Hamilton takes a rollercoaster ride
LEWIS HAMILTON went from perfection to pandemonium on an emotional day in Hungary.
But he managed to extend his world championship lead after a remarkable race on a day the sport paid tribute to Jules Bianchi.
Hamilton needed to draw on all his experience to fi nish sixth, two places ahead of Mercedes team- mate and nearest challenger Nico Rosberg, as Sebastian Vettel took his second win of the season for Ferrari.
Ironically, in a chaotic grand prix fi lled with mistakes, crashes, fl ying carbon fi bre and punctured rubber, it turned out to be a textbook case of damage limitation for Hamilton.
Taking the blame for a catalogue of errors, Hamilton said: “I defi nitely had a bad day at the offi ce – a very bad day at the offi ce. I was all over the place.
“I didn’t give up and drove as hard as I could. To come away from one of the worst performances I’ve put in for a long, long time – it shows we are human.”
The afternoon began with a tribute to Bianchi, who died 10 days ago after succumbing to the horrifi c head injuries he suffered in last season’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Arm in arm, with the team principals standing behind and Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone alongside, the drivers stood in a circle for a minute’s silence before the Hungarian national anthem was sung.
At the end the 20 drivers collected their helmets from inside the circle, leaving Bianchi’s briefl y alone on the asphalt.
Bianchi’s family, including his mother, father, brother and sister, attended the race and after comforting the family on the grid the drivers produced a fi tting tribute to the French driver’s memory with
Not classifi ed: 69 laps of thrilling racing. Hamilton headed into the race having not missed a beat all weekend, topping all three practice sessions before blitzing pole position on Saturday.
He seemed set for another afternoon of dominance.
But by the fi rst corner he was down to fourth after another awful getaway, Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen also muscling their way past Rosberg to put the Ferraris fi rst and second.
Hamilton’s opening lap took a turn for the worse when he was forced to tip- toe through a gravel trap after running wide at the chicane, a mistake which led to him tumbling through the fi eld to 10th.
But by lap 17 Hamilton was back up to fi fth. Next came a daring overtake around the outside of Daniel Ricciardo for fourth, Hamilton quickly eating into the gap to third- placed Rosberg at over a second a lap.
The thoughts of both Mercedes drivers turned to victory when Nico Hulkenberg’s front wing disintegrated down the main straight, pitching the German into the tyre barriers. The resulting safety car saw Vettel’s lead evaporate and with Hamilton fourth his team were scenting success. “We are racing for the win, mate,” was the message over the radio. But in the blink of an eye as the safety car withdrew, Hamilton’s hopes of victory were shattered.
As Rosberg cruised by Raikkonen’s Ferrari into second, Hamilton destroyed his front wing after smacking into the side of a charging Ricciardo. And after visiting the garage for a new nose, Hamilton was soon back in the pit- lane to serve a drive- through penalty for the prang.
The net result dropped him to 15th. But his refusal to throw in the towel paid off when Ricciardo punctured Rosberg’s left- rear tyre with his razor sharp front wing.
A hefty blow to Hamilton’s title race advantage had been turned on its head as Rosberg was forced to limp back to the pits before recovering to fi nish eighth.
Mercedes’ worst race of the season was in stark contrast to that of McLaren as Fernando Alonso was fi fth and Jenson Button ninth.