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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.

Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG officially teased in mini video

The followup to the Mercedes-Benz S550, the S63 AMG, will sport a biturbocharged V8 that will likely turn out around 550 horsepower. The new engine is probably the 5.5-liter, biturbocharged V-8 that's been popping up in everything from the ML63 to the E63 AMG. The front fascia is more aggressive, which shouldn't come as a surprise, while a meaty exhaust setup can be found out back.
We managed to pick all that up from a short, 17-second video posted by MB. The original video that unveiled the S63 AMG has since been pulled down, making this YouTube clip the best look we now have at the new super sedan, at least until the Germans give up the goods for real.
Be sure to check out the video below, along with our original posting on the S63 AMG.

'55 Mercedes Gullwing racer expected to sell for $6 million

RM Sotheby's has a Gullwing up for auction. Not just any Gullwing, but one of just four prepared by the factory for racing. And it's expected to fetch $6,000,000, (give or take a million) when it crosses the auction block next month in New York. Chassis number 5500640 is billed as "the rarest and most desirable W198 Gullwing ever presented for public auction," and it's not hard to see why. It was used for both racing and testing purposes, including an entry in the notoriously grueling Tour de France by none other than Sir Stirling Moss. He placed it second only to the Marquis de Portago in his Ferrari 250 GT TdF, often outperforming the Ferrari in stages of the event. It was in the possession of one owner since 1966, who stored it for 40 years before passing it on to his son in 2008, who in turn underwrote a comprehensive three-year restoration project and has now put it up for auction. Gullwings are invariably the most sought-after post-war production Mercedes when they come up for auction. The highest price one has ever garnered, according to the records at Sports Car Market, was $4.62 million paid in early 2012 at Gooding & Company's Scottsdale auction. This example, however, stands to far surpass that amount to set a new record. It's just one of several notable lots consigned for the Driven By Disruption event, set to take place on December 10 in New York. Alongside it, RM has the Lamborghini Concept S (valued at over $2.4 million), a 1962 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato (over $16m), and a 1956 Ferrari 290 MM driven by Juan Manuel Fangio ($28m). In short, it ought to be a significant sale, and we'll report the results once they're in.