Lewis Hamilton: Hungarian GP win among most important

Lewis Hamilton says his Hungarian Grand Prix victory is among the "most important of my career".

It was his first win with Mercedes since joining them at the end of last season and his first since the United States Grand Prix in November.

"I really couldn't be happier and I hope there is many more to come," said the 28-year-old 2008 world champion.

Hamilton is fourth in the championship, 48 points behind leader Sebastian Vettel, who was third in Hungary.

After taking pole on Saturday, Hamilton said it would be a "miracle" if he won the race because he feared his car would again suffer with tyre problems, especially in high temperatures.

But those problems never materialised, with the Briton controlling the race and making his way through traffic to build a gap over his rivals.

"If we can make the tyres last here, we can do it anywhere," he said.

"You could tell I was hungry for it. I was going all out and I needed to get past those people. Usually I get stuck, today I wasn't having it, I was going for every move I had."

McLaren's Jenson Button was one of those drivers that Hamilton had to pass quickly during the race - and it seems Hamilton received a little help from his former team-mate.

While Red Bull's Vettel struggled to find a way past Button on two occasions, Hamilton found a way through after just a couple of laps.

"Today was a favour," said Hamilton. "Maybe I'd done him a favour in the past. He did me favour today."

Hamilton's victory - his fourth in seven races in Hungary - reduced the gap behind championship leader Vettel to 48 points as the sport heads into the four-week summer break.

The Mercedes driver is hopeful this result could spur the team on to better things.

"The team has just done an exceptional job," he said. "We have worked so hard to understand these tyres and we got the balance spot on.

"I am very hopeful this could be a real turning point for us as we coped with these high track temperatures."

Hamilton, who split up with girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger this month, said the victory came after "one of the hardest weeks of my life".

He added: "My mind has been in a lot of different places. This weekend, when I've not been on my laptop with my engineers or in the car, my mind has just been in the clouds.

"My mum and dad have been calling and messaging me a lot these last couple of weeks trying to lift my spirits.

"It's been a tough time. They've really made the difference."