F1 Hungarian GP: Vettel on top in Budapest thriller, dedicates win to Bianchi

Four-time F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel won a thrilling Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday, with the Red Bull-Renault pairing of Daniil Kvyat and

Four-time F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel won a thrilling Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday, with the Red Bull-Renault pairing of Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo taking the final two spots on the podium.

The German's 41st career win in F1 puts him level with the late great, three-time world champion Ayrton Senna in the list of the winningest drivers in the sport.

Vettel dedicated the win to the deceased French racing driver Jules Bianchi who passed away this week and for whom a minute's silence was held before the start of the race.

At the start of the race, the Ferrari’s of Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen rocketed into first and second places respectively, leaving behind Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton in third and fourth places respectively.

While the Ferraris consolidated their lead up front, Hamilton tried an overambitious move over his Mercedes teammate that dropped him down to 10th place. The British driver recovered lost positions over the first half of the race and was up into fourth, behind Vettel, Raikkonen and Rosberg.

Just as the order was settling down, the race was turned on its head with Force India-Mercedes' Nico Hulkenberg suffering from a spectacular front-wing failure that brought out the safety car. All drivers pitted for fresh tyres, paving way for a sprint to the finish line.

As soon as the safety car entered the pits, Hamilton tried to defend his position over Ricciardo - who was on faster option tyres - damaging his car in the process and necessitating an extra pit stop. The stewards also handed him a drive through penalty for this incident, dropping him outside the top 10.

But such was the nature of the race and Hamilton’s pace that he could finish in sixth place and retain his championship lead.

He was aided when Ricciardo banged wheels with Nico Rosberg for second position, forcing both to make pit stops. Rosberg came off worse from the incident, having suffered a puncture, and could only finish in eighth place.

Up front, Kvyat scored his first F1 podium in second place, with Ricciardo also finishing on the rostrum despite two separate contacts with Mercedes drivers that damaged his car.

The chaotic race meant that former double F1 world champion Fernando Alonso could pilot his McLaren-Honda to fifth place, something that was unthinkable of, given their early season miseries. Button also added two further points to the teams tally.

Max Verstappen, meanwhile finished fourth in his Toro Rosso-Renault, while Romain Grosjean returned to points in seventh, despite a penalty for an unsafe release. Marcus Ericcson collected the final championship point in 10th.

Miserable outing for Force India

Both Force Indias were comfortably running in the top 10, showing far greater speed than they did in qualifying. That was until Perez got hit by Maldonado on the first turn and Hulkenberg retired from a front wing failure.

Both drivers were joined by Raikkonen in the list of retirees. The Finn - comfortably racing in second place - lost his MGU-K system and was asked to bring his car back to the garage.

F1 Hungarian Grand Prix - Race Results (Top 10)