Vettel’s luck changes for the better as he wins Hungarian GP
“Yes man” in F1, played the game and stayed behind Vettel, protecting him from the encroaching threat of Mercedes drivers Valtteri Bottas, who was third, and Hamilton, who placed fourth.
With his contract up for renewal, it might prove a shrewd move from Raikkonen, who had enough speed to win. He hasn’t won since the season-opening Australian GP in 2013. But maybe he saw the bigger picture.
As a model teammate to Vettel, the Finn might get a new multi-million deal for 2018 at the ripe old age of 38.
“A big thank you to the team,” said Vettel, who should especially buy Raikkonen a drink before they go on holiday. “Kimi could have gone a lot faster than me for the majority of the race.”
Raikkonen used all of his experience to help Vettel.
“It wasn’t ideal, as I felt I had the speed,” Raikkonen said. “We know as teammates what we had to do.”
Asked if he could have won the race, he replied “Definitely.”
Earlier, Bottas had let Hamilton past in order to attack the Ferraris. Hamilton then sportingly gave him third place back right at the end.
“The team kept the promise which I’m really happy about,” said Bottas, who is 33 points behind Vettel in third place overall.
Over at Red Bull, there is unlikely to be such harmony.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was fifth after knocking his teammate Daniel Ricciardo out of the race on the first lap.
Ricciardo’s race was over after the contact on Turn 2, bringing the safety car out for a few laps as his car was towed off the track.
Verstappen was the perpetrator -