Newspapers hail Briton's first Mercedes victory in Hungary
Monday 29 July 2013 12:37, UK
Lewis Hamilton's spectacular first victory for Mercedes in Hungary has propelled him into the realm of serious title contention, Fleet Street have confidently declared.
The Guardian concurred that against all the pre-season odds Hamilton could yet end his debut year at Mercedes with a second drivers' crown - 'Hamilton enters title reckoning with greatest drive of his life' declared its headline - with Paul Weaver also suggesting that the 2008 Champion's latest win was among the very greatest of his career. 'Ignoring Mercedes' almost neurotic relationship with their tyres, their engine overheating problems of the weekend and one of the most demanding circuits that Formula One has to offer, he produced one of the greatest drives of his already garlanded career," he reported. 'This win will rank alongside the very best of his 22 victories, his first in Montreal in 2007, his rain-splashed triumph at Silverstone in 2008 and last year's thrilling display in Austin, his last success before this, as one of the most prized in his growing collection.' The Daily Express's Bob McKenzie, meanwhile, said that Hamilton's first victory for his new employers had also definitively banished pre-season claims that he had erred in leaving established winners McLaren. 'A year ago, the rest of the paddock wondered whether Hamilton had lost the plot as he considered swapping teams,' McKenzie said. 'Mercedes had done nothing in three years with Michael Schumacher while McLaren have been serial winners. If there were any doubts left, Hamilton shredded them yesterday as he powered across the line in a Hungaroring heat haze into the cool reality of being a title contender again.'
