Lewis Hamilton took his first chequered flag for Mercedes with an outstanding drive in the 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix. Kimi Raikkonen finished second ahead of Sebastian Vettel.
Pole-sitter Hamilton controlled the race after an initial tussle with Vettel and Romain Grosjean who qualified in second and third. The Brit led from start to end, surrendering the lead briefly to Grosjean and then Webber during his pitstop.
Vettel initially pushed Hamilton hard, but pressure from Grosjean allowed Hamilton to put space between his Mercedes and the Red Bull.
After his first pitstop, Hamilton found himself behind former teammate Jenson Button, but the McLaren driver could do little to defend and Hamilton quickly overtook. Vettel also found himself behind Button after pitting, but the two made contact, leaving the Red Bull with a damaged wing.
Vettel finally passed Button on lap 24, but as Grosjean attempted to follow he also collided with the McLaren. After the race, Grosjean was given a 20sec penalty in lieu of a drive-through, but he still retained sixth place as he finished 21.5sec clear of Button.
Grosjean also received a drive-through penalty for passing Felipe Massa’s Ferrari on the outside of turn 4, a move which the stewards judged to be exceeding track limits.
Raikkonen drove a consistent race and emerged in second place after the final round of pitstops. He fought to keep a hard charging Vettel behind, and the German would later complain that the Finn was over defensive.
Mark Webber ran a long first stint on and led the race briefly. An impressive drive from 10th on the grid saw him take fourth. Alonso finished in fifth, but Ferrari was fined £13,000 for incorrect use of his DRS system.
Both McLarens finished in the points, with Button claiming seventh and Sergio Perez ninth. Massa finished eight after swapping paint with Rosberg and Sutil. After the collision, Rosberg dropped to 12th, but fought back to ninth before retiring in flames. Pastor Maldonado was promoted to 10th position.
Hungarian Grand Prix results, 28th July, 2013
1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2 Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
3 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
4 Mark Webber (Red Bull)
5 Fernando Alonso (Ferrari)
6 Romain Grosjean (Lotus)
7 Jenson Button (McLaren)
8 Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
9 Sergio Perez (McLaren)
Add your comment