Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix, with a controlled drive that had begun when he took the front spot from his Mercedes team-mate, Nico Rosberg, into turn one on the opening lap. Rosberg finished second, unable to truly challenge the world champion, with Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo third, thus claiming his third podium finish in Hungary in a row. The win puts Hamilton on top of the drivers’ championship for the first time this season.
This is Hamilton’s fifth win of the year and his third in succession, having taken the flag at the last two rounds in Austria and at Silverstone. Crucially, his 48th career victory marks the first time he has led the drivers’ world championship in 2016. Having been 43 points in arrears after the fourth round – the Russian Grand Prix – he has caught and overhauled his team-mate in seven races, now leads the title race by six points and has matched him in race wins with five apiece.
“As always, thank you for all your hard work,” Hamilton said. “I appreciate it for the result.” It was, said Niki Lauda, a “perfect result for the team, especially Lewis”.
This fifth win on the Hungaroring has made Hamilton the most successful driver at the track, adding to his victories in 2007, 2009 and 2012 for McLaren and 2013 for Mercedes and putting him ahead of Michael Schumacher. It was also a landmark for his team – the first time Mercedes have won at the Hungaroring since the V6 turbo hybrid era began in 2014, Hamilton having won for the team in 2013 with the old V8 engines.
After some poor starts this season in Australia, Bahrain and Canada – where Sebastian Vettel burst up the inside of the British driver in to turn one – and similarly when he was overtaken by Rosberg through turn one in Barcelona, Hamilton’s getaway here could not have been better and reflected his recent success in putting his team-mate under pressure.
Hamilton had started from second on the grid, with his team-mate on pole, but the British driver was away quicker and took a tight line to take the lead through the first corner. Indeed, Rosberg was also passed by the fast-starting and late-braking Red Bull of Ricciardo, who boldly went round the outside of the first turn but could not quite make it stick through two where the German regained the place, cementing the Mercedes one-two at the front.
Hamilton wasted no time in making the most of his advantage, putting a 1.6sec gap on his team-mate in just four laps, beyond DRS range but with conservative lap times that were shared across the front of the grid as the leaders looked to eke out the maximum from the supersoft tyres they had started on. The British driver was serene in the sunshine, and on lap 12 he was fastest through the first two sectors to set the fastest lap and extend his lead to 2.5sec.
By the first stops Hamilton had the lead and the right to first stop, took it on lap 17 and after Rosberg went into the pits a lap later, both having taken the soft tyres, the gap was still 1.4sec. On the new rubber the world champion was struggling for pace and front-left graining and by lap 21 Rosberg was in DRS range and in turn being caught by Ricciardo, whose car had come up to speed on the softs with alacrity.
Hamilton was losing time in the first sector but making it back in the final two and had again advanced from DRS range by lap 24. His team, however, were worried that he was still backing Rosberg into the clutches of Ricciardo and Vettel. Concerned that the win was in jeopardy, they asked him to speed up, with the implication that they might let Rosberg go into the pits first. “I’m driving to the best of my ability on these tyres,” Hamilton said. “It’s not like I am driving slowly.”
Red Bull, in turn, scented a chance and pitted Ricciardo early to pressure the leaders and his pace on the new soft rubber was briefly challenging to Hamilton and Rosberg who had stayed out, but both were able to turn up lap times to match him. Rosberg may be suspicious that his team-mate was deliberately slowing the pace and Hamilton may have to explain himself as his speed, whether jollied on by the team or with fuel coming down, tyres coming in or simply his driving, was back up to par in no short order.
“Lewis went quicker after we suggested that Nico would come in first,” Lauda said. “Maybe he was a little tired and then he woke up.”
Hamilton may have a case for the rubber being to blame, however. After the final stops, again onto the soft rubber, on laps 42 and 43 respectively, his four-second lead was again reduced to below two after several laps on the new boots. Ten laps later Rosberg was within six-tenths after Hamilton was held up by the Haas of Esteban Gutiérrez, who received a five-second penalty for ignoring blue flags.
Yet again Hamilton had the pace when he needed it, though, and swiftly turned it on again. With clean air he pumped in the quick times again, dictating the pace from the front as he has done so many times in this dominant Mercedes. The lead was back to 2.1sec by lap 59. It was a pattern that repeated as they encountered traffic again, with Hamilton swiftly able to claw back six or seven-tenths extra when required. By the close it proved to be more than enough and the win and the championship lead was his by a margin of 1.9sec.
This remains a very long season, however. Ten races remain and Hamilton still faces at least one start at the back of the grid for an engine change, so there is still a considerable story yet to be written and it feels like it will not be one of simply smooth sailing to the title. Rosberg does look bludgeoned by Hamilton’s comeback and on recent form has no answer to him but he will not be retiring to his corner. It is the fact that such a gulf, in terms of a lead, has been bridged before the halfway point of the season – which is the next round in Germany – that will be playing on his mind.
John Surtees pulled off the greatest comeback in 1964 to overturn his seventh place and 20-point (55 in modern terms) deficit to Jim Clark in just five races, but in recent times Hamilton’s resurgence recalls Kimi Raikkonen’s triumph in 2007 from an equivalent to 45 points down and Sebastian Vettel’s title in 2012 from 44 points behind. Should the British driver go on to win his fourth championship this year, this fightback may well be its defining moment.
Ferrari’s Raikkonen, who had started from 14th, had a fine drive to take sixth place that had begun with a grand tussle with Max Verstappen. For several laps after the first round of stops through the tight left-hander of turn two Raikkonen, who was on older rubber having not stopped, used all his experience to keep the charging youngster behind him, just as Verstappen had done to the Finn to win his first grand prix at Spain earlier in the year. Raikkonen held the place and opted to two-stop when taking the supersoft tyres on his first visit to the pits. He made the second on lap 50 and, with pleasing symmetry, closed behind Verstappen. This time the older man was on fresher rubber and the charge and clipped Verstappen through turn two, costing him an endplate, when the Dutchman switched lines twice. The pair continued to dice, with Raikkonen complaining about him being late to shift his line but Verstappen held the place to frustrate him again and take fifth.
The issue of radio communication, that had cost Rosberg at Silverstone, will have caused concern again after Jenson Button’s afternoon was effectively ended as he fell foul of convoluted rules concerning exactly what information can and cannot be given to drivers. With a brake issue caused by a hydraulic problem early in the race he spoke to the team explaining it and took advice from them. He then pitted but with the problem having apparently rectified itself he was given a drive-through for “illegal communication”.
Button was deeply unimpressed and made it public over the radio. “The brake pedal going through the floor isn’t classified as a safety issue. Interesting,” he said. “I think someone needs to read up on what’s safe and what isn’t.” He ultimately retired from the race on lap 63, seven from the end, while his McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso, who ran trouble-free, picked up six points in seventh.
Ferrari’s Vettel finished in fourth, the Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz Jr in eighth, Williams’ Valtteri Bottas in ninth with Nico Hulkenberg’s Force India completing the points-paying positions.
(Guardian service)
