Jenson Button wins a thrilling race in both wet and dry conditions after a strategic error cost Lewis Hamilton a very good shot at victory.
Second best was more than good enough for Sebastian Vettel on Sunday, extending his championship lead. The Red Bull driver started the slippery Budapest race 77 points ahead of teammate Mark Webber, and ended it 85 points clear.
Briton Button, 31, was just fifth in the world championship before starting his 200th grand prix in similar conditions to his maiden win at the Hungaroring five years ago.
After crossing the line, the message of Jenson Button to his crew was clear: "Guys, perfect going into the summer break – let’s come back and win them all!"
The McLaren driver added after the podium: "This is the first place I won a grand prix, in 2006 in these sorts of conditions. It’s a great moment. For some reason I like these conditions, I don’t know why. It was a great call by all of us not to go to the inters, and a great weekend for the team – we’re going into the break on a nice high, but every day we will be thinking about Spa. I felt at end of first stint the win was on. I was able to look after the tyres, and the car felt really good. It was a lot of fun racing with Lewis – it always is.”
Consistent, Fernando Alonso finishes third with his Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton, who finishes fourth, was tipped for victory until his third pit stops when he took on supersoft tires instead of softs. The McLaren driver also get a drive-through penalty which put an end to his podium chances.
Mark Webber had a tough race and finishes fifth ahead of Felipe Massa's Ferrari in sixth. Paul di Resta (Force India) came through to take the best finish of his career in seventh.
Sebastien Buemi is eighth with his Toro Rosso, coming back from the 23rd position at the start. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) recovered from a difficult race to finish ninth ahead Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) in the final points position in tenth.
Sebastian Vettel says: "It's been clear for a couple of races they've made a step forward and we need to come back."
Hungarian Grand prix - Classification
Hungaroring - Sunday, July 31 2011
1 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/26-Mercedes) - 70 laps 1h46'42"337
2 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB7-Renault) - 3"588
3 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari 150) - 19"819
4 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/26-Mercedes) - 49"338
5 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB7-Renault) - 49"742
6 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari 150) - 1'17"176
7 - Paul di Resta (Force India VJM04-Mercedes) - 1 lap
8 - Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso STR6-Ferrari) - 1 lap
9 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes MGP W02) - 1 lap
10 - Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso STR6-Ferrari) - 1 lap
11 - Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber C30-Ferrari) - 1 lap
12 - Vitaly Petrov (Renault R31) - 1 lap
13 - Rubens Barrichello (Williams FW33-Cosworth) - 2 laps
14 - Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM04-Mercedes) - 2 laps
15 - Sergio Perez (Sauber C30-Ferrari) - 2 laps
16 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW33-Cosworth) - 2 laps
17 - Timo Glock (Marussia Virgin MVR02-Cosworth) - 4 laps
18 - Daniel Ricciardo (Hispania F111-Cosworth) - 4 laps
19 - Jerome d'Ambrosio (Marussia Virgin MVR02-Cosworth) - 5 laps
20 - Vitantonio Liuzzi (Hispania F111-Cosworth) - 5 laps
Fastest lap: Felipe Massa 1'23"415
Retirements:
17th lap - Jarno Trulli
23rd lap - Nick Heidfeld
26th lap - Michael Schumacher
55th lap - Heikki Kovalainen
Drivers championship standings:
1. Vettel 234; 2. Webber 149; 3. Hamilton 146; 4. Alonso 145; 5. Button 134; 6. Massa 70; 7. Rosberg 48; 8. Heidfeld 34; 9. Schumacher, Petrov 32; 11. Kobayashi 27; 12. Sutil 18; 13. Buemi 12; 14. Alguersuari 10; 15. Pérez, Di Resta 8; 17. Barrichello 4.
Constructors championship standings:
1. Red Bull-Renault 383; 2. McLaren-Mercedes 280; 3. Ferrari 215; 4. Mercedes 80; 5. Renault 66; 6. Sauber-Ferrari 35; 7. Force India-Mercedes 26; 8. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 22; 9. Williams 4.
Second best was more than good enough for Sebastian Vettel on Sunday, extending his championship lead. The Red Bull driver started the slippery Budapest race 77 points ahead of teammate Mark Webber, and ended it 85 points clear.
Briton Button, 31, was just fifth in the world championship before starting his 200th grand prix in similar conditions to his maiden win at the Hungaroring five years ago.
After crossing the line, the message of Jenson Button to his crew was clear: "Guys, perfect going into the summer break – let’s come back and win them all!"
The McLaren driver added after the podium: "This is the first place I won a grand prix, in 2006 in these sorts of conditions. It’s a great moment. For some reason I like these conditions, I don’t know why. It was a great call by all of us not to go to the inters, and a great weekend for the team – we’re going into the break on a nice high, but every day we will be thinking about Spa. I felt at end of first stint the win was on. I was able to look after the tyres, and the car felt really good. It was a lot of fun racing with Lewis – it always is.”
Consistent, Fernando Alonso finishes third with his Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton, who finishes fourth, was tipped for victory until his third pit stops when he took on supersoft tires instead of softs. The McLaren driver also get a drive-through penalty which put an end to his podium chances.
Mark Webber had a tough race and finishes fifth ahead of Felipe Massa's Ferrari in sixth. Paul di Resta (Force India) came through to take the best finish of his career in seventh.
Sebastien Buemi is eighth with his Toro Rosso, coming back from the 23rd position at the start. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) recovered from a difficult race to finish ninth ahead Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) in the final points position in tenth.
Sebastian Vettel says: "It's been clear for a couple of races they've made a step forward and we need to come back."
Hungarian Grand prix - Classification
Hungaroring - Sunday, July 31 2011
1 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/26-Mercedes) - 70 laps 1h46'42"337
2 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB7-Renault) - 3"588
3 - Fernando Alonso (Ferrari 150) - 19"819
4 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/26-Mercedes) - 49"338
5 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB7-Renault) - 49"742
6 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari 150) - 1'17"176
7 - Paul di Resta (Force India VJM04-Mercedes) - 1 lap
8 - Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso STR6-Ferrari) - 1 lap
9 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes MGP W02) - 1 lap
10 - Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso STR6-Ferrari) - 1 lap
11 - Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber C30-Ferrari) - 1 lap
12 - Vitaly Petrov (Renault R31) - 1 lap
13 - Rubens Barrichello (Williams FW33-Cosworth) - 2 laps
14 - Adrian Sutil (Force India VJM04-Mercedes) - 2 laps
15 - Sergio Perez (Sauber C30-Ferrari) - 2 laps
16 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW33-Cosworth) - 2 laps
17 - Timo Glock (Marussia Virgin MVR02-Cosworth) - 4 laps
18 - Daniel Ricciardo (Hispania F111-Cosworth) - 4 laps
19 - Jerome d'Ambrosio (Marussia Virgin MVR02-Cosworth) - 5 laps
20 - Vitantonio Liuzzi (Hispania F111-Cosworth) - 5 laps
Fastest lap: Felipe Massa 1'23"415
Retirements:
17th lap - Jarno Trulli
23rd lap - Nick Heidfeld
26th lap - Michael Schumacher
55th lap - Heikki Kovalainen
Drivers championship standings:
1. Vettel 234; 2. Webber 149; 3. Hamilton 146; 4. Alonso 145; 5. Button 134; 6. Massa 70; 7. Rosberg 48; 8. Heidfeld 34; 9. Schumacher, Petrov 32; 11. Kobayashi 27; 12. Sutil 18; 13. Buemi 12; 14. Alguersuari 10; 15. Pérez, Di Resta 8; 17. Barrichello 4.
Constructors championship standings:
1. Red Bull-Renault 383; 2. McLaren-Mercedes 280; 3. Ferrari 215; 4. Mercedes 80; 5. Renault 66; 6. Sauber-Ferrari 35; 7. Force India-Mercedes 26; 8. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 22; 9. Williams 4.