July 26, 2009

Defending champion Lewis Hamilton returned to form with a vengeance Sunday when he ended a 10-race winless streak with victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The 24-year-old Englishman produced a flawless drive for McLaren Mercedes as the season's standard-setting teams Brawn GP and Red Bull struggled to produce their best on an incident-filled afternoon.

Starting from fourth, he took third on the opening lap, passed Australian Mark Webber of Red Bull for second after five laps and then took the lead when Spaniard Fernando Alonso was forced to retire after his front right tyre flew off his Renault.

German Sebastian Vettel who was second in the title race was involved in a first corner contact with Ferrari's Finn Kimi Raikkonen and retired after reporting his car was virtually undriveable while championship leader Jenson Button of Brawn GP struggled for performance and finished seventh.

Hamilton said: “It's an incredible feeling after what feels like such a long time away. I'm just so proud of the guys. They never gave up, which is something very rare to see in a large group of people.

“The car was so nice to drive and the team have done such a great job. We didn't expect to win - but the car felt fantastic. It's incredibly special to get back up here.”

It was Hamilton's first win since last year's Chinese Grand Prix and the 10th win of his career.

Hamilton won by 11.5 seconds ahead of Raikkonen with Webber third for Red Bull, two weeks after his maiden victory in Germany.

Webber said: “It's a bit of a surprise - we expected to be a little bit quicker. It was a pretty difficult venue for us. We knew we didn't have the advantage we had in the last two races. I'm pretty happy all in all. We're still very much a force.”

Raikkonen, under investigation for the incident at the start when he collided with Vettel said: “I didn't notice that I had touched somebody. I don't know what's going on. This is the first I've heard of it.

“But it is nice to finish here on the podium and to bring some good and positive news to the team.”

Pole-sitter and two-times champion Alonso was forced to retire after leading the opening laps when he lost his front right wheel in spectacular style - just 24 hours after Massa of Ferrari suffered serious head injuries when he was hit by debris during qualifying.

Massa, 28, underwent surgery in a Budapest hospital on Saturday evening and a Ferrari statement on Sunday said he was stable and in an induced coma.

Hamilton added: “Maybe I can speak for all of us, but today was a sad day given what happened with Felipe (Massa). We miss him, wish him well and we all wish him a speedy recovery.”

Alonso said: “I had a great start and the team did a lot of work for that. But we had tyre problems and also the fuel pump. It could be something to do with the rim of a wheel. But it was great to lead the race again.”

Button, who leads the drivers' championship on 70 points from Webber on 51.5 and Vettel on 47, said: “After four laps my rear tyres were destroyed. I don't know why. I don't think we can blame the weather. We've got to be looking in other areas. Our car is not driving as well as it did at the start of the season. There's obviously an issue.

“I don't understand it. The other teams have improved for sure, but our car is just not what it was a few races ago anymore. I don't understand it and it is not running as it did at the start of the season.”

Results
1. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/McLaren) 306.630km in 1hr 38min 23.876sec
(average: 186.973 km/h)
2. Kimi Raikkonen (FIN/Ferrari) at 11.529sec
3. Mark Webber (AUS/Red Bull) 16.886
4. Nico Rosberg (GER/Williams) 26.967
5. Heikki Kovalainen (FIN/McLaren) 34.392
6. Timo Glock (GER/Toyota) 35.237
7. Jenson Button (GBR/Brawn) 55.088
8. Jarno Trulli (ITA/Toyota) 1:08.172
9. Kazuki Nakajima (JPN/Williams) 1:08.774
10. Rubens Barrichello (BRA/Brawn) 1:09.256
11. Nick Heidfeld (GER/BMW Sauber) 1:10.612
12. Nelson Piquet Jr (BRA/Renault) 1:11.512
13. Robert Kubica (POL/BMW Sauber) 1:14.046
14. Giancarlo Fisichella (ITA/Force India) 1 lap
15. Jaime Alguersuari (ESP/Toro Rosso) 1 lap
16. Sebastien Buemi (SUI/Toro Rosso) 1 lap