For the first time this season there was a change at the top of the standings as Hamilton put the finishing touches on his efforts to overturn a 43-point deficit with a victory in Hungary. The Formula 1 circus heads to Germany for the first time since 2014 where Rosberg will be on home soil, and Hamilton can expect the same hostile reception he faced in Austria as well as the one that greeted Rosberg at Silverstone.
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With 10 laps to go, the chase was on, but Mercedes remained comfortably clear in their personal duel well ahead of Ricciardo s Red Bull.
Hamilton started on pole but slipped to second after banging wheels with Rosberg at turn one.
The Briton took the chequered flag less than two seconds ahead of the German, who had lined up on pole position at the Hungaroring but lost out to Hamilton at the start in the key moment of the race.
The win was Hamilton’s fifth in Hungary, making Hamilton the most successful driver at the Hungaroring in its 31-race history with one more victory than Michael Schumacher. I had one of the Red Bulls on the inside so I was pressured quite a lot into turn one.
“I don’t think [it’s over]”, said Wolff.
As mentioned above, Hamilton’s win helps him take the championship lead.
“It’s very close. It’s been a good season so far”.
“The fact he didn’t get penalised means we have to be careful because the message we send to the drivers here, and also in the lower categories, is that it’s now possible for you to lose only one-tenth of a second in the double waved yellow flag section, which is one of the most unsafe scenarios”, he told a post-race news conference.
“I want to go into the summer break with what lead I have nowat least”. “I love the track”.
Hamilton turned on his team mate Nico Rosberg during the after race interview, reiterating the same point as Vettel that avoiding punishment sets a bad example for young drivers….
With Hamilton not pushing his auto the move initially caused some consternation at Mercedes with the leader warned by his team that they may pit Rosberg before him if his pace did not improve. Hamilton answered that he was “driving as best as I can” but seemed to respond to the request and Ricciardo never really challenged again.
“I’m pleased with the podium”, said Ricciardo.
“It’s important we try and go from strength to strength, and I need to make sure I stay on it”.
At the time of Rosberg’s signing.
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“They managed them very well in the first stint on the super-softs, and then we bolted on the softs and we didn’t have any experience on those tires”.
