Button wins tactical Hungarian GP battle ahead of Vettel, Alonso

MOGYOROD, Hungary, July 31 (Xinhua) — Jenson Button won the Hungarian Grand Prix ahead of Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso on Sunday at the Hungaroring outside Budapest.

Button, driving in his 200th grand prix, produced his second victory of the 2011 season. The win was a repeat of his first ever grand prix triumph which came in 2006 at the same venue and in similar weather conditions.

The Briton’s winning time was 1 hour 46 minutes 42.337 seconds. World champion and championship leader Vettel started in pole position but finished 3.588 seconds behind Button with Alonso a further 16.231 seconds behind the German.

Button’s McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton led for much of the race but finished fourth, 48.338 seconds behind Button. The second Red Bull driver Mark Webber, winner in 2010, finished just 1.404 seconds behind Hamilton in fifth place.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, Force India’s Paul Di Resta, Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi, Mercedes’ Nico Rossberg, and Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari finished in the sixth to tenth positions.

The race took place in overcast and frequently rainy conditions at the Hungaroring, only the second time since the first race in 1986 that the track has been wet. The race became a tactical battle between drivers and team-strategists, and contained a record 88 pit stops, including six pit stops for Hamilton, five for Webber, four for Alonso, and three each for both Vettel and Button.

The 2008 World Champion Hamilton started second on the grid behind Vettel but led from lap 5 after overtaking the German. The Briton driver however after hitting a kerb on lap 47 and was given a drive-through penalty for forcing another driver to leave the circuit. Button started in third position on the grid but chose a clever tyre strategy to cope with the changeable weather and passed his teammate Hamilton.

Despite not winning on Sunday, Vettel increased his lead over teammate Webber at the top of the Drivers’ Championship to 83 points. Hamilton is 88 points behind of Vettel in third, with Alonso one point behind back in fourth. Button remains in fifth, 11 points behind Alonso and 100 off Vettel.

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