Jenson Button gives rivals slip in Hungary

McLaren's Jenson Button celebrated his 200th Formula 1 start by winning the Hungarian Grand Prix yesterday after a thrilling race decided by tyre choices in the slippery, wet conditions.

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel was second despite an error-strewn race to increase his championship lead over team mate Mark Webber to 85 points and move him closer to defending his title with eight races left after the mid-season break.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso was third. Briton Button sealed his second victory of the season after being wheel to wheel with Lewis Hamilton only for his team-mate to drop back to fourth after a choosing the wrong tyres in the rain and then serving a drive through penalty following a spin which forced Bathgate's Paul di Resta off the track.

"I have to apologise to Paul...I didn't see him. so I had absolutely no clue," said Hamilton.

The Scot had reason to cheer, though, for the Force India driver finished in seventh, his first F1 points in the last eight races and the best result of the grand prix rookie's career.

Meanwhile, Button who took his first grand prix victory here in 2006 and also in the rain, told his team over the radio: "Guys, perfect going into the summer break. let's come back and win them all." The Briton has now won 11 grands prix in a career that started with Williams in 2000.

"Congatulations to Jenson, he was pushing me hard the whole race and the better man won," said Hamilton, who led before it all went wrong.

With cars sliding around as drizzle and tyre strategies came and went, the less than capacity crowd at the ageing Hungaroring were treated to a string of overtaking moves at a twisty circuit where passing had been difficult in the past. Vettel made a good start from pole but Hamilton, winner of the previous race in Germany last Sunday, kept on the world champion's tail having been second on the grid. The slippery track contributed to Vettel running wide early on and the Briton saw his chance to speed past before his afternoon went sour.

Button, third in qualifying and winner of the rain-hit Canadian GP, then also overtook the German in partially wet conditions as McLaren again showed their race superiority over the previously dominant Red Bull.

"I was struggling a bit on the first stint. It was quite tricky," said Vettel, who now has 234 points to Webber's 149, Hamilton's 146, Alonso's 145 and Button's 134. Red Bull have 383 points to McLaren's 280 in the constructors' standings.

Drizzle had been in the air throughout and there was significant spray in some areas of the track early on.

Mercedes' Nico Rosberg cut past the two Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso as well as Webber in the opening exchanges as drivers struggled to keep their cars from sliding.

Brazil's Massa, who suffered serious head injuries in an accident at the Hungaroring in 2009, then spun violently into the grass on lap eight and slipped down to ninth before fighting back up to sixth having started fourth on the grid.

Team-mate Alonso soon got back past Rosberg, in his 100th F1 race, to move up into fourth but the Spaniard slipped back again when passed by Webber on lap 15 only for the Australian to end up fifth as the weather constantly changed.

Nick Heidfeld's race ended in a blaze when his Renault caught fire shortly after leaving the pits and the German quickly parked up and jumped out smartly as smoke and billowed into the sky and flames took hold. Race officials quickly and efficiently doused the flames, seemingly unfazed as parts of the car appeared to explode as they laboured with extinguishers while race cars roared by only a few metres away.