Story highlights
Lewis Hamilton wins Hungary GP
Sebastian Vettel finishes second
Hamilton leads title race by 24 points
Lewis Hamilton will go into Formula One’s summer break with a season-high 24-point advantage in the title race over his arch-rival Sebastian Vettel after winning the Hungarian Grand Prix Sunday.
Hamilton took full advantage of pole position to claim his sixth career victory at the Hungaroring with Ferrari’s Vettel a distant second ahead of his teammate Kimi Raikkonen.
It was Hamilton’s second straight win after his unlikely triumph from 14th on the grid in Germany last weekend and his winning margin of 17 seconds underlined his dominance.
READ: Lewis Hamilton agrees two-year contract extension at Mercedes
“What a beautiful day,” said the Briton, who has his sights on a fifth world championship crown and with a lucrative new two-year contract with Mercedes secured.
“We can only dream of the position we are in now,” added Hamilton after his fifth win of the season, but unexpected on a twisty circuit expected to suit the Ferrari team.
Vettel was set to lose further ground as he trailed in third behind Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas late in the 70-lap race before squeezing past on fresher tires.
Contact was made in the overtaking move, but it was Bottas who fared worst, losing part of his front wing and seeing Raikkonen sail past him for the final podium place.
“I got hit from behind (by Bottas), I was not sure what had happened and I was lucky the car was not broken and we could carry on,” said Vettel.
Stewards deemed it a ‘racing incident’ but Bottas appeared at fault as he tried to hold off Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo for fourth as the two cars collided on the penultimate lap.
Ricciardo was sent off the track but under Mercedes team orders Bottas was told to allow the Australia through.
The Finn later received a 10-second penalty and two points on his racing license.
It completed a superb comeback by Ricciardo, who started 12th on the grid, slipped back to 16th after clipping Marcus Ericsson on the first lap, before charging through the field.
It also salvaged a disappointing weekend for Red Bull, which was expected to challenge but lost Max Verstappen to early engine failure.
“You pay millions for an engine and it keeps breaking down,” was the young Dutchman’s disgruntled reaction in the direction of engine suppliers Renault.
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Behind the frontrunners, Frenchman Pierre Gasly drove a strong race for sixth in the Toro Rosso, with birthday boy Fernando Alonso in the points for McLaren in eighth spot.
With the team going into administration this week, Force India drivers Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez finished 13th and 14th to be out of the points and with an uncertain future.
