Reverend
July 26th, 2009, 20:17 PM
Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix to take his first victory since October last year and complete a remarkable turnaround for McLaren.
The Englishman took the lead after pole-sitter Fernando Alonso's Renault made an early pit stop and dominated ahead of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.
Red Bull's Mark Webber was third with Brawn's Jenson Button down in seventh.
The Australian replaces team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who retired, in second place in the world championship.
Vettel, who suffered a front suspension failure while running eighth on lap 27 of 70, slips to 23 points behind the Englishman with seven races remaining and a maximum of 70 points available.
Nico Rosberg was fourth for Williams ahead of Hamilton's team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, Toyota's Timo Glock, Button and the second Toyota of Jarno Trulli.
Raikkonen's second place was a big boost for Ferrari who had gone into the race with only one driver following Felipe Massa's high-speed crash in qualifying, which resulted in the Brazilian undergoing emergency surgery on serious head injuries.
"Maybe I can speak for all of us, but today was a sad day given what happened with Felipe," said Hamilton.
"We miss him, wish him well and we all wish him a speedy recovery."
Raikkonen was investigated by race stewards following a coming together with Vettel at the start of the race but the officials decided not to take any action.
Red Bull, who dominated the last two races in Britain and Germany, put in a surprisingly uncompetitive performance but they were in much better shape than Button.
The Englishman qualified eighth, but was starting on a heavy fuel load and was optimistic he would have a strong race. Instead, he was unable to make any impression on the cars at the front.
For the first time this season, that meant McLaren, whose form here confirmed that the revised aerodynamics they introduced in Germany two weeks ago have transformed the car.
"It's an incredible feeling to be back here after what feels like such a long time away, and such a struggle with me and my team. I'm just so proud of the guys," said Hamilton.
"Everyone's pushing and wants to win as much as I do, which is pretty rare with such a large group of people. But we didn't expect to win this weekend.
"Undoubtedly we have caught up [with other teams], but we didn't think we could win."
McLaren started the season with an uncompetitive car, struggling in most races to even get into the points. Hamilton, the reigning world champion, had not even managed to finish on the podium until winning this race.
But a new front wing, diffuser and engine cover introduced at the last race have improved the car's pace by about 0.8 seconds a lap
Hungarian Grand Prix Result:
1. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari
3. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
4. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota
5. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes
6. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota
7. Jenson Button (GB) Brawn-Mercedes
8. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota
Championship Standings:
1. Jenson Button (GB) Brawn-Mercedes 70 pts
2. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 51.5
3. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault 47
4. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Brawn-Mercedes 44
5. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 25.5
6. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 22.5
7. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 22
8. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 19
Constructors' championship:
1. Brawn-Mercedes 114 pts
2. Red Bull-Renault 98.5
3. Ferrari 40
4. Toyota 38.5
5. McLaren-Mercedes 28
Full report: BBC Sport (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8169436.stm)
The Englishman took the lead after pole-sitter Fernando Alonso's Renault made an early pit stop and dominated ahead of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.
Red Bull's Mark Webber was third with Brawn's Jenson Button down in seventh.
The Australian replaces team-mate Sebastian Vettel, who retired, in second place in the world championship.
Vettel, who suffered a front suspension failure while running eighth on lap 27 of 70, slips to 23 points behind the Englishman with seven races remaining and a maximum of 70 points available.
Nico Rosberg was fourth for Williams ahead of Hamilton's team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, Toyota's Timo Glock, Button and the second Toyota of Jarno Trulli.
Raikkonen's second place was a big boost for Ferrari who had gone into the race with only one driver following Felipe Massa's high-speed crash in qualifying, which resulted in the Brazilian undergoing emergency surgery on serious head injuries.
"Maybe I can speak for all of us, but today was a sad day given what happened with Felipe," said Hamilton.
"We miss him, wish him well and we all wish him a speedy recovery."
Raikkonen was investigated by race stewards following a coming together with Vettel at the start of the race but the officials decided not to take any action.
Red Bull, who dominated the last two races in Britain and Germany, put in a surprisingly uncompetitive performance but they were in much better shape than Button.
The Englishman qualified eighth, but was starting on a heavy fuel load and was optimistic he would have a strong race. Instead, he was unable to make any impression on the cars at the front.
For the first time this season, that meant McLaren, whose form here confirmed that the revised aerodynamics they introduced in Germany two weeks ago have transformed the car.
"It's an incredible feeling to be back here after what feels like such a long time away, and such a struggle with me and my team. I'm just so proud of the guys," said Hamilton.
"Everyone's pushing and wants to win as much as I do, which is pretty rare with such a large group of people. But we didn't expect to win this weekend.
"Undoubtedly we have caught up [with other teams], but we didn't think we could win."
McLaren started the season with an uncompetitive car, struggling in most races to even get into the points. Hamilton, the reigning world champion, had not even managed to finish on the podium until winning this race.
But a new front wing, diffuser and engine cover introduced at the last race have improved the car's pace by about 0.8 seconds a lap
Hungarian Grand Prix Result:
1. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari
3. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
4. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota
5. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes
6. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota
7. Jenson Button (GB) Brawn-Mercedes
8. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota
Championship Standings:
1. Jenson Button (GB) Brawn-Mercedes 70 pts
2. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault 51.5
3. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull-Renault 47
4. Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Brawn-Mercedes 44
5. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Toyota 25.5
6. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 22.5
7. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 22
8. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 19
Constructors' championship:
1. Brawn-Mercedes 114 pts
2. Red Bull-Renault 98.5
3. Ferrari 40
4. Toyota 38.5
5. McLaren-Mercedes 28
Full report: BBC Sport (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8169436.stm)