F1 2017: Vettel extends championship lead with Hungary win

Ferrari takes 1-2 at Hungaroring as Vettel wins fourth race of the season, ahead of teammate Kimi Raikkonen and Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas.  Sebastian Vettel has stretched his championship lead to 14 points after winning the Hungarian Grand Prix.

By autoX Editorial | on July 30, 2017 Follow us on Autox Google News

Ferrari takes 1-2 at Hungaroring as Vettel wins fourth race of the season, ahead of teammate Kimi Raikkonen and Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas. 

Sebastian Vettel has stretched his championship lead to 14 points after winning the Hungarian Grand Prix. The four-time world champion took his fourth victory of 2017 Formula 1 season today, beating teammate Kimi Raikkonen (2nd) and Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas (3rd).

Starting from pole, Vettel had an impressive start as he managed to pull a three-second gap over Raikkonen within few laps. However, owing to a technical glitch – excessive steering tilt as Vettel explained it later on– Vettel’s pace dropped significantly, allowing Raikkonen to catch up. When Raikkonen was just within a second off Vettel, though, he was asked to hold on and not overtake his teammate. Raikkonen followed team orders, although he looked a little too frustrated.

Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, was running fourth behind teammate Bottas. Bottas was asked by the team to let Hamilton overtake so that he could chase the Ferrari duo. Hamilton took third from Bottas but said he would give his position back in case he fails to pass Ferrari drivers- which is exactly what happened. On failing to catch or beat Ferrari cars, Hamilton kept his promise and gave the third spot back to Bottas on the final lap.

Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing had another eventful race today. In the beginning, Verstappen collided with teammate Daniel Ricciardo, thereby, forcing the Australian to retire. Thanks to his overzealous move, Verstappen was handed a 10-second penalty. Verstappen finished fifth despite that, which was quite impressive. Fernando Alonso finishing sixth with his McLaren Honda was even more surprising, though. That's because finishing the race in sixth at the Hungaroring today is Alonso’s best race result so far in this season.

Behind Alonso, Carlos Sainz Jr. finished seventh, while Force India duo – Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon – took eighth and ninth. McLaren-Honda’s Stoffel Vandoorne completed the top ten, meaning he scored points for the first time this season.

Tags: Mercedes AMG

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