Hamilton Wins Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton of McLaren leads Romain Grosjean of Lotus on his way to winning the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix, July 29, 2012. (Drew Gibson/Getty Images)

Lewis Hamilton put his McLaren on the pole for the Formula one Hungarian Grand Prix, made a great start to stay ahead of Romain Grosjean of Lotus, and successfully employed a two-stop strategy to stay ahead to the end.

The McLaren driver led all but ten laps—his two pit stops—and exhibited superb driving skills in the final quarter of the race, decidedly earning his second Grand Prix win of the 2012 season.

“Well, what can I say?! I’m over the moon!” Hamilton said in a team press release. “The team did a fantastic job! Absolutely brilliant! “

The Hungaroring is a demanding track, and the day was hot and humid; Hamilton had to work for his win, but he didn’t mind the effort.
 
“It was a really enjoyable race—but it wasn’t at all easy. In fact, I reckon that it was one of the toughest races I’ve ever driven—but, guess what, I’ll savor it all the more for that.
 
“I was under a lot of pressure throughout all 69 laps. First, Romain [Grosjean] and then Kimi [Raikkonen] were right behind me, all the way through, and I had to look after my tires without letting my pace drop, which was pretty tricky at times.

“Looking at the season as a whole, it’s clear that after the mid-season break we’ll have a lot of work to do. But, for now, let’s celebrate—all of us, family, friends and fans—and put on our Vodafone rocket-red tops, and enjoy the moment.”

Kimi Raikonnen of Lotus finished second, unable to catch Hamilton despite having fresher tires. The McLaren driver stayed cool, despite having the former world champion on his wing; Raikonnen was a second or less behind for the final 17 laps and Hamilton never put a wheel wrong or let the Lotus driver get close enough to make a pass using DRS.

Grosjean finished third, giving Lotus two drivers on the podium.

Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull tried a three-stop strategy but it didn’t pay off; even with brand new option tires he couldn’t catch Grosjean and finished fourth. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso finished fifth, stretching his championship lead.

Jenson Button in the second McLaren passed Sebastian Vettel on the first lap after the Red Bull driver tried to hard to pass Grosjean for third. he lost position after a pit stop on lap 35 when he rejoined behind Bruno Senna. Button couldn’t pass the Williams driver, and when Vettel pitted, his crew got him out ahead of both Button and Senna. The McLaren driver eventually made the opass but finished behind Alonso in sixth.

Hamilton benefited from excellent pit stops, quite a change from McLaren’s past performance. Button, already not having a great day and forced to come in for a third pit stop, was further delayed when the crew couldn’t fit the left front tire.

Formula One takes its mid-season vacation in August. Racing will resume on September 2 with the Belgian Grand Prix at the historic Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Tickets and travel packages are available through the Formula One website.