Heading into the summer break, Lewis Hamilton would find himself still trailing in the Formula 1 championship race. The Ferrari duo of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen took care of business, taking a 1-2 finish at the 2017 Hungarian GP, allowing Vettel to take a 14-point lead heading into the month-long break in Formula One action.
A surging Hamilton asked the team to pass teammate Valtteri Bottas in order to chase down the leading Ferrari cars, but he promisede to give back the spot if he failed to overtake. True to his word, the Brit gave up third place with several seconds left to the chequered flag. Hamilton held on to fourth, with Max Verstappen’s Red Bull Racing car in fifth place.
Speaking of Verstappen, he caused a stir right in the opening lap after steering into his teammate Daniel Ricciardo as the two Red Bulls were trying to position themselves to challenge the Ferrari and Mercedes cars ahead of them. Ricciardo was forced to retire and this is just the latest issue between the two teammates.
Other notable events at the Hungarian GP include the first double points finish for McLaren-Honda. With Williams’ Felipe Massa being replaced due to an illness, this race also became the first F1 race since 1982 that did not feature a Brazilian driver. Paul di Resta, who raceed for Mercedes in DTM copetition, replaced him. It was the British driver’s first start since 2013.
In giving back the podium place to Bottas, Hamilton also gave up 3 points that could have gone into chasing Vettel’s lead. It was a nice gesture from Hamilton, who acknowledged that this could possibly come back to haunt him later on. However, he added that he also wants to win “the right way” and this is certainly part of that.
Bottas himself is a mere 19 points behind Hamilton and could see himself in the thick of the fight for the title with a couple more wins in the second half.
The 1-2 finish at the Hungarian GP also allowed Ferrari to close in on Mercedes in the drivers’ championship standings. The score is now Mercedes 357, Ferrari 318.
The next race is the Belgian Grand Prix on August 27th.