Hamilton on highest scaffold after stressful weekend

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton took victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest. After 70 laps, 306.663 km and a total race time of 1:35:52.991 hrs, Lewis who started from pole position won 0.7sec ahead of Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari). Fernando Alonso came home fourth.

Both drivers were on two-stop strategies. Lewis came in on laps 19 (9.7seconds) and 50 (4.9 seconds) whilst Fernando pitted on laps 17 (9,9 seconds) and 50 (7.0 seconds). Lewis maintained the lead in the Drivers’ Championship with 80 points followed by Fernando in second position with 73 points. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes maintained the lead in the constructors' table with 138 points ahead of Ferrari on 119. This is the team’s 50th victory since the beginning of the McLaren and Mercedes-Benz partnership back in 1995.

Lewis Hamilton "A very emotional race and an eventful weekend. During the last two weeks, the team has done a great job and we definitely have made a step forward. However, the Ferrari was also fast today and during the final laps, Kimi put a lot of pressure on me. I managed to pull out a slight gap in the first stint but during the last two stints, I had a small problem with the steering on the car. This meant Kimi was able to close on me which made me a little nervous. However the team told me on the radio that everything was OK which meant I was able to push to the very end."

Fernando Alonso "I am quite pleased with the race today which was a difficult one. The maximum we could have reached from sixth position on the grid was a podium finish - especially on this circuit which is comparable to Monaco in terms of overtaking opportunities. This didn’t work out in the end, but fourth is better than fifth and at the final stage of the race I did not push too much to save my engine for the Turkish Grand Prix. Without the penalty after yesterday’s qualifying the victory would have been possible today as you can see on my lap times when I had a clear track. I am now seven points behind Lewis. The fight for the championship is still open and I will try my best to close the gap."

Ron Dennis "A weekend full of stress and emotion. The issues that faced us, not just this weekend but also in the previous month, has tested the resolve of the whole team. It’s at these times that you have to stay true to your principles and values. We will take the time between now and the Turkish Grand Prix to continue to develop the car and strive to maintain our winning streak. Both drivers did great jobs in different but very difficult circumstances."

Norbert Haug "Lewis drove a flawless race from the start to the finish. Lewis achieved his third victory and his 10th podium in only his 11th Formula 1 race. It is also the 50th Grand Prix win of the McLaren Mercedes partnership since our first victory at Melbourne on 10 March 1997. Fernando improved from sixth on the grid to fourth on a track where overtaking is almost impossible. This is our fifth victory within the last seven races and our sixth out of the 11 races so far this year - thanks to everybody in the team for working so hard to get these results. Following our penalty we lead the Constructors’ Championship with 19 instead of 34 points, but I am sure that everybody in the team is even more motivated to maintain the lead in both championships until after the final race of the season on 21 October."