Hungarian GP: Hamilton wins over Raikkonen, Alonso 5th increases over Webber

Lewis Hamilton wins the Hungarian GP. After missing out on success last year due to a spin, this time the Englishman did nothing wrong and took a splendid victory from pole, despite strenuously resisting a fantastic Kimi Raikkonen in the Lotus, who finished just one second behind.

Third place for Romain Grosjean in the other Lotus, who precedes a very aggressive Sebastian Vettel but who doesn't go beyond fourth place. Fernando Alonso finished fifth ahead of a dull Jenson Button: the Ferrari driver increased his lead in the standings over Mark Webber, who finished eighth behind an excellent Bruno Senna with Williams. An anonymous race also for Felipe Massa's Ferrari, ninth, while Nico Rosberg with Mercedes closes the Top 10. In the standings Alonso rises to 164 points, Webber is on 124, Vettel on 122, Hamilton on 117 and Raikkonen on 116. In the Constructors Red Bull dominates at 246 points, McLaren is second at 193, Lotus at 192 and Ferrari is fourth at 189.

The sun is shining before the start on the Hungaroring in Budapest, but a storm is expected to arrive on the track for half the race. But at the start the temperature is scorching: 45° C for the track, 30° for the air. All the leaders are on Soft tyres, only Webber is on Mediums, but he starts from 11th position. At the start, however, the traffic lights indicate a problem: Michael Schumacher's car breaks down and is pushed into the pitlane. The reconnaissance lap is repeated, the race will see one lap deducted and therefore will have 69 laps. Schumi manages to start the engine, he will start from the pit lane. At the restart Hamilton holds first place, Vettel attacks Grosjean but the Frenchman maintains second place while Button takes advantage and passes the German. Alonso, on the other hand, beats Raikkonen and is fifth, while behind him Massa has lost two positions and is ninth, also passed by a surprising Senna. Webber also had an excellent start, eighth, while Hulkenberg closed out the Top 10. Schumacher decides to change tyres: could he attempt just one stop? It seems incredible to be able to complete 68 laps, but he rides the Mediums and so this seems like his strategy. however, he exceeds the speed limit in the pit lane and is penalized with a drive through: the race is completely ruined for him. Meanwhile, Hamilton flies at the front, with a 2"2 lead over Grosjean on the fifth lap. Alonso, however, somehow acts as a stopper, his Ferrari laps about six tenths slower than the leading trio: even Vettel does not set times that are much lower than the Spaniard, while in front Grosjean keeps Hamilton's pace. Webber is seventh behind Raikkonen and is 1"1 behind the Finn, who in turn is 0"7 behind Alonso, but the Australian, as mentioned, is on the Mediums and will therefore do more laps than his rivals.

On the tenth lap the waltz of pit stops begins: the first to pit is Kamui Kobayashi with the Sauber, riding the Mediums. Hamilton laps in 1'27”705, 2”3 on Grosjean and 6” on Button. Vettel is at 7"6, while Alonso is at 11"6 and laps in 1'28"592, nine tenths worse than the English race leader, but manages to control Raikkonen's Lotus behind him. On lap 13 Vettel closes in on Button, less than a second away: a sign that the Soft tires are reaching the end of their life for the McLarens? Grosjean laps three tenths better than the Englishman, the two dig an abyss on Button, who on lap 15 is 9" behind and who has difficulty controlling his car: in fact he returns to the pits. The Brit sets the Mediums, while Maldonado and Hulkenberg also decide to stop. In 17th Senna also adopts Button's strategy, while Rosberg manages to pass thanks to the work of his Hulkenberg mechanics and is virtually tenth. Vettel and Alonso stop on lap 18, with the Red Bull unable to overtake Button's McLaren. But the strategies are different: Alonso mounts the Mediums, the German remains on the Softs. On lap 19 Hamilton also pits to get on the Mediums, like Massa, but for the Englishman it is a slow stop, only 4 seconds. Grosjean, however, manages to do worse: 2"4 tire fitting time, the Frenchman returns to the track behind Hamilton, but unlike him he chose the soft compound. On lap 9 there is a joint stop for Raikkonen and Webber and upon returning to the track the Finn finds himself ahead, and not by a little, of Alonso, who actually finds his rival for the title behind him. Raikkonen was on Soft tyres, while Webber remained on Mediums (and will therefore have to stop to fit the other compound). On lap 22, exactly one third of the race, Hamilton leads with 23"2 on Grosjean, Button is 2"7, nine tenths ahead of Vettel. Raikkonen is 9" and 14" ahead of Alonso, then Webber, Senna, Massa and Rosberg close the top ten.

But in front Grosjean breaks through: the Lotus is 1 seconds behind Hamilton, on lap 3 he is nine tenths away and the Frenchman can use the DRS. The Englishman responds and brings the GP25 champion back to a distance, but the Softs seem to have the upper hand: Vettel is also attacking Button behind him. However, Grosjean seems to have problems, the delay on lap 2 is 28 seconds. But the next lap he gains six tenths again, on lap 2 half a second again: there is a big elastic band between the two. On lap 3 Schumacher makes the stop: he mounts the Mediums, for him it will certainly continue until the end of the race and this is the lifespan of the harder compound tyres. The following lap Button pitted in turn, changed strategy and put on the Softs, with Vettel pushing as hard as he could and setting the best lap. But the McLaren driver returns to the track eighth, behind Senna, who is a very tough nut to crack. On lap 30 Vettel stops, passing Button and keeping Senna behind, returning to sixth position. The German is on the Mediums and will presumably finish the race with these tyres. On lap 34 Grosjean also mounts the Mediums, same strategy for Lotus and the world champion's Red Bull. Instead Webber is on the Softs, and will probably have to stop again. On lap 39 Hamilton is in the pits, but maintains the virtual lead of the race thanks to a 40"41 stop. Medium compound tires for him, but the surprise is Raikkonen who sets the fastest lap: the Finn is in the lead, although naturally he will have to stop. Senna returns on lap 2 and finally gives way to Senna, but the race for the Englishman seems compromised; the next lap it's Alonso's turn to stop, medium tires still for him. On the same lap Massa also pitted: the Spaniard returned to the track behind Webber, the Brazilian was ninth behind Senna.

Two thirds of the way through the race Raikkonen stops, loses first position but upon returning to the track he is equal with Grosjean: the two teammates fight without concessions and the Finn sends the Frenchman to the outside, maintaining second place. The situation now is Hamilton in command, Raikkonen at 4"4, Grosjean at 6", then Vettel, Webber, Alonso, Button (who had problems during his last stop), Senna, Massa and Rosberg. The forecasted rain doesn't arrive, the race should remain dry: bad news for Alonso, who has to defend himself from Button and who is 9 seconds behind Webber. In front, however, Hamilton constantly loses to Raikkonen, who is 3" down on lap 2, and Maldonado is given a drive-through penalty for ramming Paul Di Resta while overtaking. The Finn gains half a second per lap on the Briton, who curiously activated the rain light. On lap 6 the margin is 50"54, Raikkonen can use the DRS, but on lap 0 Webber makes his expected stop: Alonso recovers fifth position, the Australian comes out in eighth place ahead of Massa. On lap 9, a dramatic twist: Vettel stops and puts on Soft tires for a completely unexpected stop. The German returns to the track ahead of Alonso, who attacks him but is closed by the Red Bull driver who makes no concessions. Schumacher retires, Vettel obviously sets the fastest lap and gains a second and a half on Grosjean, he is 56"59 behind and six laps to go.

The finale sees the battle between Hamilton and Raikkonen: between the two it is a ballet of tenths, but the Englishman seems to resist the assaults of the Lotus. With four laps to go Vettel is 8"8 behind Grosjean, then Alonso holds on for fifth place on Button and Senna keeps Webber behind. In the end it is a triumph for Lewis Hamilton, his 19th victory, his second of the season; then Raikkonen at 1”, then Grosjean who resists Vettel's final assault who, for just one second, fails in the extraordinary comeback. For Alonso it is a placing that increases his lead in the standings: in the end it is a big celebration (and holidays) for everyone.

Lorena Bianchi

Here are the race times:

Team Driver Pos Detachment 1. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1h41:05.503 2. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 1.032 3. Grosjean Lotus-Renault + 10.518 4. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 11.614 5. Alonso Ferrari + 26.653 6. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 30.243 7. Senna Williams-Renault + 33.899 8. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 34.458 9. Massa Ferrari + 38.300 10. Rosberg Mercedes + 51.200 11. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 57.200 12. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 :02.800 13. Maldonado Williams-Renault + 1:03.6 14. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1:04.4 15. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 16. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 17. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 1 lap 18. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 2 laps 19. Petrov Caterham-Renault + 2 laps 20. Pic Marussia-Cosworth + 2 laps 21. Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 3 laps 22. De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps Plus lap fast: Vettel, 1:24.136 DNF/lap Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 63 Schumacher Mercedes 61