Why Hamilton believes he could have competed with Verstappen more aggressively

At the Hungarian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton was delighted to earn his second straight P2 finish. However, he feels that, had one situation been better, he could have been able to fight Max Verstappen for the victory.

If Lewis Hamilton had begun the Hungarian Grand Prix on a better tyre compound, he thinks he could have been able to compete with Max Verstappen more competitively.

On the starting grid, Hamilton was in position seven, and he used the Medium tyre to start the race. With 19 laps left, he switched to the Softs after completing back-to-back stints on this compound, the second of which was very long.

In the last stint, the Mercedes racer had excellent speed and was capable of passing George Russell and Carlos Sainz on his way to P2, whilst Verstappen, who began the race on the Soft compound, took first place.

Hamilton is happy with his “great recovery” race

Hamilton was thrilled with his performance on Sunday at the Hungaroring despite struggling on Friday and Saturday.

“It’s hugely satisfying. It’s a great feeling for us, given the year we’ve had, and obviously to see the progress that we’ve started to make,” he told media, including RacingNews365.com.

“Just getting the second place last week [at the French Grand Prix] was huge for us already, and this is now two races in a row that George and I have shared a podium, which is fantastic for the team, points-wise.

“To both finish ahead of the Ferraris is huge for us, given the pace that they’ve had. And, for me, obviously, starting the race in seventh and getting up here is a great recovery.

“And I think given the troubles we had through the weekend, that shows that we’ve got really great pace.”

The elements that would have enabled Hamilton to compete against Verstappen

When questioned about the crucial parts of his performance, Hamilton hailed his lengthy second stint with giving him a great finish, but he also admitted that his initial stint might have had an impact on his prospects.

“I think the race was lost probably with the first stint, with that Medium tyre, but the second and the third part of the race was pretty epic,” the seven-time World Champion said.

Hamilton believes he might have been capable of catching up to Verstappen if he had begun the race on the Soft tyre.

He also feels that the possibility would have been greater if he hadn’t experienced a DRS problem throughout qualifying on Saturday, which caused him to drop to P7 on the grid.

“We would definitely have been closer to Max [if we’d started on the Soft], I would have thought,” Hamilton continued.

“But who knows? Maybe I wouldn’t have been able to go the same distance on those tyres.

“But if we had started, where I think we probably should have started, without the problem yesterday, I think then we would have been in a much better place to race Max today.”

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