Lewis claimed his 67th career victory - his fifth in 2018 and sixth at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Valtteri came home P5 after running P2 much of the race and defending the position strongly. Lewis (213 points) leads the Drivers' Championship by 24 points from Sebastian Vettel (189 points) with Valtteri (132 points) in P4.
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport (345 points) leads Ferrari (335 points) by 10 points in the Constructors' Championship. Riccardo Musconi, Senior Race Engineer car #44, accepted the team's trophy on the podium.
Toto Wolff: We came to Hungary with damage limitation as our motto, so it's pretty good to be leaving after out-scoring our rivals, even if by just a few small points. Lewis drove a faultless race: he made a perfect start, then started building the gap on the UltraSoft tyre. He took that first set longer than we had planned before pitting, then managed the Soft extremely well to the finish. It's a simple race to summarise but that doesn't take anything away from the skill it took to deliver such a polished performance. In the other car, Valtteri drove what I think was his best race in his time so far at Mercedes. He held position at the start and then did a perfect job after pitting early until he started to run out of tyres in the final laps. I saw the contacts with Sebastian and Daniel as racing incidents: he was on the dirty inside line in each case and was defending with everything he had left; the trouble was that he didn't have a lot left at that stage. He raced hard and fifth place is not much of a reward after that drive. Lewis' win is the perfect way to finish the first part of the season but we know that this one is going down to the wire. The momentum swings one way then the next from weekend to weekend. We need to keep on taking it one race at a time if we want to come out on top.
James Allison: It is tempting to reach for the clichés about a bittersweet afternoon but actually this just feels sweet. After a tough Friday at a track where we have not always prospered in recent years, today's result is the cherry on yesterday's cake. We made brilliant starts thanks to great work by the team and both drivers, held position and then began running our race exactly to plan. Both cars performed strongly just when they needed to: Lewis was in control throughout, managing his pace and tyre temperatures with consummate skill; Valtteri did an exceptional job, stopping very early to cover Kimi, and it was hugely disappointing for him that he was not able to bring home the P2 finish that his performance so richly deserved. Notwithstanding that, it was a fantastic win for Lewis and the team, which sends us into the summer break with a lovely feel-good factor.
Maurizio Arrivabene: "At a track where overtaking in the race is always difficult, we managed to finish higher up the order than we started, thanks to the efforts of the entire team and a great performance from both drivers. Now we still have one week at work before the summer break, which will allow us to reflect calmly on the races yet to come. There is still a long way to go this season and the important thing is for the team to work in a calm and determined fashion, giving its all during the second half of the season."
Christian Horner: "A fantastic recovery by Daniel who actually completed the first lap down in P16. He made his way through the field with some decisive overtaking and had rapidly moved up to P5 by the halfway stage of the race. We then changed on to the Ultrasoft tyre for the final 26 laps and he started to catch the group consisting of Bottas and the two Ferraris ahead of him. After Valtteri and Sebastian had had contact ahead, the wounded Mercedes then hit Daniel when he was attempting to pass him at Turn 1 causing significant damage. However Daniel was able to keep going and then pass him for good on the last lap taking P4 at the flag. Max had a hugely frustrating day with an engine failure with only five laps gone. He had made a great start and we knew we had a competitive race car here and would have been in a fight for a podium having seen the pace that Daniel had today. It's enormously frustrating and we just hope not to incur penalties at his home Grand Prix in Spa in a few weeks' time."
Sahara Force India missed out on points today as Esteban Ocon ended the Hungarian Grand Prix in P13 ahead of Sergio Perez in P14.
Otmar Szafnauer: "Today's result was largely compromised by the issues we encountered in qualifying yesterday. Starting from the back, both drivers had eventful races, with battles keeping them busy from start to finish. We tried two different strategies, with Esteban starting on soft tyres and Sergio on ultrasofts, but in the end this made little difference and they finished within ten seconds of each other. The summer break gives us a chance to regroup, deal with the issues that are taking place away from the track and come back for the second part of the season in a much stronger position. We are confident in the work we are doing back at the factory and we are still in the thick of the action when it comes to the midfield battle, so we can look forward to recharging the batteries once this week's test is over."
Sergey Sirotkin finished 16th and Lance Stroll 17th in the Hungarian Grand Prix. Sergey started the race from P19 on the soft Pirelli tyre. Lance was forced to start the race from the pitlane, after changing his front wing during parc ferme following his accident in Saturday's qualifying session. Both cars made clean starts and gained positions on the opening lap. Sergey pitted on lap 31 for the medium tyre whilst Lance pitted on lap 47 for the ultrasoft tyre.
Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer: It was a very long, hot afternoon in Budapest with all our attention unfortunately on the blunt end of the race, rather than the sharp end. We ran a split strategy across the two cars with Sergey starting on the option and Lance on the prime, hoping to take advantage of incidents as they may arise with two one-stop strategies. Unfortunately, Lance had to start from the pitlane because we had no spares of the front wing specification he'd been using in qualifying. Sergey gained some positions at the start on the two Saubers, although one of them Leclerc retired very early. The rest of our afternoon was a fight between our two drivers and the other Sauber of Ericsson, who took an early pitstop at the first VSC, which gave him an extremely long stint. We hoped it wouldn't work for Ericsson but unfortunately it did, so that meant we finished the race in 16th and 17th. Ultimately our pace was only good enough to compete with each other today, but the team did a good job, executed good pitstops and it was a well-controlled race, so we know our pace is where we need to focus. We're ready for a rest after this first half of the season and next week's test, so we'll come back refreshed and ready for the next push in Belgium.
Renault Sport Formula Team endured a frustrating Formula 1 Rolex Magyar Nagydí where Carlos Sainz finished in the points, but wasn't able to fully capitalise on his fine fifth position on the grid.
As a contrast to yesterday's wet Qualifying session, the Hungaroring basked in searing sun for the Grand Prix, bringing tyre management considerations to the fore. Both Carlos and Nico Hulkenberg made strong starts, but it proved hard work moving up the order thereafter. Nico was P10 at the end of the first lap, but finished in twelfth position, pushing hard after a late stop to change to the Ultrasoft tyres. Despite the challenges of today, the team remains in fourth place in the Constructors' Championship heading into the summer break.
Carlos started from P5 on new Pirelli Soft (yellow) tyres, pitting on lap 25 for a new set of Medium (white) tyres.
Nico started from P13 on new Softs, stopping on lap 23 for new Mediums then lap 50 under a Virtual Safety Car for a set of new Ultrasofts (purple).
Cyril Abiteboul, Team Principal: "It was a frustrating day for us and we know we are capable of better. We had a good start from both cars, but then Carlos lost positions on the first lap and neither driver was able to make any headway thereafter. We were too conservative in terms of start tyres, strategy and the balance of the car was not good. We have two days of testing ahead of us here at the Hungaroring to work on these specific areas in addition to completing a busy program for development items for the second half of the season and directions for next year.
"Aside from today's race, we can reflect on the first half of the season as being in line with our target, but we cannot satisfy ourselves just with our championship position. We need to accelerate in every area of the team so that we not only reach our goal this year but to make sure we carry on our progression towards our long-term plan to be competing at a higher level in subsequent years."
Franz Tost (Team Principal): "The team showed a good performance from the beginning of the weekend, Pierre was always around the top 10 in the practice sessions, which showed we had the pace to make it into Q3 and to score points. Yesterday, the weather conditions helped us a little bit and the team and drivers did a really good job to get the most of out the session, resulting in us lining up in sixth and eighth position on the grid. Pierre made a very good start, while Brendon got caught in a battle between Sainz and Hulkenberg meaning he dropped to ninth after the first lap. Pierre had a fantastic race where he controlled the tyres and the fuel consumption, and was able to increase the pace at will, which he highlighted towards the end of the race when Magnussen attempted to close the gap. Brendon was stuck behind Sainz and Grosjean, but was able to keep Hulkenberg behind him. I think with a better first lap he would have had the pace to finish in the points. Sixth position is a really good result and very important for the team as we didn't score many points in the past few races. I'd like to thank the strategists, all the engineers and the mechanics for their incredibly fast pit stops. Now we have the summer break to look forward to, and with all of us recharged we will go to Spa and push for the second half of the season."
Toyoharu Tanabe (Honda F1 Technical Director): "Our car worked well all weekend and this sixth place and eight points for Pierre is a very good result. It was partly down to the way we managed yesterday's complicated qualifying, when the whole Toro Rosso Honda team did a very good job, just as they did today. It was a shame that Brendon missed out by one place on giving us a double points finish. We have had some tough race weekends recently, so it's good to go into the summer break having finished in the points in the last two races. We hope to keep up that momentum starting in Spa."
Haas F1 Team earned its second double-points result of the season in the Hungarian Grand Prix Sunday with drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean finishing seventh and 10th, respectively, in the 12th round of the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship.
The seven points from the collective result of Magnussen and Grosjean at the Hungaroring in Budapest allowed Haas F1 Team to take sole possession of fifth in the constructors' standings. The American squad now has 66 points and trails fourth-place Renault by 16 points, but has a seven-point advantage over sixth-place Force India, a 14-point gap to seventh-place McLaren and a 38-point margin on eighth-place Toro Rosso. Magnussen is eighth in the driver's championship with 45 points and Grosjean is 14th with 21 points.
Both Haas F1 Team drivers employed a one-stop strategy in the 70-lap race around the 4.381-kilometer (2.722-mile), 14-turn circuit. Grosjean, who started 10th, was the first to pit, bringing his Haas VF-18 in for service on lap 29, swapping his Pirelli P Zero Purple ultrasoft tires for Yellow softs. Magnussen, who started just ahead of Grosjean in ninth, followed on lap 31 and emulated the tire choice of his teammate.
Grosjean dropped to 12th after the stop and Magnussen, who drove to as high as sixth at the start of the race, fell to ninth. But as pit stops began to cycle through, Magnussen rose to seventh and Grosjean climbed to 11th.
When Stoffel Vandoorne was forced to retire his McLaren after 49 laps, Grosjean inherited 10th.
For the remainder of the race, Magnussen and Grosjean raced comfortably in seventh and 10th, respectively, with sizeable margins between the cars ahead and behind each of them. The finish extended Haas F1 Team's streak of point-paying results to five, dating back to the June 24 French Grand Prix.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix by 17.123 seconds over Scuderia Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel. The win was the 67th of Hamilton's Formula One career, his fifth this season and his sixth at the Hungaroring. The victory allowed Hamilton to widen his lead in the championship standings over Vettel, his nearest pursuer. Hamilton came into the Hungarian Grand Prix with a 17-point margin on Vettel and leaves with a 24-point advantage.
Nine races remain on the 2018 Formula One schedule, with the next event coming in four weeks with the Belgian Grand Prix Aug. 24-26 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
Guenther Steiner: "Two cars in the points - good end to the first half of the season and for everyone to go into the summer break. Closing in on our opponents and moving away from the others is fantastic. Everyone can relax a little bit, come back stronger and try to get more points after the summer break."
A day of mixed emotions for McLaren at the Hungarian Grand Prix as Fernando brought home four points in eighth position, but the team was cruelly robbed of a double-points finish due to a gearbox problem for Stoffel.
Stoffel made a great start, ending lap one in 13th place, just two spots behind his team-mate. The team executed a near-perfect strategy, and both drivers drove superbly to manage their tyres and pace to the maximum. Two solid pit-stops - a one-stop strategy for each car - later than most other teams compounded the strong rhythm of both cars throughout the race, and the pair were sitting in eighth and ninth positions from just over mid-way through the race.
A mechanical issue on Stoffel's gearbox put paid to any hopes of points to reward his performance, and he retired from the race after 49 laps.
Gil de Ferran: "Today was a very positive day for us. We had good pace on both cars and came very close to a double-points finish.
"Obviously we're very disappointed for Stoffel, who was driving very well and had to retire due to a gearbox failure.
"Fernando had his typical perfect drive, with the right blend of aggression and pace and tyre management. Although we're supposed to give him a present on his birthday, he gave us yet another one in the form of points!
"I want to congratulate our strategy team and pit-crew for executing the race to perfection, and thank everyone for the extremely hard work they've put in over this long and busy stretch of races.
"I wish everyone a nice break and I can't wait for the season to restart when we can hopefully keep stepping forward."
It was a disappointing race outcome for the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team at the 2018 Hungarian Grand Prix. Starting from P14 (Marcus Ericsson) and P16 (Charles Leclerc), the two drivers went into the race ready to work their way into the midfield. Unfortunately, Charles Leclerc was involved in an incident on the opening lap of the Grand Prix, and sustained damage to his car that required him to retire from the race immediately. Marcus Ericsson was also involved in an incident on the first lap and fell to the back of the field. From there he was faced with recovering positions on a track where is very difficult to overtake. Marcus did his best to gain places during the race and ultimately finished in P15.
The Budapest test, which is taking place on the 31st July and 1st August 2018, will be completed by Marcus Ericsson on day 1, and Antonio Giovinazzi on day 2.
The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team heads into the Formula One summer break holding P9 (18 points) in the Constructors' Championship. Charles Leclerc is currently in P15 (13 points), and Marcus Ericsson in P17 (5 points) in the Drivers' Championship.
Frederic Vasseur, Team Principal: "It was not a good day for us. Both of our drivers were involved in incidents in the opening lap which defined the outcome of their races. Charles was involved in a collision during the start and damaged the car. We had to instruct him to stop and retire from the race. Marcus was also involved in an incident on the first lap of the race, and lost all positions as a result. It was a tough job to fight his way back after that, and he finished the race in P15. All in all, the season has been positive so far. Both Marcus and Charles have brought points home, and we have made progress race after race as a team. We are confident that we will continue doing so after the summer break, and I look forward to the second half of the season."
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix from pole using a one-stop ultrasoft-soft strategy.
The Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel used an alternative one-stop soft-ultrasoft strategy to finish second from fourth on the grid. A similar strategy was used by Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo to climb from 12th to fourth. The other Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen went for a two-stopper, finishing on the podium.
Track temperatures were extremely high throughout the grand prix, having peaked at 60 degrees centigrade just before the race start.
All the teams apart from Haas will now remain in Hungary for the second in-season test on Tuesday and Wednesday, with Toro Rosso running a second car for two days to assess Pirelli's 2019 prototype tyres.
Mario Isola: "With a wet qualifying session yesterday, the teams had a free choice of slick tyres to start the race, which led to some split strategies. In particular, Vettel went in a different direction from his key rivals, which enabled him to make progress from his grid position, as was the case with Ricciardo as well. The data that the teams collected from Friday was reliable enough to formulate their race strategies, with the track having effectively reset itself after the rain. Consequently, we saw a few different tactics throughout the field, with the teams making good use of all three compounds, which stood up well to track temperatures that were close to the highest we have ever seen."
