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Daniel Ricciardo won the second grand prix of his short but brilliant career here but a thrilling Hungarian Grand Prix was once again dominated by the fight between the two Mercedes drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.Hamilton, who at one stage ignored team orders to move aside for Rosberg, produced one of his most memorable drives, starting from the pitlane to finish third, one place ahead of his team-mate, and he did so in a car that had been built overnight after the fire that wrecked his qualifying on Saturday. So he cut Rosberg’s lead by three points, from 14 to 11.

A top six position looked beyond Hamilton, especially when he spun at the second corner and damaged his front left wing. He was also suffering with cold brakes because he did not take part in the formation lap. But he carved his way through the field and even led the race at one stage.

The race boiled down to the last 20 laps when Rosberg was gaining on Hamilton. “Why is he not letting me through?” asked the German.

The team then asked Hamilton to make way but it was a harsh call and the British driver said: “I’m not slowing down for Nico. If he gets close he can overtake.” Hamilton said after the race: “I was shocked that the team asked me to do that.”

Rosberg came in for a third stop and with fresh rubber launched a fresh attack on Hamilton with 13 laps remaining. In the closing laps it seemed that Hamilton, who made just two stops, would lose out to his team-mate but instead he hung on and at one point looked likely to take second place off Fernando Alonso, who was also suffering with tired rubber.

Rosberg, from pole, streaked off over the horizon. But he was badly hurt by Marcus Ericsson’s crash and the introduction of the first safety car, which not only cancelled out his 10-second advantage but penalised the leading four drivers, because they did not have time to pit like the cars behind.

A downpour less than an hour before the start of the race made it a nightmare for the teams when it came to choosing their rubber, with the choice between intermediates and full rain tyres. Forecasts of further rain — which never came — further complicated the issue. “It’s like a slippery thing out there,” said Jenson Button, whose McLaren team appeared to think that there would be more rain. Button finished 10th. — The Guardian