HAMILTON GOES TOP in F1 championship with record Hungary win

Rosberg in the 18th.

While the Mercedes were safe up front Max Verstappen of Red Bull found himself stranded in sixth place behind Kimi Raikkonen, down from four on the grid as Vettel also moved ahead of him, until the Finn finally pitted in the 30th after using longer-lasting tyres on his first stint.

Hamilton briefly complained via team radio he was “struggling for pace” as Rosberg closed in to just over a second, but Hamilton soon increased his lead again.

The order remained unchanged through the second and final round of stops which Ricciardo started early in the 34th and Rosberg completed in the 42nd, one lap after Hamilton who went on to win in 1 hour 40minutes 30.115 seconds.

Vettel came fourth ahead of Verstappen and Raikkonen, the Finn finishing sixth from 14th on the grid and ruining part of his front wing when he tried in vain to overtake the teenager Verstappen.

Former champion Jenson Button dropped to last place early on from eighth on the grid when his McLaren lost hydraulic pressure, and had a drive through penalty imposed by stewards for “unauthorised communication” by his team.

That ended McLaren’s hopes of having both cars in the points for the first time since being equipped with Honda engines from 2015 onwards. Team-mate Fernando Alonso came seventh.

The season continues next weekend with the German Grand Prix.