2 Aug 2010

Webber wins to take lead in F1 championship

6:05 am on 2 August 2010

The Australian Mark Webber took back the Formula One championship lead from Lewis Hamilton overnight, after snatching victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix that Red Bull team mate Sebastian Vettel had been favourite to win.

McLaren's Hamilton retired with a suspected gearbox failure, only his second blank this season, and dropped to second place overall, four points adrift.

Vettel, starting on pole position for the seventh time in 12 races but again failing to convert the advantage, fell foul of the safety car rules and finished third behind Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

In one of the closest title races in years Webber now has 161 points to Hamilton's 157, with Vettel on 151 and McLaren's world champion Jenson Button on 147, Alonso is fourth on 141.