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Lewis Hamilton wins in Hungary to stretch F1 title lead over Sebastian Vettel

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix from pole position for Mercedes on Sunday to go into the August break with a 24-point lead over Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel. Vettel was runner-up in Hungary, 17.1 seconds behind, and survived a late collision with Hamilton's team mate Valtteri Bottas who also banged bodywork with Red Bull's Australian Daniel Ricciardo. The victory was Hamilton's record sixth in Hungary, fifth of the season and 67th of his career. Ferrari, mourning the death of former chairman Sergio Marchionne, had Kimi Raikkonen finish third to complete a podium of champions on a dry and sweltering afternoon at the Hungaroring outside Budapest. In a race effectively decided by Saturday's wet qualifying, when Mercedes locked out the front row of the grid against expectation, Hamilton was never challenged. "We came here knowing Ferrari would be really quick this weekend so to come out with these points, we'll definitely take it as a bonus," said Hamilton in a pitlane interview after embracing team members. "I'm really happy with how strong it's come in the last couple of races. We've got to come strong in the next half," added the 33-year-old, who won in Germany from 14th place on the grid a weekend earlier. After 12 races, Hamilton has 213 points to Vettel's 189. Tire strategies were also crucial at a relatively slow and twisty circuit where overtaking is always difficult, with track temperatures hovering around 50 degrees Celsius. Vettel started on the softs and went for a longer first stint than Mercedes, worried by Ferrari's quick getaways, who opted for ultrasofts that were quicker at the start but faded more rapidly. Lining up in fourth place on the grid, Vettel grabbed third from Raikkonen immediately but could not find a way past Bottas who slotted in behind Hamilton as a defense against the red threat. "We were out of position. I think we could have gone with Lewis today with the race pace," said Vettel. "P2 is not really what we wanted this weekend but I think it was the maximum today." ANGRY VERSTAPPEN Raikkonen, without water during the race after Ferrari forgot to connect the bottle, made two stops and agreed third – his fifth successive podium finish – was the best he could have hoped for in the circumstances. "We caught up with Bottas after the first stop but there was no chance to overtake. So our option was to stop again and try again.

F1's Raikkonen to race for Sauber as Leclerc brings youth to Ferrari

Kimi Raikkonen will not be going out of Formula One at the top, or even with a top team. The announcement on Tuesday that the 2007 world champion is leaving Ferrari, the sport's oldest, most glamorous and successful team, at the end of the season was only to be expected. Less so was the subsequent revelation that the 38-year-old "Iceman" had agreed a two-year deal to continue with Ferrari-powered Sauber in a swap with that team's Monegasque rookie Charles Leclerc. That will close a circle at least, the Swiss team being the ones who gave Raikkonen his debut in 2001 despite the powers-that-be fearing he was too inexperienced. And it will keep the Finn racing on into his 40s. It will also please Formula One's owners, already facing the retirement of double world champion Fernando Alonso, by keeping one of the best known and most popular drivers on the starting grid. But the days when Raikkonen could hope for poles and wins, already scarce even at Ferrari where Sebastian Vettel is the main contender and team orders have been applied, are surely over now. Sauber was last in 2017 and is ninth of 10 teams now, even if the signs are more encouraging than they were, and there is a likelihood that Raikkonen will now be simply making up the numbers. The Finn will still relish racing with less media attention and more freedom, while for Ferrari there are also clear benefits. For the first time in four years, they now have a new benchmark for four-time champion Vettel and a (very) young driver who represents the future rather than the past. Vettel has outperformed Raikkonen consistently since the pairing started in 2015 with the German's move from Red Bull, and the Finn is already 62 points adrift this season with seven races remaining. Raikkonen has been more competitive this year, taking nine podium finishes and pole at Ferrari's home Italian Grand Prix with Formula One's fastest ever lap, but there are those who question whether Vettel is being pushed hard enough. Some even wonder just how quick the German really is. Ferrari will hope that 20-year-old Leclerc, unless told to adopt a subservient role, can apply a bit more pressure and help answer those questions. The gamble is that the youngster's relative inexperience could impact, in the short-term at least, Ferrari's constructors' championship hopes as he finds his way under considerable scrutiny.

Ferrari F150 Enzo-successor takes some loud laps at Fiorano

From recent spy shots to leaked information, we're starting to get a good idea about just how amazing the unnamed successor to the Ferrari Enzo will be, but now we've finally gotten to see some video of the car testing at the Fiorano Circuit in Italy. This video not only gives us an earful of the car's screaming engine and rumbling exhaust note, it also affords us a view of the car without its fish-face camouflage that it has been caught wearing recently.
The video shows the new supercar testing around the 12-turn, 1.877-mile track with an Enzo, and it is interesting to hear the differences between the 651-horsepower Enzo and its reportedly 950-hp hybrid successor. Scroll down to watch the newest Ferrari going through some track testing, and be sure to turn your speakers up.