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Lewis Hamilton heads into Formula One summer break with a comfortable 24-point lead over rival Sebastian Vettel after cruising to victory from pole position at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Hamilton was untroubled as he secured a second straight win, his fifth of the season and 67th overall. Vettel was second.
“It’s great to go into the break with back-to-back wins,” said Hamilton, who won in Germany seven days earlier. “That boost will last a long time with our team.”
After 12 of 21 races, defending champion Hamilton has the momentum. At the same stage last season, he trailed Vettel by 14 points.
Hamilton, who won by 17 seconds, said: “We’ve definitely had ups and downs in this championship, it’s such a rollercoaster ride – but the team has just remained strong.
“We’re in a great position right now, but what’s important is that we don’t drop the ball. The last two weekends have been such a blessing with the rain, I’m so grateful. The guys have worked so hard this year, they really deserve a good result.
“There’s still a lot of work to do because Ferrari are still slightly ahead of us, they had the pace. I had them covered, but had they been on pole, we would have struggled.
“So we’ve got some improvements to make in our overall package to try and close the gap to them, but I’m really happy with the job everyone’s done so far, we just have to keep going.
“The goal is now to really pull together and become even stronger for the second half. That will be key to add to what we’ve built in this first half of the season.”
Before the race, a minute’s silence for former Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne was impeccably observed. Marchionne, a hugely influential and successful motor industry leader, died after complications from surgery.
Mercedes missed out on a 1-2 as Valtteri Bottas was overtaken by Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen with five laps to go.
Bottas and Vettel touched during the overtaking move, with some debris flying off the Mercedes. “I got a hit from behind. I wasn’t sure what was going on,” Vettel said. “Lucky that the car wasn’t broken and we could carry on.”
In a dramatic finish, Bottas lost control of his car as he bumped Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull off the track as he was about to be overtaken. “I just ended up being a mess in the end with a broken car,” Bottas said.
Bottas was told on the team radio to give the position back to Ricciardo, who finished a commendable fourth after starting 12th. Bottas was later given a 10-second time penalty but this did not affect results, with Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly remaining in sixth place.
Ricciardo’s teammate, Max Verstappen, launched a series of expletives after engine failure curtailed his race after eight laps. “It was difficult to accept and I was very upset,” Verstappen said. “The fans are disappointed, they came all this way and only see you do five or six laps.”
It is the fourth time Verstappen has failed to finish this season. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner blamed the Renault engine as being ‘substandard’. Red Bull is splitting with Renault and working with Honda next season.
Vettel and Raikkonen drove well considering both endured a botched pit stop because of a slow tyre change.
Ferrari team strategy meant Raikkonen pitted twice for new tyres and, on a scorching hot day, Ferrari bafflingly forgot to properly attach his drinks supply.
“It’s nice to get some water in the mouth sometimes,” Raikkonen said. “Apart from that, it wasn’t an issue.”
Hamilton secured pole with a brilliant last lap in the rain on Saturday, while Vettel started a modest fourth behind Raikkonen and Bottas. The long straight up to Turn 1 was Ferrari’s best and, ultimately, only chance of overtaking Hamilton. But he comfortably held position while Vettel jumped ahead of Raikkonen and almost caught Bottas.
Hamilton’s win here followed his victory at last weekend’s rain-soaked German GP, where he was handed victory after Vettel crashed late on while leading. Mercedes decided to bring Hamilton in last Sunday for his only tyre change on Lap 26. He came out second behind Vettel, the only time Hamilton did not lead.
Ferrari pitted Raikkonen for a second tyre change on Lap 39, and Vettel finally came in the next lap. But it was another poor stop from Ferrari, whose mechanics struggled to fit the front left tyre. The stop took four seconds, roughly double the ideal time, and when Vettel emerged on track he was behind Bottas.
On arguably the most difficult track for overtaking in F1 after Monaco, it greatly reduced Vettel’s hopes of finishing second. But with Bottas struggling with his rear tyres, Vettel seized his chance.
As for champion Hamilton, he is looking forward to stepping out the car and into the gym. “I’m excited about the summer break,” he said. “I will do different stuff over these two weeks, but I will be training through the whole period of time, trying to improve my physique.
“Physicality-wise, I’m not struggling out there at all, but there are always areas where you can be better, and I want to make sure I come back with more energy so we can turn up the heat in the second half of the season.”
Hamilton and Vettel will continue their battle for a fifth F1 title when the championship resumes at the Belgian GP on August 26.
