Formula 1: Hungarian GP Overview

Hamilton emulates his hero Senna with his third Hungarian GP win

McLaren celebrate their third win of the year

The 2012 Hungarian Grand Prix may not have had the outright excitement and lavish amounts of overtaking we have come to cherish about this season but there is one thing it did have; tension. It was an edge of your seat thriller that burned until the very last lap; with such rapid tyre degradation, the big question was would Lewis Hamilton be able to fend off the fast-charging Kimi Raikkonen? Would Sebastian Vettel, on fresher tyres, storm through and take them all to win?

The last few laps, were some of the tensest all year. Hamilton; desperately needing the win to keep his championship hopes alive, Raikkonen; looking to seal Lotuses first and kick-start his title bid onto another level, Vettel; looking to rediscover his 2011 glory only glimpsed at so far this year.

But in the end, the right man won the day. Hamilton had dominated the weekend from the outset, his stunning pole lap in particular was something any true F1 fan would enjoy. He got the perfect start and, small lock-up into turn one aside, didn't put a foot wrong all race. He managed the Pirelli tyres masterfully, inching out the performance across the entire race, not blowing all of the available grip in the first laps. Essentially, getting into the first corner first was the most important job done; with overtaking around the Hungaroring at a premium, all Lewis had to do was manage his pace, tyres and fuel right to get the finish in first.

Behind him finished the two Lotuses of Raikkonen and Grosjean. Romain had run second behind Lewis until Kimi exited from his second stop and dived past. On the whole, it was a impressive race from Lotus, beating both Red Bulls, both Ferraris and a McLaren to complete the podium. The team are inching ever closer to sealing their first win of the year and, after the pace exhibited in Hungary, it seems to be something of a certainty that they'll achieve it.

Grosjean and Vettel duel on track

Vettel will be bitterly disappointed with fourth; the reigning World Champion venting his frustration at being stuck behind Jenson Button across the team-radio for all to hear. Likewise, his team-mate Mark Webber, who finished 8th for the second time in 7 days, will be going into the summer break down-hearted. After winning so convincingly in Britain, Webber has collected only 8 points.

Meanwhile, our current championship leader Fernando Alonso employed an effective 'damage limitation' strategy to finish 5th. Ferrari hadn't looked particularly fast in Hungary, so to come away with 5th and beat Webber in the process is a positive.

Mercedes continued their slide back into the mid-field in Hungary; Rosberg ended the race a distant 10th whilst Schumacher had a dismal afternoon. He stalled on the grid, started in and sped through the pit-lane, earned a drive-through penalty and eventually retired on lap 61. Other drivers who had a fairly mediocre race included both Force India's, both Sauber's and Maldonado.

The tale of the race though was Hamilton's controlled drive to career win No. 19. Can he close the gap to Alonso when F1 returns to Spa in a month's time? Will Lotus come to furore on a track Kimi does so well at? Will Red Bull fight back and make it three in a row? With nine races left to go, everything is still to play for and nothing will be certain for long.