Max Verstappen escaped a penalty following his meeting with the Formula 1 stewards post the Hungarian Grand Prix. The incident involved the Dutch driver and Lewis Hamilton during the race, where Verstappen overtook his Ferrari rival. This incident occurred on lap 29 of the Budapest race when Verstappen made a move on the inside of Hamilton at turn four, causing the Ferrari to take evasive action and go off track.
Although Verstappen emerged ahead after the overtake, race control took note of the incident and decided to investigate post the Grand Prix. Both Verstappen and Hamilton were summoned to provide their accounts of the event, with Hamilton opting not to attend. Verstappen faced the risk of a penalty if it was determined that he illegally forced another driver off track during the overtake.
However, it has now been confirmed that Verstappen will face no further action. The stewards clarified their decision, stating that there was no contact between the cars and that the incident did not constitute forcing another car off track, despite the aggressive nature of the overtake attempt.
Verstappen finished ninth in the race, earning two points for Red Bull, while Hamilton finished 12th, one lap behind, concluding a challenging weekend for him after expressing his frustration following a difficult qualifying session.
The Hungarian Grand Prix was won by Lando Norris, who secured his fifth victory of the year and third win in four Grands Prix, holding off his teammate and F1 title contender, Oscar Piastri. Norris employed a different strategy that proved successful, while Piastri had to back off on the final lap to avoid a collision with Norris.
As a result, Norris now trails Piastri by just nine points in the championship standings as they head into the summer break. George Russell claimed third place in his Mercedes, with pole-sitter Charles Leclerc struggling in the later stages of the race in his Ferrari.