Max Verstappen wins Hungarian Grand Prix for ninth time this season

The start was very important to me. I wanted to get a good first stint and it meant I was able to look after my tyres well and extend it compared to the others. The car felt really good today and the balance was right with the increase in temperature. We had the struggle over one lap all weekend in qualifying, but I think that means it was the right call for the race. If I had a choice between the two, I would pick my race performance every time but we will always make changes and keep trying to improve the car. I think people forget a little bit that to win 12 races in a row is extremely hard but I hope it doesn’t stop there. We have to keep going and I will always try to challenge myself. I had a lot of fun out there today and I was just smiling in the car, it was one of those days where everything just goes perfect. Well, almost perfect, I think I will ask McLaren to pay for a new trophy for me! We need to review the footage, like VAR, to see who really broke it because I heard Lando is blaming me.

Today was a good one and it was great to get to the podium. We raced initially on the hard compound, which was quite tricky, especially on lap one, but it ended up going well for a long time and we got some good pace before going on the Mediums. The race today was not only very demanding physically, but also mentally, I had to focus on looking after the tyres. It was really hot and I ended up actually losing 3kg in weight. It was a good result and now I just need to find consistency. When the pressure is on you and you are able to deliver, it makes you feel proud of what you are doing so we just need to keep going forward and keep pushing. I am focusing on myself and making sure I deliver to the maximum. It is great to be given driver of the day but sadly that doesn’t get you any points! Finally, the record of 12 wins in a row is quite incredible. I am really proud of The Team: they have made history and it is quite something to have been a part of that.

The whole weekend has been good and to come back, really feel all the things I’ve missed in the last twelve months, I can’t ask for more on the first weekend, and it gives me confidence. I got hit in turn 1, and dropped to the tail of the pack. After that, we got stuck in traffic, but once we got some clear air, I could settle into a rhythm and from then on, I was happy. Our pace wasn’t bad, maybe we could’ve been in the points today, I don’t know, but our strategy was good, we were just a bit unlucky. On the other hand, the contact at the start could’ve ended my race, so I’m grateful the car was still ok, and I was able to do 70 laps to learn as much as possible. I’ll learn from the mistakes I made to get better and better, and I made little mental notes, which I will share with the team. Overall though, there are a lot of things to be happy about.

We chose to start the race on the soft compound tyre today to gain as many positions as possible early in the race. The start was good, and I managed to make up quite a few places, so I’m happy with my performance. I had pace and was managing my tyres well today, especially on the soft compound, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out, so together with the team we’ll look at it. It’s a shame because the pace was there. Overall, I’m frustrated with myself because I didn’t put it all together and extract the maximum out of my performance every day. It’s been a week of learning and what I learnt today I will use in the future to maximise our performance.