Fresh from his and Mercedes’ best result of the year in France last Sunday, Lewis Hamilton will hope to go one better and add to his record eight victories at the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend.

The seven-time world champion was second behind champion and series leader Max Verstappen of Red Bull at Le Castellet in his 300th Formula One race, one place ahead of team-mate George Russell.

It was Mercedes’ first double podium this season.

Hamilton relishes the sinuous Hungaroring circuit 20km north of Budapest where no other driver can match his record, Michael Schumacher his nearest rival having won there only four times.

But Hamilton knows that even after four consecutive podiums he faces a daunting challenge to maintain his form as he seeks to become the first driver to win nine times at the same event.

In France, he was helped by Ferrari’s problems – the luckless Charles Leclerc crashing out while leading and the penalised Carlos Sainz starting from the back of the grid – and the continuing travails of Sergio Perez to recover his early season form with Red Bull.

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