Hamilton was 43 points behind Rosberg, but has won four of the last five grands prix to dramatically slash the gap to his rival as he pursues a fourth championship.
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This week on the F1 Report the guests discuss who could claim victory in Budapest – a race Mercedes have yet to win in the turbo-hybrid era of Formula 1.
After finishing second to team-mate Lewis Hamilton, Rosberg received a 10-second time penalty that demoted him to third behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
“When we say we are gaining an advantage then I think action needs to be taken, and it is a good step forward”.
“It was a great weekend, I enjoyed that one a lot”, Verstappen, the youngest F1 victor ever, said about his previous race here.
The German driver said he would prefer that barriers were on the outside of corners to really ensure drivers stay on track, “but of course there are safety considerations”.
“I surf, and sometimes you have to wait for the wave to come”.
Vettel now occupies fifth in the Drivers’ standings, trailing Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg by 70 points, and heads to the Hungaroring in the wake of disappointing results in Silverstone and Austria. “It’s a track that for some reason has always suited my style and I have incredible support there”.
Nonetheless, Hamilton has won four times in Hungary during his 10-year career.
Besides the crash in Spain, Hamilton and Rosberg also collided in the last lap of the Austrian Grand Prix, as Hamilton attempted to pass Rosberg for the lead.
Hamilton, who also won the race before that in Austria, surfed the Silverstone crowd in jubilation and will be hoping the wave of momentum building up behind his title defence carries him back to the top.
The Grove-based squad have only picked up 11 points in the last three races, and failed to get anything from their home event at Silverstone two weeks ago.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo won for Red Bull in 2014 while Sebastian Vettel was triumphant for Ferrari past year.
The Hungaroring “plays to the strength of our rivals”, said Mercedes chief Toto Wolff.
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“It’s come about because fans said we were like puppets out there, just doing what the engineers are saying”, Rosberg said.
