Hamilton extends lead in Hungary

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Hamilton claimed his sixth victory in Hungary on Sunday
  • Post published:July 29, 2018

Lewis Hamilton extended his lead in the Formula One Drivers’ Championship to 24 points after winning the Hungarian Grand Prix ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. JUANDRE JOUBERT reports.

Hamilton – who started from pole position – could not have wished for a better Sunday in Hungary, as he won his sixth Hungarian F1 race by a massive 17-second margin, thanks to help from his teammate Valtteri Bottas and some mistakes from Ferrari.

Vettel opted to start on soft tyres while the rest of the top five chose the supersofts. He had a chance to catch Hamilton, but two things hindered his charge. He was leading the race after his British rival pitted, but the lapped traffic cost him precious time and when he pitted, there was an issue with his left front tyre that claimed another 2.5 seconds. That meant he emerged behind Bottas.

The Finn did his teammate a huge favour by holding Vettel up and not letting him pass until the victory was secured. It took Vettel the better part of 25 laps to overtake Bottas, but by then, Hamilton was on an afternoon stroll towards the chequered flag. There was a bit of excitement when Vettel passed Bottas, and the two collided. The Mercedes driver completely ruined his front wing, while the German suffered no damage.

The collision also resulted in Raikkonen passing Bottas to claim the final podium place. Bottas’ damage meant that Daniel Ricciardo, who sat in fifth, was gaining on him at a rapid pace. At the start of the penultimate lap, Ricciardo passed Bottas on the back-straight, but at the first turn, Bottas under-steered and drove straight into Ricciardo. However, the Australian recovered and passed Bottas on the final lap to secure fourth.

After all that action, Hamilton crossed the finish line to claim a vital victory and take a 24-point lead in the Drivers’ Championship standings over second-placed Vettel as they look ahead to the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of August.

Race Classification: Photo: @F1/Twitter