Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Heikki Kovalainen took his first Formula 1 victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix today. Heikki finished 11 seconds clear of Toyota’s Timo Glock after leader Felipe Massa (Ferrari) retired three laps from the chequer. His win marks the third successive victory for the team and makes Heikki the 100th Formula 1 winner since the World Championship began in 1950. Lewis finished fifth after pitting early to change a damaged front tyre on lap 41.
Both drivers were on two-stop strategies: Lewis stopped on laps 19 (9.4sec) and 41 (8.8sec), while Heikki pitted on laps 21 (9.9sec) and 48 (6.8sec).
After 11 races, Lewis maintains his overall lead in the drivers’ championship with 62 points. Heikki remains sixth with 38 points. In the constructors’ championship, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has moved up to second position with 100 points. Ferrari still leads with 111 points.
Lewis: "Congratulations to Heikki for his first and very well deserved grand prix win. The race could have been better for me. My start was okay, but Felipe’s was better and he managed to overtake me. I managed to maintain the gap during the first stint and felt comfortable in the second stint because I was matching his times but was going to be running longer to the final stops. I feel I could have had a go at passing him, but the damaged tyre halted my progress. I don’t yet know what happened. But at least I scored four points and maintained my lead in the championship, so this result is not too bad for me."
