As the Formula One season takes its midseason break, lewis Hamilton goes into the rest period with renewed hope that he can launch a late title challenge. Fernando Alonso, meanwhile, is still trying to figure out how to get more consistency from his Ferrari.
Although Hamilton remains some distance behind championship leader Sebastian Vettel — 48 points behind in fourth — his win Sunday at the Hungarian Grand Prix was the third for Mercedes in the past five races. “I am very hopeful this could be a real turning point for us,” Hamilton said, with team principal Ross Brawn adding that “it certainly feels like we have made a good step forward.”The two-time former champion Alonso has slipped to third overall, behind lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen.
With nine GPs remaining in the season, Hamilton still has an outside chance of catching Vettel because Mercedes has been fastest in qualifying - Hamilton has clinched the last three poles and Mercedes six of the past seven overall. “I know the guys are working hard so that we can close the gap,” Hamilton said.
The only thing that has been letting Mercedes down is race durability and tire management. But those doubts were somewhat assuaged after Sunday’s win and the team should be in buoyant mood for Spa on Aug. 25.
If Mercedes continues to combine reliability and speed as Hamilton did so well, Vettel may have to watch his back. “It is only halfway through the season and our rivals have been consistently competitive while we have experienced some ups and downs,” Mercedes’ executive director Toto Wolff said. “We are still the underdogs right now, but we are on an upward trend.”
Vettel is much better off than he was at the same stage last season, when he was chasing Alonso and clinched his third straight title on the last day. “We can be pretty satisfied with how it’s gone so far,” the Red Bull driver said. “The car runs good on any type of track and I’ve had only one DNF (did not finish). Having more points than last year at this time can only be positive.”
Ferrari was Red Bull’s expected main rival this season, but Mercedes is now ahead in the constructors’ championship, and Hamilton is only nine points behind Alonso.Since winning the Spanish GP in front of his home fans on May 12, Alonso has managed only two podiums. On Sunday, he was fifth.