Formula 1
July 26, 2009
Lewis Hamilton ended a ten-race winless streak with a victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday.
"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," Hamilton said.
The defending world champion started four back in the pack, but cruised to victory in 1 hour 38 minutes, 23 seconds ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in a Ferrari who came in second and Australian Mark Webber, who finished third.
"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," Hamilton said.
Sebastian Vettel, who was second in the running for the title race, had to retire after he was involved in a first corner contact with Raikkonen, which made his car undriveable.
The leader in the standings, Britain's Jenson Button had to settle for seventh place just ahead of Jarno Trulli, but still has 70 points after 10 races. Webber has 51.5 followed by Vettel with 47 points.
In other news, Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari finished his first Grand Prix after he replaced Sebastien Bourdais mid-season. Finishing in 15th place, he is now the youngest Formula One driver ever, aged just 19 years and 125 days.
The race was overshadowed by the accident on Saturday of Ferrari's Felipe Massa from Brazil, who is still recovering in a Budapest hospital. Massa crashed his car against the rubber barrier at 200kph, after a piece of flying debris hit him. Massa fractured his skull and was operated on Saturday.
av/dpa/AFP
Editor: Kateri Jochum