Reverend
August 5th, 2007, 18:19 PM
Lewis Hamilton drove a copybook race to win a close battle with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Englishman led from start to finish but the McLaren driver was pushed hard throughout the race by the Finn.
But Hamilton stayed cool in the face of intense pressure in the closing laps to extend his championship lead over team-mate Fernando Alonso to seven.
The world champion was fourth after being dropped to sixth on the grid for delaying Hamilton in qualifying.
Alonso spent the last 12 laps right behind the BMW Sauber of Nick Heidfeld, but despite fighting hard was unable to pass the German.
Heidfeld's team-mate Robert Kubica was fifth, with Toyota's Ralf Schumacher, Red Bull's Mark Webber and Williams's Nico Rosberg filling the final points positions.
Hamilton looked comfortable in the first stint of the race, quickly building a lead of three seconds and holding it there as he and Raikkonen pushed their cars to the edge.
But after the two men came in for fuel and tyres together on lap 19 Raikkonen began to close in on Hamilton, and by lap 27 the Ferrari was just a second behind the McLaren.
On a track where overtaking is notoriously difficult, though, Raikkonen was never close enough to pass and the Ferrari driver's hopes faded when he came in for his final stop before Hamilton, on lap 46.
Hamilton did not make his stop for another three laps, but was still not able to break free of Raikkonen's challenge. The Ferrari again closed to less than a second behind Hamilton, but again the McLaren star held his nerve to take his third win of the season.
Hamilton said: "It's been an eventful weekend and quite emotional for all the team.
"With all the drama that has gone on over the weekend, it would have been easy to lose focus. It's been a bit of a downer for the team.
"It was one of the hardest races I've ever had. Just to get the points is so important for me and for the morale of the team. We've shown that we can beat anyone.
"We made a really good step forward with a great package but we still weren't sure whether we'd be ahead of the Ferraris. You could see in the race they had great pace.
Hungarian Grand Prix result:
1. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari
3. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber
4. Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren-Mercedes
5. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber
6. Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota
7. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota
8. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Renault
Championship standings:
1. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 80 pts
2. Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren-Mercedes 73
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 60
4. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 59
5. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 42
6. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 28
7. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 17
8. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Renault 16
Constructors' championship:
1. McLaren-Mercedes 138 pts
2. Ferrari 119
3. BMW Sauber 71
4. Renault 33
5. Williams-Toyota 20
BBC Sport (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/6932086.stm)
The Englishman led from start to finish but the McLaren driver was pushed hard throughout the race by the Finn.
But Hamilton stayed cool in the face of intense pressure in the closing laps to extend his championship lead over team-mate Fernando Alonso to seven.
The world champion was fourth after being dropped to sixth on the grid for delaying Hamilton in qualifying.
Alonso spent the last 12 laps right behind the BMW Sauber of Nick Heidfeld, but despite fighting hard was unable to pass the German.
Heidfeld's team-mate Robert Kubica was fifth, with Toyota's Ralf Schumacher, Red Bull's Mark Webber and Williams's Nico Rosberg filling the final points positions.
Hamilton looked comfortable in the first stint of the race, quickly building a lead of three seconds and holding it there as he and Raikkonen pushed their cars to the edge.
But after the two men came in for fuel and tyres together on lap 19 Raikkonen began to close in on Hamilton, and by lap 27 the Ferrari was just a second behind the McLaren.
On a track where overtaking is notoriously difficult, though, Raikkonen was never close enough to pass and the Ferrari driver's hopes faded when he came in for his final stop before Hamilton, on lap 46.
Hamilton did not make his stop for another three laps, but was still not able to break free of Raikkonen's challenge. The Ferrari again closed to less than a second behind Hamilton, but again the McLaren star held his nerve to take his third win of the season.
Hamilton said: "It's been an eventful weekend and quite emotional for all the team.
"With all the drama that has gone on over the weekend, it would have been easy to lose focus. It's been a bit of a downer for the team.
"It was one of the hardest races I've ever had. Just to get the points is so important for me and for the morale of the team. We've shown that we can beat anyone.
"We made a really good step forward with a great package but we still weren't sure whether we'd be ahead of the Ferraris. You could see in the race they had great pace.
Hungarian Grand Prix result:
1. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari
3. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber
4. Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren-Mercedes
5. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber
6. Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota
7. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota
8. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Renault
Championship standings:
1. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 80 pts
2. Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren-Mercedes 73
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 60
4. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 59
5. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 42
6. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 28
7. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 17
8. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Renault 16
Constructors' championship:
1. McLaren-Mercedes 138 pts
2. Ferrari 119
3. BMW Sauber 71
4. Renault 33
5. Williams-Toyota 20
BBC Sport (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/6932086.stm)