Lewis Hamilton says he felt comfortable enough throughout the Hungarian Grand Prix to manage the pace as he took the lead of the championship with a fifth win of 2016.
Hamilton beat teammate Nico Rosberg into Turn 1 and led for the rest of the race, but was asked by Mercedes to pick his pace up during the middle stint as third-placed Daniel Ricciardo closed the gap. He replied to say he was driving as fast as the tyres would allow, and the Mercedes one-two did not come under threat from Red Bull after the second stops.
Other than one mistake which brought Nico Rosberg to within DRS range later in the race, the championship leader said he felt comfortable throughout.
"There was never a moment when I felt that I was going to lose it," he said. "This is a race where you don't need a five or ten second gap. I need to do what I just need to do, even if we win by a tenth of a second. I was just managing that gap of about two seconds. When I needed some time, I put my engine where it needed to be and I kept the time."
Asked why he seemed to struggle with his pace, Hamilton said: "Compared to practice we knew the temperature was a lot higher. I think the temperature was about 43 degrees, the track temperature, so today was a 53, so it's an unknown how long these tyres are going to last. So once I got into the lead I was able to manage my tyres, my car, and manage the gap, and react only when I needed to.
"For sure the backmarkers caused a bit of trouble towards the end. Generally I was able to keep the buffer. There was one moment ... I thought all race I hadn't made a mistake and then I locked up my wheels and went slightly wide and Nico all of a sudden on my tail. Wasn't an exciting moment but then got my head down and increased that lead."
Hamilton thinks his getaway was crucial to the victory.
"The start was everything, I got a good start. I mean I had... One of the Red Bull's was on the inside of me so I was pressured quite a lot into Turn 1 but the team did a fantastic job with the strategy, preparing the car as always, the guys back at the factory continuing to push flat out. A huge thank-you to them."
The victory was Hamilton's fifth in Hungary, moving him past the previous record of four he shared with Michael Schumacher. The Briton admitted it was a special statement to hear.
"It's truly incredible to hear those words, especially as I grew up watching Michael -- to know I had one more than he had here is just incredible. I would only be able to do it with the great people I work with at Mercedes, it's the result of great work from a great group of people.
"I'm really grateful for it -- I love it here and I hope there's more to come. It wasn't the easiest grand prix I've had here but definitely one I enjoyed, a great tussle between the three of us."