Following his fifth career victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton became not only the most winningest driver in the history of that event. He took lead of the driver’s championship for the first time in 2016.
Having won five of the last six races, the reigning world champion has returned from oblivion, where he entered this European leg of the season 43 points in arrears of teammate Nico Rosberg.
What the Briton achieved with the spoils in Hungary was not only stripping the standings lead from his arch-rival, but deal a psychological blow which in previous campaigns the German has been unable to respond to.
Rosberg claimed pole position on the Saturday in rather controversial circumstances, which left Hamilton consigned to second place – which many will argue is the optimum place to start at the Hungaroring.
In the dying stages of Q3, a spin from McLaren’s Fernando Alonso immediately saw double yellow flags waving in that portion of the circuit. This had thwarted any hope that drivers in the moribund Spaniard’s vicinity had of bettering their lap times, as the yellow flags warranted drivers to slow down and proceed with caution.
The eventual pole sitter was the final driver to pass through the neutralised zone, yet still had enough pace in his pocket to seal himself the top spot. This triggered a string of criticism from Hamilton, who despite winning the race (quite comfortably too) and claiming maximum points, still took a jab at Rosberg for being in breach of safety.
“In the whole 23 years of racing it has been, if it’s yellow flag, you slow down, and if it is double yellow, be prepared to stop,” blasted Hamilton in the press conference following the race.
“Now Nico was doing the same speed at the apex as he was doing on the previous timed lap, so if it happened to be a car spun or a marshal on the track, it would have been pretty hard for him to stop.
“And the fact he didn’t get penalised means we have to be careful because we are sending a message not only to the drivers here but also to the drivers in the lower categories is that it’s now possible to only lose one tenth of a second in a double-waved yellow flag, which is one of the most dangerous scenarios.”
Surely a driver who has so passionately delivered a case against the actions of his Silver Arrows teammate is so driven on setting an example for safety, while at the same time grinning in triumph as Rosberg had to once again elucidate his actions in front of the press.
“I went 20km/h slower into that corner. That is a different world in an Formula One car,” defended Rosberg.
“With 20km/h you are going proper slow and everything is safe. I lifted off 30 metres before my braking point. I was just rolling there, 20km/h slower until I got to the apex.
“So definitely I significantly reduced my speed and that’s why for the stewards it was completely acceptable. On a drying track you are going to get so much quicker every time you go out there.
“So in that segment I was slower with the yellow flags, but in the big sector I’m quicker because the track is getting quicker. So it was pretty clear to the stewards and that’s why I didn’t get a penalty.”
It’s not the fact that the German had done wrong and had deserved to be penalised, it’s that Hamilton knows that playing mind games with the driver he’s known closely since their junior karting days will destabilise and force him into that shell of circumspection.
Heading into this back-half of the season, the triple-world champion knows he’ll be on the back foot with his machinery. Having had reliability woes kill his power-unit bank, there will be grid penalties to incur in the coming events for the implementation of completely new units.
This is where Rosberg must return serve. Not only must he win races, starting with his home grand prix in Germany this weekend, but assert himself psychologically over Hamilton – who even the mighty Fernando Alonso describes as being “not an easy teammate,” from their period together in 2007.
Only then can Rosberg at last etch his name into the roster of world champions before him.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
We rarely to get to see them share the same portion of a track because of Mercedes AMG's base race strategy. On the off chance their strategy mucks up and there in close proximity (or at the start of a race), both drivers have been quite sloppy when racing each other. You pointed out on my live blog about Suzuka, Austin and Canada when Hamilton made those aggressive moves and I'd say they were just desperate attempts to get Rosberg out of the way. Kind of like an older brother bullying the younger. Both can gallivant off into the distance with clean air and both are on par when it comes to racing wheel-to-wheel this season, in that they're inferior to the likes of Verstappen, Vettel or Alonso.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
He has to be strong at every circuit from now on to be in contention. It doesn't help his cause that he's not won the bulk of the upcoming races following the break, but he's just got to find a way to break free of Hamilton's mind games.
anon
Guest
Hamilton's the better driver than Nico and apart from a few races at the end of last year where Hamilton was turning up to race meets hungover, Rosberg has never actually beaten Hamilton in a straight fight since the Mercedes has been the most dominant car of all-time (2014-16). Time and time again since 2014, when Rosberg is in a fight with Hamilton for track position, Rosberg cracks under the pressure and makes terrible mistakes. Even Verstappen was making Rosberg look stupid on the back straight of Canada not long ago -- a track that suits Mercedes power to a T. There's no bait for Rosberg to fall for. Hamilton's simply the faster driver and Rosberg knows this.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
I guess it comes back to that old chestnut of Nico not having the 'killer instinct' that other drivers possess. But as you say, if he can resurrect the 'unflappable' side of him, then he can surely wrestle Mano-e-Mano with Lewis.
Daniel
Guest
It will be interesting going into the back end of the season, in the Mexico/Brazil/Abu-Dhabi string of races. Will he be strong there again this year? In the meantime I think it's fair to say that (as you said), he is very much psychologically on the back foot.
Bayden Westerweller
Roar Guru
There's no doubt that Lewis plays the game well, and Nico is culpable of falling for his bait on each occasion. If Nico had wised up, he would have played a straight bat to his team-mate's incendiary remarks. The unflappable Nico of earlier events - notably outcomes concluding in collisions at Spain and Austria, must resurface rapidly if the German is any chance of rattling Lewis' cage - as he has done in the past, though failed to follow through with a decisive killer blow.
Jawad Yaqub
Roar Guru
You'd hope if all the teams are on top of their 2017 development, that we'd get a more compressed order at the top of the grid certainly.
Harvey Wilson
Roar Rookie
I used to follow the winners and watch the occassional race, but the last few years it has become a race of two and the interest is gone. There have been too many changes to F1 over the years and the current engines are killing the racing.