Merc driver 48 points behind Vettel after victory in Hungary
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A relaxed looking Christian Horner on the pitwall
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Christian Horner has refused to discount Lewis Hamilton from the title battle after the Mercedes driver took victory in Hungary.
The Hungarian GP marked the mid-point of the season and with nine races to go, Horner says it is possible that Hamilton could bridge the gap at the top.
"Yeah for sure," he told Sky Sports F1.
"It is his first win this year, but there is still a long way to go and you can't discount any of them."
Sebastian Vettel finished third having lost time behind Jenson Button after his first stop, whilst Mark Webber worked his way up to fourth from tenth on the grid. Although the Red Bull boss was disappointed to slip behind Kimi Raikkonen in the race, he was pleased to see both cars make the finish.
"I think the most damage to us was emerging from the pits behind Jenson and not being able to pass him, then damaging the front-wing," he added.
"I think that released Lewis and put us back into the realms of Kimi. Nonetheless it was still a very strong podium finish and we extended our lead in the Drivers' Championship and it was a great recovery from Mark - a very strong first stint put him very much in contention.
"Adrian [Newey] had a good look at the front-wing just to make sure it was safe - that was the mean reason. Then everything was a bit hot, but everything behaved and both cars made the finish."
