IT was magnificent seven for Lewis Hamilton as he clinched a gripping Hungarian GP for the seventh time seven years on from his first win for Mercedes. That first win was also at the Hungaroring and had been an unexpected victory at the time after Mercedes had struggled in the first few races of the season. This time round it took a gamble from the team and a superlative drive from Hamilton to snatch victory from Max Verstappen in a race of high tension and drama. The two had a race-long battle that the young Dutchman looked to be winning after an excellent drive from pole.Hamilton was all over the back of Verstaspen after the first round of pit stops saw the British racer with fresher tyres. But Verstappen impressively held him off despite Hamilton pushing hard. When his Mercedes brakes started to get overheating problems and his tyres started to wear Hamilton had to ease off. It was then that the Mercedes team had a masterstroke. They changed strategy and brought Hamilton in for a second pit stop. Verstappen’s Aston Martin Red Bull team failed to react, leaving him to try to last the race out on worn tyres. While Hamilton now had the advantage of fresh tyres he still had a massive gap to close on the leader of around 20 seconds. The Briton chased down Verstappen, and with three laps to go, Hamilton made the pass to take the lead, going on to take his seventh Hungarian GP win. Verstappen was forced to pit, as his tyres were now totally worn, and came back out in second. He promptly pumped in the fastest lap, to get the extra bonus point, and crossed the line 17.7s adrift with Sebastian Vettel passing Ferrari team mate Charles Leclerc late on for third. Spain’s Carlos Sainz took a brilliant fifth for McLaren ahead of Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly and Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen. Bottas, who was forced to pit early on for a new nose after contact with Hamilton and Leclerc, recovered to eighth, with McLaren’s Lando Norris and Toro Rosso’s Alexander Albon completing the top 10. In the championship race Hamilton now has 250 points, a 62 point lead over teammate Bottas. Mercedes-AMG Petronas (438 points) lead Ferrari (288 points) by 150 points in the Constructors’Championship. Lewis Hamilton said: “We’ve been together for seven years, but this feeling never gets old. If it wasn’t for everyone here and back at the factory, this wouldn’t have been possible. I’m so grateful to be a part of it and for the team for continuing to believe in me, push the limits and take a risk. We struggled a little with the brakes today, so I was trying to save as much as I could for when I had a chance to pass Max. It was very, very difficult to get by. I wasn’t sure if I could close the 19-second gap, but the team said to just get your head down, so I did. I kept pushing, the gap closed and the laps were like Qualifying laps. I was on the limit all the way. I take my hat off to the team and I think if Niki were here today, he would take his hat off too.” Mercedes team leader Toto Wolff said: “What an unbelievable comeback. This is why we love the sport, you are holding onto moments like this, where it’s an unexpected result and this is why it feels so great. We didn’t think it would go this way but the strategy team did so well and made great calls. There was a specific point in the race where we weren’t sure if Lewis would catch Max, but he got his head down and once the Red Bull was in sight, we knew he’d pounce. An incredible drive and a great result to head into the summer break with.”