Britain's Lewis Hamilton seized his first win for Mercedes in the Hungarian heat on Sunday while Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel forged 38 points clear in the Formula One drivers championship after finishing third.
“This is probably one of the most important grand prix wins of my career,” Hamilton told the crowd after his fourth win at the Hungaroring circuit in seven years but his first with a team other than McLaren.
“I could not be happier. I hope there is plenty more to come. We have to work hard but if we can make the tyres last here we can do it anywhere.”
Kimi Raikkonen, who could be Vettel's team-mate next season, took second place for Lotus – 10.9 seconds behind Hamilton – after doing one stop fewer and holding off the German in the tense closing laps to the delight of thousands of Finns in the crowd.
“I told Kimi I was not happy but he was laughing. That's racing,” Vettel, who had complained over the radio after one failed attempt to pass that Raikkonen had not given him enough room, said with a smile.
Hungary marked the midpoint in the season and after 10 of the 19 races Vettel goes into the August break with 172 points to Raikkonen's 134.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso lost ground and now has 133 after finishing fifth. Hamilton is on 124.
Hamilton, the 2008 world champion who won in Hungary for McLaren last season, led from pole position on a day when track temperatures reached 50 degrees Celsius to secure the 22nd win of his career.
“I was hungry for it today, I was going all out,” said the Briton, who joins now-retired predecessor Michael Schumacher as the only drivers to have won four times in Hungary.
“Usually I get stuck in traffic and today I was going for every move I could.”
The Brit had started on pole for the third race in a row and made a good start while team-mate Nico Rosberg, who retired with flames shooting out of the rear of his car four laps from the end, plunged from fourth to 12th after one lap.
There were two occasions when Hamilton could have become stuck behind Vetttel's team-mate Mark Webber after pitstops but he dealt with the situation aggressively to make sure of Mercedes's third win of the season.
Vettel had slotted in behind Hamilton in second place at the start with Raikkonen's team-mate Romain Grosjean third and Alonso muscling up to fourth.
Grosjean's forceful treatment of Ferrari's Felipe Massa, running off track to keep position, left him with a drive-through penalty and the Frenchman ended the race under investigation after another incident with McLaren's Jenson Button.
Sutil disappoints
Adrian Sutil’s 100th Grand Prix ended in a big disappointment as he failed to finish the race even as Sahara Force India’s lead over McLaren was reduced to just four points after a no-points show.
Paul di Resta, who began 17th on the grid, finished 18th which meant that for the second time in a row Force India have not added any points.
In lap 19, Sutil’s car suffered a hydraulic leak and after making a contact with Massa in the next lap he went to pitlane and the team decided to retire the car. Force India remain on 59 while McLaren moved to 55 from 49.
Budapest to stay
The Hungarian Grand Prix has signed a contract extension to stay on the calendar until 2021, Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone.
The race at the Hungaroring has been a fixture since its debut in 1986 as Formula One's first in Eastern Europe and behind what was then the 'Iron Curtain'.
Driver Team Time
1. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes 1::42:29.445
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Lotus +00:10.938
3. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Red Bull +00:12.459
4. Mark Webber (Australia) Red Bull +00:18.044
5. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Ferrari +00:31.411
6. Romain Grosjean (France) Lotus +00:32.295
7. Jenson Button (Britain) McLaren +00:53.819
8. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari +00:56.447
9. Sergio Perez (Mexico) McLaren 1 lap
10. Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Williams 1 lap
Driver Team Time
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 172
2. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus 134
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 133
4. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 124
5. Mark Webber Red Bull 105
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 84
7. Felipe Massa Ferrari 61
8. Romain Grosjean Lotus 49
9. Jenson Button McLaren 39
10. Paul Di Resta Force India 36