Hamilton out to close gap in F1 title race

Lewis Hamilton might trail Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg in the Formula One world championship standings but a return to his favoured Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday gives him the chance to close the gap.

Britain’s Hamilton has four victories at the 4.4km Hungaroring, a record he shares with German great Michael Schumacher, and is looking for a fifth in the last race before the summer break.

Hamilton trails Rosberg by 14 points so a win would cut that deficit in half – at the very least. If Rosberg finishes outside the top four, Hamilton could even reclaim the championship lead with victory.

“I don’t really have any secrets there – I’ve just been very fortunate in that race and it’s a circuit I really enjoy,” Hamilton told the Mercedes homepage.

“It’s one where you can really attack, which works for an attacking driver like myself, so perhaps it suits my driving style a little bit more than some others.

“I’m doing absolutely everything I can to get back on level terms with Nico in the title battle – I can’t focus more or work harder than I am doing right now.”

Rosberg has not qualified outside the top four and has claimed pole position in four of the past five races.

Victory in the German GP completed a remarkable spell for Rosberg, after his wedding, a new Mercedes contract and Germany winning the World Cup.

“In the past couple of weeks, so many positive things have happened to me.”

Mercedes has a clear lead in the constructors’ championship but Williams are up to third after the impressive run of Valtteri Bottas.

The Finn has claimed three consecutive podium finishes and hopes to impress again in Hungary.

“We are aiming for a good result there so we head into the holidays with a good feeling. We know it’s not the best circuit for our car but we are working on getting more grip in the corners and we have some upgrades that should help as well.”

Red Bull are second in the standings but four-time reigning champion Sebastian Vettel has had a difficult campaign. Daniel Ricciardo, in his first season, has outperformed his more illustrious teammate.

But the Australian has mixed feelings on the Hungarian GP. “It’s one of those weird situations where the driving is very satisfying but the racing, perhaps, is not.

“It’s a great, great track in qualifying, where you’re driving on low fuel and fresh tyres – there’s no let-up and you’re completely in the moment.

“In a race, though, overtaking is difficult because the track is quite narrow and that exciting sequence of corners doesn’t give you the opportunity to line up a pass.”

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