The day only one F1 car took the Hungarian GP start

F1

The 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix delivered one of the most bizarre moments in F1 history - a restart with just one car on the grid. Here's how that happened

Lewis Hamilton takes the start at the 2021 Hungarian GP

Getty Images

Author

Pablo Elizalde

Four years ago at the Hungaroring, Formula 1 witnessed what is now regarded as one of the most surreal sights in its history, as only Lewis Hamilton took the start of the race from the grid.

F1 is full of moments that stretch the bounds of belief – from three drivers setting exactly same pole position time at Jerez in 1997 to the farcical six-car race at Indianapolis in 2005.

But on a damp afternoon in Hungary in 2021, the championship produced one of its most visually surreal sights: a single car sitting on the starting grid, as the rest of the field drove into the pitlane.

It was an unforgettable image that instantly entered F1 folklore, more fitting of a parody sketch than a world championship race.

 

Start carnage

A rain shower moments before lights out created just enough uncertainty to split opinion, but as the grid lined up on intermediate tyres, it became clear that the track was drying very fast.

When the race started, however, chaos ensued at Turn 1 as Mercedes‘ Valtteri Bottas, having already made a terrible start, misjudged his braking and slammed into the back of Lando Norris’s McLaren.

The incident took out multiple frontrunners, including Max Verstappen, hit by Norris as a result of being pushed by Bottas, who also took out Sergio Pérez in the second Red Bull as he careered off the track on three wheels.

Bottas crashes into Norris and Verstappen at the start of the 2021 Hungarian GP

Chaos at the start as Bottas takes out several drivers

Behind them, there was more mayhem as Lance Stroll also overshot his braking point and crashed into Charles Leclerc, eliminating the Ferrari straight away.

The initial safety car soon turned into a red flag as marshals cleared the enormous amounts of carbon-fibre debris on track.

 

The bizarre restart

As the field prepared for the standing restart following the red flag, track conditions had changed: the circuit was drying rapidly, and so suddenly the intermediates were no longer the best option.

Or at least that’s what most of the field felt.

“At this rate, everyone is going to box,” Williams driver George Russell predicted on the radio.

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) alone on the grid at the restart of the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix

Hamilton later admitted that not pitting was a mistake

And so, as the drivers completed the formation lap, it became apparent that the track was too dry for intermediates and one by one, everybody peeled into the pits to switch to slicks.

Every driver except Hamilton, that is.

Starting from pole, Mercedes chose to leave Hamilton out on the grid on intermediates, hoping to capitalise on his track position, leading to one of the most bizarre images in recent times as the seven-time champion waited alone for the lights to go out.

Related article

“I was telling the team how the track was through the lap but they said the rain was coming when we got in the car and I thought they had other information,” Hamilton said afterwards.

“I saw everyone diving in, but anyways…

“It was dry in all the corners and so I kept telling them: dry, dry, dry and they said to stay out. I don’t really understand but I’m sure we accept that it’s definitely a mistake from us all. We win and lose as a team and we bear the burden of the mistakes together.”

 

The aftermath

Had Hamilton also pitted from the formation lap, the grid would have been completely empty for the official restart.

Then race director Michael Masi later clarified that in such a case, race control would have activated the restart signal and then released all cars from the pit exit according to the order they arrived there, ensuring the race could continue even without a single car on the actual grid.

The mayhem of the opening laps also set the stage for a mad race.

Esteban Ocon, having dodged the Turn 1 carnage, found himself at the front of the field after the pitlane reshuffle.

Esteban Ocon (Alpine-Rernault) on the podium after the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix

Ocon took advantage of the chaos to take victory

With Alpine team-mate Fernando Alonso playing the role of rear gunner – memorably holding off a charging Hamilton for several laps in a great defensive drive – Ocon clung on for his first career Formula 1 win.

Behind him, Sebastian Vettel crossed the line second but was later disqualified due to a fuel sample infringement, promoting Carlos Sainz to the runner-up spot.

Hamilton paid the price for taking the start on intermediates, but still delivered a superb comeback to stand on the podium after the lonely restart that created an accidental moment highlighting the randomness that sometimes exists in Formula 1.

Comments

Loading Comments