Monaco Grand Prix – 29 May Hamilton, the driver of vehicle number 44, claimed his 44th career win – and second in Monaco.
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Team-mate Nico Rosberg’s second-place finish in Budapest means he now trails Hamilton by six points, but Wolff has backed the German to respond and take the fight right to the wire.
Triple world champion Lewis Hamilton has taken pole position in the race to the 2016 Formula One title after cruising to victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix. If he continues in this form, the points gap to Rosberg is only heading in one direction. But it doesn’t really make a difference to me, I’m not counting points and there’s still such a long way to go.
“I think the first part of the race we were quite competitive”, Ricciardo said. Meanwhile, by that time Lewis was out of Nico’s DRS (Drag Reduction System) range – which was only enabled on lap three.
“But since Spain we’ve pulled together, and I’d love to come out of the next race with a result like this so when I do go to Spa or Monza, and have a penalty and start from the pit lane or last place, that is a minimum damage”.
Even so, Hamilton insists his scepticism was not targeting Rosberg specifically and doesn’t believe his actions ultimately prompted the stewards to look into it again.
Pole man Hamilton made a decent start to the race but Rosberg enjoyed marginally the better getaway and passed the Briton around the outside into Turn One.
“It didn’t feel like it was, but it was rock bottom”.
In the closing ten laps, however, Vettel closed up on Ricciardo and threatened to pass him, but the Red Bull Racing auto was able to fend off the Ferrari’s advances just long enough to reach the chequered flag ahead. “I tried to miss him and I just managed to, but there were two times that in my feelings it wasn’t correct”, said Raikkonen.
That controversy aside, both title contenders admitted that Sunday’s race was won and lost at the first corner as Hamilton leapt from second to grab a lead he never relinquished. The Australian, however, was able to close that gap to 2.8 seconds by lap 30.
The sport’s ruling body, the International Motoring Federation (FIA), is expected to issue a clarification on the ruling before next weekend’s German Grand Prix at Hockenheim.
Behind these two however, the racing was much more intense.
That race ended in a double DNF for Mercedes as the team-mates clashed on the opening lap.
Jenson Button branded it “the race from hell” as he slammed radio rules that saw him penalised before his McLaren broke down 10 laps from home.
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“I believe so. I will definitely raise it”, he continued, “because as I said knowing that on a double waved yellow now is [lift] and then gas it and go back on it, and still go purple”.
