Ricciardo and Bottas clash after Aussie’s overtaking masterclass

DANIEL RICCIARDO finished the Hungarian Grand Prix in fourth place after carving his way through the field, and surviving contact on the penultimate lap.

While the Honey Badger finished just off the rostrum, it was points leader Lewis Hamilton who controlled the race from pole to claim victory.

The Aussie was forced to start the grand prix from the sixth row after falling foul of yellow flags in a wet qualifying session, falling as low as 16th during the early laps of the race.

Ricciardo’s reputation as the best braker on the grid shone through, with the Red Bull Racing driver putting on an overtaking clinic at a track often rated as the second-hardest to pass on behind Monaco.

All of the hard work almost came undone when Ricciardo attempted to pass Mercedes-AMG’s Valtteri Bottas for fourth place during the dying laps.

Bottas understeered into the side of Ricciardo’s car at the first turn, sending carbonfibre flying into the air.

Ricciardo was able to secure the place with a brave late-braking move on the final lap of the race.

The Finnish driver was nursing an injured car after clashing with second-place finisher Sebastian Vettel just a handful of laps prior.

Mercedes-AMG’s duo of Hamilton and Bottas were running in first and second for the final portion of the race, after a bungled pit-stop dropped Vettel into third – the German had been running in second for most of the race until that point.

Despite having fresher, and softer, tyres, Vettel struggled to pass Bottas for 25 laps. When the Ferrari driver finally made his move at turn two, the Bottas misjudged his braking, clattering the rear of Vettel’s car.

The collision elevated Vettel into second place, and Kimi Raikkonen to third, with Bottas finishing the race in fifth.

Early in the race Red Bull Racing fans had their hopes pinned to Max Verstappen, who was running in fifth, until his Renault engine gave up the ghost, prompting a fluffy of expletives from the young Dutch driver.

Pierre Gasly finished sixth, while Kevin Magnussen, Fernando Alonso, Carlos Sainz, and Romain Grosjean rounded out the top 10. Kiwi Brendon Hartley was 11th.

Hamilton’s win was set up nicely on Saturday, when he secured pole position with a brave lap in a soaking qualifying session.

Mercedes-AMG locked out the front row for Sunday, despite the Ferrari duo (who started third and fourth), being considered the race favourites following the three practice sessions.

It was a weekend to forget for Force India, with the 13th- and 14th-place finishes of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez overshadowed by news the team was going into administration following money woes.