Hamilton Takes Charge of the Prix in Hungary

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/29/sports/autoracing/29iht-prix29.html

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BUDAPEST — Before the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday it appeared highly unlikely that the race would be anything other than yet another of the long processions through the narrow, winding and sinuous track outside Budapest that fans have come to expect.

The 4.3-kilometer, or 2.7-mile, track is the second slowest on the calendar, behind the one through the streets of Monaco. But at the Monaco Grand Prix, also known for processional racing, there is almost always something unexpected that happens — usually an accident — to shake up the race, while in Budapest often nothing changes the initial starting order.

All that changed on Sunday, where although Lewis Hamilton dominated from his pole position at the start to his victory at the end, the race was a palpitating mix of daring overtaking moves, tense team tire strategies and other great driving. That, along with temperatures of 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) under a nearly cloudless sky, created one of the most interesting races in dry conditions that the circuit has produced since it started being used for the race in 1986.

It was also historic: It was Hamilton’s first victory for his new team, Mercedes, and his fourth victory in Budapest, which equals the record held by Michael Schumacher. It took until nearly an hour after the race before Hamilton realized that fact, after a journalist reminded him it was his fourth victory here.

“I think this is probably one of the most important Grand Prix wins of my career, to go to a new team and to win,” Hamilton said. “To move to a new team, and the team was struggling last year, and then to win.”

Kimi Raikkonen finished the race in second position in his Lotus, 10.9 seconds behind Hamilton, while Sebastian Vettel finished third in his Red Bull, another 1.5 seconds behind Raikkonen.

Vettel leads the series with 172 points, while Raikkonen is second with 134, Fernando Alonso, of Ferrari, who finished the race in fifth, is third with 133 points, and Hamilton is fourth with 124.

“When you have a win like this, you say anything is possible,” Hamilton said of his chances for the title this year, before adding of Vettel and Raikkonen: “But I think it is too early to say we can challenge these guys.”

Hamilton had several incidents of bad luck this season, notably when he dropped out of the lead of the British Grand Prix on June 30 after his rear Pirelli tire exploded. He was also under pressure after his teammate, Nico Rosberg, won two races this year, the Monaco Grand Prix in June and the British Grand Prix.

But in the heat of Budapest, the tires and the car all held together for the 70-lap race, as Hamilton proved a mastery of one of the series’ most physically draining tracks.

The Hungaroring has only one short straight, and the rest is a series of corners in quick succession on undulating terrain.

Hamilton started on pole position and got off to a perfect start, while Vettel, who started second, battled to hold off Romain Grosjean, in the other Lotus, as the three drivers entered the first corner.

“We really didn’t expect to be on pole,” said Hamilton. “I got out to Turn 1 in first position, and that was the most important thing.”

He was also helped in the race by the different strategies of other drivers getting in the way of his direct adversaries, particularly the strategy of Jenson Button in the McLaren Mercedes, where Hamilton had driven from his first year in Formula One in 2007 until last season.

Button started the race in only 13th position, but jumped to eighth on the first lap, and unlike the majority of drivers — including the first eight on the grid — he began the race with the medium hard tires rather than the soft ones. The medium tires are slower, but wear out less quickly.

That allowed Button to stay out longer before his first pit stop, with the result that he blocked Vettel after the German’s pit stop on Lap 11 until Button’s pit stop on Lap 24, providing a cushion between Hamilton and Vettel. That enabled Hamilton to speed ahead and build up an advantage of 13.3 seconds by then.

“I guess he did me a favor,” Hamilton said of Button.

Vettel led the race briefly, from Lap 32 to 34 after Hamilton’s second pit stop and before his own second pit stop. But when he emerged from that stop, Vettel had dropped to sixth, while Hamilton continued to lead the race.

“It’s obviously not the best circuit to be stuck in traffic, as it is difficult to overtake,” Vettel said. “I did not have enough speed on the straights to put people under pressure.”

“I got stuck behind Jenson for a long time, and damaged my front wing,” he added, referring to when he hit Button’s car as he tried to pass at one point.

Grosjean had animated the first part of the race after starting third on the grid. But he, too, collided with Button as he tried to pass on Lap 24.

The Frenchman had to cut through a corner to avoid crashing out, but he was later penalized with a drive-through the pits penalty for the shortcut. Grosjean finished sixth.

There was passing up and down the race, including by Hamilton, who passed Mark Webber in the other Red Bull for third position on Lap 32 just as the two cars ahead — including Vettel’s — made pit stops, enabling Hamilton to retake the lead.

The battle in the final laps between Raikkonen, who was on a two-stop strategy, and Vettel in third made the heart race. Vettel attacked the Finnish driver with less than three laps left, trying to force past, without success.

Finally, on the last lap, with Vettel just eight-tenths of a second behind, the German appeared to give up as Hamilton crossed the finish line victorious.

“At the end I was quite close with Kimi,” Vettel said. “We had fresher tires, but there was no way to pass.”

While Hamilton said the heat did not bother him, Vettel said that in fighting until the end, it was a different story.

“It was pretty hot, especially toward the end of the race when the drink is not cool anymore, it’s more like tea,” Vettel said. “We were in a different situation to Lewis, still fighting hard and struggling to get past without succeeding.”

With just five laps left in the race, there was a moment of high suspense as Hamilton’s teammate, Rosberg, pulled off the track with his Mercedes engine on fire.

Hamilton left the circuit optimistic for the second half of the season, which begins with the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps on Aug. 25.

“If we can be quick here, in a race with these track temperatures, I’m really hopeful that we can be very competitive everywhere else, so I’m hoping this could be a turning point for us,” he said.