Vettel holds on for contentious Hungarian GP win
Sebastian Vettel scooped his fourth victory of the 2017 Formula 1 season in Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix despite encountering a handling issue early in the race.
Vettel nursed his car to the line ahead of Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who was controversially told not to pass, leaving him frustrated in second place.
Vettel backed up a close-knit group including Raikkonen and Hamilton for much of the race, putting the race win in a precarious position for Ferrari as it backed its championship leader.
The German driver ultimately held on to extend his championship lead to 14 points as Hamilton crossed the line fourth, honouring a deal that saw Valtteri Bottas take P3.
Vettel was able to retain his lead off the start and enjoyed a three-second lead over Raikkonen at one stage, only for a handling issue to develop and cause his pace to drop off.
Raikkonen closed to within a second following the pit stops, but Ferrari insisted he hold station and protect Vettel from the chasing Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas.
Hamilton recovered from a bad start to run fourth behind Bottas before being given the call to overtake, saying he would hand the place back if he could not pass the Ferrari drivers.
Hamilton quickly latched onto the back of Raikkonen's car, hounding the Finn for second place, who in turn had upped his pace after growing increasingly frustrated by Ferrari's tactics to protect Vettel.
However, the Briton was unable to get close enough to attempt a pass, struggling in Raikkonen's dirty air, while Vettel was able to peel away again at the front.
Vettel crossed the line after 70 laps to clinch his fourth win of the year and lead Ferrari to a one-two finish, extending his lead in the F1 drivers' championship heading into the summer break.
A disgruntled Raikkonen had to settle for second, while Bottas completed the podium for Mercedes after Hamilton honoured their agreement, moving aside at the line to take fourth place.
Red Bull had a race to forget as Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo collided at Turn 2, causing the latter to retire on the spot. Ricciardo was left fuming, calling Verstappen "immature" and a "sore loser".
The stewards deemed Verstappen to have been responsible, giving him a 10-second time penalty, but the Dutchman was nevertheless able to finish fifth, having caught up with the Mercedes drivers late on.
McLaren enjoyed its best result of the season so far as Fernando Alonso finished sixth, capitalising on the less power-heavy nature of the Hungaroring. Team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne was able to score his first point of the year in P10, lifting the team above Sauber in the constructors' championship in the process.
Carlos Sainz Jr. finished seventh for Toro Rosso, while the Force India duo of Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon took eighth and ninth, extending the team's advantage in the race for P4 in the constructors' championship.
Under-pressure drivers Daniil Kvyat and Jolyon Palmer did little to help their situations, finishing 11th and 12th, with Kevin Magnussen 13th for Haas leading the team's charge after Romain Grosjean retired following an early pit stop when his car was released in an unsafe manner.
Further back Lance Stroll took P14 for Williams ahead of Pascal Wehrlein and Marcus Ericsson of Sauber.
Paul di Resta's F1 comeback ended in retirement when a problem developed on his Williams with 10 laps to go, forcing him to return to the garage. The Scot nevertheless left the paddock impressed with his display at short notice.
