Hamilton holds on for victory in Hungary
British driver Lewis Hamilton produced a dominant display, leading from start to finish, breathing new life into his Formula 1 title challenge, holding off Kimi Raikkonen to win the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring.
Hamilton raced to a 19th career win, his third in Hungary, as Frenchman Romain Grosjean gave Lotus a double podium by coming home a respectable third.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, on his 31st birthday, trailed in a distant fifth place, but the Spaniard managed to extend his lead to 40 points over Aussie Mark Webber in the driver standings.
However, it was definitely a day lacking fizz for the Red Bull team as they finished without a driver on the podium.
Hamilton and his team colleague Jenson Button, both drove with messages of support for the British Olympic team adorned on their McLarens. The inspired display is a major boost for Hamilton ahead of an extended F1 summer break. Racing will resume in Belgium in early September.
Hamilton, who was fastest in both practice sessions Friday and dominated qualifying, secured a second win of the campaign. The 27-year-old Briton enthused : "It's been an amazing day, fantastic work by all the team.
"I am looking forward to the continuation of the championship. A long way to go and a lot of work to do but we have shown we can compete. It is very, very close but we are going to give it all we can."
Hungarian Grand Prix 2012 Final Result
1. Lewis Hamilton 1:41:05.503
2. Kimi Raikkonen +00:01.032
3. Romain Grosjean +00:10.518
4. Sebastian Vettel +00:11.614
5. Fernando Alonso +00:26.653
6. Jenson Button +00:30.243
7. Bruno Senna +00:33.899
8. Mark Webber +00:34.458
9. Felipe Massa +00:38.350
10. Nico Rosberg +00:51.234
Driver Standings Table
Pos Driver Pts
1 Fernando Alonso 164
2 Mark Webber 124
3 Sebastian Vettel 122
4 Lewis Hamilton 117
5 Kimi Raikkonen 116
6 Nico Rosberg 77
7 Jenson Button 76
8 Romain Grosjean 76
9 Sergio Perez 47
10 Kamui Kobayashi 33
Multiple wins in Hungarian GP
4 - Michael Schumacher
3 - Ayrton Senna, Lewis Hamilton
2 - Jenson Button, Damon Hill, Mika Hakkinen, Nelson Piquet, Jacques Villeneuve