Formula One news
Hamilton clinches first win of the season
26 July 2009 / Results / PhotosLewis Hamilton claimed his first Grand Prix victory as World Champion at the Hungaroring on Sunday, leading home predecessor for the crown Kimi Räikkönen. Mark Webber crossed the line third as the leading championship contender although leader Jenson Button scored just two points for the Brawn team.
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| All was quiet in Felipe Massa's Ferrari garage |
With the championship battle ranging on between the Brawn GP and Red Bull Racing teams heading to Budapest, the former was tipped as general favourites for victory as the BGP 001 has been kinder on its tyres in the most recent hotter races. With the Milton Keynes squad having controlled proceedings at Silverstone and the Nürburgring, pleasant air temperatures of 25°C (77°F) graced the Hungaroring circuit on race day with the track at 45°C (113°F), the hottest of the season so far.
The weekend started with drama on Saturday as Fernando Alonso took his first pole for over 22 months, but only after the timing system had failed at the end of qualifying, and Felipe Massa suffered a freak accident after striking metal debris on the track. As the Brazilian lay an in induced coma, the five red lights went out at the circuit.
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| Alonso leads the pack at Turn 1 |
Alonso's start was quick and clean as the Spaniard pulled away from the charging pack on the run into the first corner. KERS-shod McLarens and the Ferrari of Kimi Räikkönen were in the mix as Lewis Hamilton shot into third place behind Mark Webber with the Finn fourth, having made contact with the left-front wheel of Sebastian Vettel. As the German dropped back to seventh place, all was not well with his car as the second-placed man in the championship suffered a slow first stint and eventual retirement into the Red Bull garage. On the track, meantime, Räikkönen passed Webber for third place.
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| Vettel lost a chance of scoring crucial World Championship points |
Adrian Sutil was the race's first retiree, pulling into the pit lane at the end of Lap 1, although the second was of higher profile. Fernando Alonso had led comfortably in the opening stages although a vital error from the Renault team in his first pit-stop saw, as in 2006, a wheel nut not being fully attached. With Alonso crawling around the next lap, the entire wheel soon detatched itself from the car, ending the Spaniard's afternoon and any chance of his first podium result of the season. Vettel's retirement completed the erosion of both front row men's afternoons.
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| Jenson Button struggled for grip all afternoon |
With Räikkönen's second place putting Champions in the top two positions and Webber the leading championship contender in third, Nico Rosberg and Williams demonstrated yet another strong result with fourth as Heikki Kovalainen rounded out the top five. Räikkönen could have challenged Hamilton for the race win, however, had he not been victim of a lengthy pit-stop which appeared to see the Ferrari running into trouble when attempting to select first gear. A cloud remains over Webber's third place, however, after a pit-stop problem of his own saw the Red Bull released almost into the side of the Ferrari.
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| Räikkönen enjoyed his best result since France 2008 |
Webber's third place was well held onto, however, having run amongst traffic and being slowed during the race. Timo Glock's long second stint allowed the Toyota driver to run for a shorter amount of time on the less favourable, Soft compound tyres at the end of the race to slot into sixth place.
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| Martin Whitmarsh enjoys his first win as team principal |
With Jarno Trulli holding off Kazuki Nakajima and the Brawn of Rubens Barrichello for the final point of the afternoon, championship leader Jenson Button collected two crucial points with seventh position on a weekend where victory had been the initial target. As the sport's youngest ever driver at the age of 19, Jaime Alguersuari reached the end of his first Formula One Grand Prix in 15th place for Scuderia Toro Rosso.
Hamilton's win is his first as World Champion and see the McLaren driver move from 11th to 8th spot in the Drivers' standings. Formula One now moves into a four-week summer break which will end with the European Grand Prix in Valencia on 23 August.
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