2016 Hungarian Grand Prix: Lewis makes it five

Formel 1 – MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS, Großer Preis von Ungarn 2016. Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg ;
Formula One – MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS, Hungarian GP 2016. Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg;

How do you stamp your authority in Formula One? If you are one Lewis Hamilton, lead. Lead from the opening lap and never look back.

The Hungarian GP saw Lewis take the lead from pole sitter Nico Rosberg, from the very start of the race. Lewis got the better launch and went on to grab the inside line into turn 1. Daniel Ricciardo, like Lewis, got a better start than the German and went wide left. The Mercedes and Red Bull squeezed Rosberg, who had no option but to lift and give up the position. Nico gallantly fought back and was able to catch and pass Ricciardo in the run to turn 3. It was Hamilton, Rosberg, Ricciardo, Verstappen and Vettel in the top five.

Hamilton kept his nose clean, and kept the lead all throughout. Lewis only gave up the position to Nico during every pit stop but immediately got it back when the latter took to the pits.

Up in front, it was a procession, with the action was actually happening lower down the order. It was Kimi Raikkonen and his fight against Max Verstappen that truly spiced up the race. Kimi, who started in P14, fought his way back up and after their scheduled pit stops and tangled with Max for P5. The Finn was all over the teenager, trying to find a way past the Red Bull. But youngster soaked up the pressure to keep Kimi at bay.

Their battle came to blows on lap 57. The Ferrari had the slipstream and tried to dive past the Red Bull, but Verstappen made his car wider than usual. This caught Kimi hanging, ending in the Ferrari clipping the rear wheel of the Red bull, breaking off a part of its nose. Fortunately for Verstappen, this didn’t cause a puncture and the youngster drove on to hold off Raikkonen for P5.

Even after their scheduled pit stops, Lewis still maintained the lead. Nico just followed his teammate around. When Lewis made a mistake, Nico didn’t even try to attack and capitalize. He dutifully followed the race leader to bring home both cars home for a points scoring finish.

Lewis Hamilton took the checkered flag two seconds ahead of Rosberg, with Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull taking third.

This was the fifth win of the season for the defending champ. Also, it was his fifth in Hungary. Hamilton is now the winningest driver at the Hungaroring. Lewis also has the distinction as the only active driver in F1 history to have scored five or more wins in two different circuits. (Hamilton won five times in Montreal and Hungary). He joins Schumacher, Prost, Senna on this prestigious list.

Hamilton now also has 48 wins to his credit, and is just three wins short of equaling Alain Prost in the all time wins list.

Formula One – MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS, Hungarian GP 2016. Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg;

But the statistic that gave Lewis the biggest smile, was him leading the driver’s championship for the very first time this season. Hamilton is six points up now at 192 points to Nico’s 186. With the German GP in a few days’ time, can Nico bounce back from his slide of late, or will Hamilton just keep piling on the points all the way to the championship title?