Lewis Hamilton wins uneventful Hungarian Grand Prix

He takes his second victory of the season, and the 19th of his career

Lewis Hamilton has stormed to his second victory of the season, after fending off a charging Kimi Raikkonen throughout the closing stages of the Hungarian Grand Prix. Romain Grosjean finished 3rd, after initially starting the race alongside Hamilton on the grid. The Red Bull duo of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber suffered a lackluster race, eventually finishing 4th and 8th.

The race start was aborted for one lap, as Michael Schumacher embarrassingly stalled on the grid. This meant the 7-time World Champion would start the race from the pit-lane, instead of his 17th grid slot. Once the race finally got underway, Lewis Hamilton glided into a commanding lead, whilst Jenson Button surged passed Sebastian Vettel into 3rd and Mark Webber flew up into 7th position from 11th.

Michael Schumacher’s race weekend grew steadily worse, as the once dominant German driver was issued a drive-thru penalty for speeding in the pit-lane. Timo Glock momentarily spun whilst negotiating turn 12, however the Marussia driver was able to continue racing. Further up the field, and Lewis Hamilton still dominated in the lead ahead of Romain Grosjean and team-mate Jenson Button.

As with all races this season, tyre management would once again prove to be critical throughout the race. By lap 9, the first drivers opted to pit as Kamui Kobayashi pitted for Sauber. Several laps later, and drivers from the sharper end of the pack began to pit with the likes of Jenson Button, Bruno Senna and Nico Rosberg all opting to pit.

Sebastian Vettel then made his first stop on lap 18, along with Championship leader Fernando Alonso. The German driver failed to leapfrog Jenson Button in the pits, and rejoined the circuit still stuck behind the McLaren driver. Lewis Hamilton pitted from the lead on lap 19, thus handing the lead down to Romain Grosjean who made his first stop a lap later, gifting the lead to his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen. However, the Finn’s lead was short lived as he too pitted a lap later, as Hamilton resumed his dominancy at the front.

With passing exceedingly difficult around the tight confines of the Hungaroring, hardly any notable overtakes were seen throughout the pack. Jenson Button pitted once again on lap 35, as the McLaren team opted for “plan B”, which turned out to be three-stop strategy. Sebastian Vettel reacted to the Briton’s stop, and was repaid quite considerably by eventually leapfrogging the 2009 World Champion.

As Grosjean and Hamilton made their second pit-stops, Kimi Raikkonen once again assumed the lead. With the Finn setting competitive lap times at the front, he was able to open up a considerable gap to the likes of Hamilton, Grosjean and Vettel. When the 2007 World Champion finally made his stop on lap 45, it was no surprise to see him exit the pits ahead of both Romain Grosjean and Sebastian Vettel.

Kimi Raikkonen was clearly on a mission, and upon exiting the pit-lane he instantly began to reel in Lewis Hamilton in the lead. As the laps trickled by, Raikkonen gradually eased himself within the DRS zone. However, as the Finn entered the dirty air of the McLaren, any DRS advantage was frustratingly squandered. No matter how hard the Iceman tried, he could only get within a few tenths of the still dominant McLaren driver.

Further down the order, Michael Schumacher became the first retirement of the race, finally ending what had been a disastrous race for the Mercedes driver. Pastor Maldonado once again incurred a drive-through penalty, this time for a collision with Paul di Resta. With only a handful of laps remaining, Narain Karthikeyan also retired from the race after what looked like a collision with the wall.

As the race entered its closing stages, Kimi Raikkonen failed to utilize his DRS advantage over Lewis Hamilton, as the Briton crossed the line to take his 19th career victory. Kimi Raikkonen followed him home one second adrift, as Romain Grosjean completed a double podium finish for Lotus in 3rd.

The Formula 1 circus now enters its summer recess, before round 12 of the season around the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. Kimi Raikkonen became a specialist at this track in his earlier career, and will be striving for further success come September.

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