Two weeks after his emotional victory at the British Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton achieved another milestone on Sunday with his 200th career podium finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
At the venue where he has previously won a record eight times, the seven-time world champion finished third for Mercedes. He managed to secure this landmark result despite a collision with Red Bull’s three-time champion Max Verstappen in the final stages of the race.
“Big, big thanks to this amazing crowd and a huge congratulations to the McLarens with the one-two,” he said after coming home behind McLaren team-mates Oscar Piastri and team-mate Lando Norris.
“That’s my old original family so it’s great to see!
“For us, the team have done a great job at pushing this car but ultimately, we didn’t have the pace of the McLarens or of the Red Bulls.
“We were just able to hold on at the beginning of the race and then it was very tough to hold on and make those tyres last.
“The close battle we had at the end (with Verstappen) was a bit hair-raising but that’s motor racing.
“I’m really happy and grateful for the points. A big thank you to the team,” the 39-year-old added.
Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate, George Russell, finished eighth after starting in 17th, preventing the team from completing a hat-trick of wins. Hamilton, 39, who will join Ferrari next year to replace Carlos Sainz, moved up to sixth in the drivers’ standings with 125 points, one point ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who finished seventh. Russell is in eighth place with 116 points.
Max Verstappen, who has now gone three races without a win, finished fifth but continues to lead the drivers’ championship with 265 points, 76 points ahead of Lando Norris, who has 189 points.
In the constructors’ championship, Red Bull leads with 389 points, followed by McLaren with 338 points and Ferrari with 322 points. Mercedes is in fourth place with 241 points.
