2007 HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton took victory
in the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest. After 70 laps, 306.663
km and a total race time of 1:35:52.991 hrs, Lewis who started
from pole position won 0.7sec ahead of Kimi Räikkönen
(Ferrari). Fernando came home fourth. Both drivers were on
two-stop strategies. Lewis came in on laps 19 (9.7seconds)
and 50 (4.9 seconds) whilst Fernando pitted on laps 17 (9,9
seconds) and 50 (7.0 seconds). Lewis maintained the lead in
the Drivers’ Championship with 80 points followed by
Fernando in second position with 73 points. Vodafone McLaren
Mercedes maintained the lead in the constructors' table with
138 points ahead of Ferrari on 119. This is the team’s
50th victory since the beginning of the McLaren and Mercedes-Benz
partnership back in 1995.
LEWIS HAMILTON
"A very emotional race and an eventful weekend. During
the last two weeks, the team has done a great job and we definitely
have made a step forward. However, the Ferrari was also fast
today and during the final laps, Kimi put a lot of pressure
on me. I managed to pull out a slight gap in the first stint
but during the last two stints, I had a small problem with
the steering on the car. This meant Kimi was able to close
on me which made me a little nervous. However the team told
me on the radio that everything was OK which meant I was able
to push to the very end."
FERNANDO ALONSO
"I am quite pleased with the race today which was a difficult
one. The maximum we could have reached from sixth position
on the grid was a podium finish - especially on this circuit
which is comparable to Monaco in terms of overtaking opportunities.
This didn’t work out in the end, but fourth is better
than fifth and at the final stage of the race I did not push
too much to save my engine for the Turkish Grand Prix. Without
the penalty after yesterday’s qualifying the victory
would have been possible today as you can see on my lap times
when I had a clear track. I am now seven points behind Lewis.
The fight for the championship is still open and I will try
my best to close the gap."
RON DENNIS
"A weekend full of stress and emotion. The issues that
faced us, not just this weekend but also in the previous month,
has tested the resolve of the whole team. It’s at these
times that you have to stay true to your principles and values.
We will take the time between now and the Turkish Grand Prix
to continue to develop the car and strive to maintain our
winning streak. Both drivers did great jobs in different but
very difficult circumstances."
NORBERT HAUG
"Lewis drove a flawless race from the start to the finish.
Lewis achieved his third victory and his 10th podium in only
his 11th Formula 1 race. It is also the 50th Grand Prix win
of the McLaren Mercedes partnership since our first victory
at Melbourne on 10 March 1997. Fernando improved from sixth
on the grid to fourth on a track where overtaking is almost
impossible. This is our fifth victory within the last seven
races and our sixth out of the 11 races so far this year -
thanks to everybody in the team for working so hard to get
these results. Following our penalty we lead the Constructors’
Championship with 19 instead of 34 points, but I am sure that
everybody in the team is even more motivated to maintain the
lead in both championships until after the final race of the
season on 21 October."
|
