McLaren made it two victories in a row when Jenson Button won the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday ahead of series leader Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.
Despite Button’s victory, Vettel extended his lead atop the Championship standings to 85 points from second-placed Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber who finished the Grand Prix in fifth having won in Budapest last year.
Button’s triumph came in his 200th Grand Prix and at the scene of his debut success.
Earlier Vettel had claimed pole position, but the Sunday’s racing would be a tricky one, with conditions causing all sorts of problems for drivers, particularly on choosing the right tyres.
Button and team-mate Hamilton held off Vettel for most of the race, but the latter McLaren driver made some late errors, including a dangerous attempt to re-join the race after spinning, which almost saw him collide with the oncoming Paul di Resta and earned him a costly penalty.
Final Result:
1.Jenson Button (McLaren Mercedes) 25 points
2.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Renault) 18 points
3.Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 15 points
4.Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes) 12 points
5.Mark Webber (Red Bull Renault) 10 points
6.Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 8 points
7.Paul di Resta (Force India-Mercedes) 6 points
8.Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso) 4 points
9.Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 2 points
10.Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) 1 point
Button was delighted to win a tactical race in difficult conditions. He said: “This is the first place where I won a grand prix, in 2006, in these sorts of conditions.
“I’m always lucky with these conditions. You are not always going to make the right call in these conditions but I feel I’m pretty good at making the right call when it comes to tyre choices - but I’m not the only one. We had good pace today and I was able to make the soft tyres last.
“The reason why we won today was because we were quick. If it didn’t rain it wouldn’t have made any difference.”
Vettel had a slow start but did well to recover and claim second. The German even pushed for the victory late on.
“The start of the race I was struggling on inters and I tried to keep Lewis behind but it was important to move away from the pack behind,” said Vettel. “The second stint overall was a little bit better and the last stint I felt the pace was there, [but] I had some issues with the brakes.
“It was more important to bring the car home but all in all it’s fair to say that Ferrari and McLaren on race pace in the last couple of events have made a step forwards.”
Third-placed Alonso said: “It was difficult conditions for us but we reach another podium and that is a good target for each weekend.”
Hamilton also apologised to di Resta after his dangerous manouevre which earned him a penalty. “I have to apologise to Paul di Resta,” Hamilton said. “I didn’t see him so I had absolutely no clue, I don’t know where or what happened, so I got a penalty for something, which is to be expected I guess. So I apologise to him.”
Drivers Championship:
1.Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Renault) 234 points
2.Mark Webber (Red Bull Renault) 149 points
3.Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 146 points
4.Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 145 points
5.Jenson Button (McLaren) 134 points
6.Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 70 points
Constructors Championship:
1.Red Bull Renault, 383 points
2.McLaren, 280 points
3.Ferrari, 215 points
4.Mercedes, 80 points
5.Renault, 66 points