Lewis Hamilton pipped Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg in championship points for the first time in the season after clinching the Hungarian Grand Prix. What would have made it worse for Rosberg is that fact that he qualified in pole position, but was overtaken by his Mercedes rival – ok, teammate – on the first turn.
Ouch. After all, being pipped to second place meant Rosberg earned 18 points instead of the 25 he would have for winning. With the result that Rosberg was trailing his bete noire by six points instead of leading by eight.
With 11 of the 21 races completed, it can only get even more interesting now in what should be a two-horse race for the championship, unless one of these two do something terribly wrong. After all, Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikonnen were far behind in third and fourth place with 115 and 114 points, respectively.
Rosberg and Hamilton have been sparring constantly, with both drivers suspecting the other of often playing for personal glory rather than following team strategy. They crashed into one another in the Spanish Grand Prix, ending the race for both of them, and then collided in the last lap of the Austrian Grand Prix. The Mercedes team management was considering issuing clear guidelines to both.
Rosberg must be even more worried because Hamilton has now won thrice on the trot, almost overshadowing the German's four wins in a row at the start of the season. It's been a steep fall for the 31-year-old since then, with his sole win coming at Azerbaijan in May.
Hamilton touched another landmark en route to his win in Budapest: he overtook Michael Schumacher’s previous record of four wins on the circuit. But then he has had his own problems. He had to deal with uncomfortable questions on allegedly showing the finger to Sauber's Estaban Gutierrez during the race. The win capped off what has been an unexpected but, now, increasingly powerful, comeback for the 2014 champion.
The next race, though, is a home one for Rosberg: the German Grand Prix at Hoffenheim. Will fortune swing yet again?