Hamilton: We are in the fight for the title

Lewis Hamilton believes he and Mercedes can complete for the title after securing his first win of the season in Hungary. However, he believes that it is only possible if the tyres “don’t let him down.”

“I hope so,” Hamilton told Sky F1, after being asked about his chances of competing for the title.

“I honestly believe in this team and that this car is fast enough to compete with the Red Bull. As long as the tyres don’t let us down, we’ll be in there in the fight.”

Today in the race, Hamilton got a clear start from pole and quickly overtook medium tyre starter Jenson Button after his first pit stop. Vettel and Grosjean, meanwhile struck behind his former teammate, handing over the victory to Hamilton.

“It’s an incredible feeling. This is surely one of the most important wins of my career. To move to a new team and win for Mercedes-Benz is a real privilege. I couldn’t be happier.” Hamilton told Martin Brundle in the podium interview.

Mercedes have struggled previously with tyre wear and thermal degradation but Lewis Hamilton believes that lower than expected temperatures and right pit stops calls helped him secure his fourth win at Budapest.

“The tyres were a dream. On the first stint, the tyres were so-so, and they went off two laps before the Red Bull’s. I called the pit-stop at just the right time because if I had done another lap then I would have probably been overtaken. But I came out ahead and as soon as I did I knew I had a chance to win.” said the 28 year old.

Hamilton reflected on his ambitious yet fair move over Mark Webber after his final pit stop, saying that he didn’t want to being backed up into Vettel and Kimi.

“I needed to pull those moves off. I hope he’s cool about it. He’s very fair and a great racer, but I couldn’t get held up else I would have backed up into Kimi and Sebastian. I think you can tell that I was hungry for it today. I went for it with every move I had.” he added.