The Hungarian Grand Prix could yet stand as one of the defining moments of the 2017 Formula One season.

Under the unyielding sun of a Budapest summer the two title protagonists, who have been equally unforgiving on track in a battle that has swayed gloriously between them, finally showed their hands as to how that fight would proceed in the second half of the season.

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Sebastian Vettel won what was hardly a classic race but Lewis Hamilton, in standing by his team-mate, admitted he might have dropped points that could ultimately cost him the world championship.

Vettel won at the Hungaroring with an impressive drive from pole position. That he did so while nursing a damaged steering wheel made it all the more of an achievement but also put the Scuderia on the spot.

His team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was quicker on track but they chose not to order Vettel to allow him to pass. That the German is their only title contender could not have been clearer.

In their wake Hamilton was on a charge and in turn faster than his team‑mate Valtteri Bottas. With passing at the Hungaroring all but impossible this year, he asked Mercedes to tell Bottas to let him through to chase down the leading Ferraris, agreeing that he would give the place back should he fail to overtake them. Bottas let him through and, unable to pass Raikkonen and seven seconds up the road from his team-mate, Hamilton duly gave back the place on the final lap. Raikkonen held second, with Bottas in third and Hamilton fourth.

The British driver now trails Vettel by 14 points in the world championship and ceding the place cost him three. With the title fight likely to go to the wire it might yet prove to have been the sportsmanlike gesture that could deny him a fourth drivers’ title this year.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Sebastian Vettel of Germany takes a curve followed by Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton as overtaking proved difficult at the Hungaroring. Photograph: Darko Bandic/AP

“I want to win the championship the right way,” he said. “I don’t know whether that will come back to bite me on the backside or not but I said at the beginning of the year, I want to win it the right way. I do think today was the right way to do things.”

Ferrari have a long history of imposing team orders and designating a No1 driver but the Mercedes executive director, Toto Wolff, agreed with Hamilton and drew a stark comparison with how his team and the Scuderia went racing.

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“We have seen the backlash from decisions that were ruthless and cold blooded and the effect that it had on the brand,” he said. “You could say: ‘Screw it, it still won them the championship, who cares? They are in the history books.’ But I do not think that is the right spin and if the purpose of us being here is to do the right things and win in the right way – sometimes doing it the right way and standing by your values is tough and it was today, believe me.”

Giving the place back was no easy feat. Bottas was only just in front of the Red Bull of Max Verstappen and there was a real danger the manoeuvre could have cost Hamilton two places. The team had debated whether it should be done but were clear Hamilton was not instructed to do so and that he was merely sticking to his word.

“It was very sportsmanlike behaviour,” said Wolff, who also acknowledged that it could cost Hamilton the title. “These values won us six championships and it will make us win more championships in years to come. It cost us three points and could cost us the championship and we are perfectly conscious of that. But in terms of how the drivers and this team operates, we stick to what we say and if the consequences are as much as losing the championship, then we will take it.”

There was little doubt that Vettel deserved the 25 points, both he and Raikkonen having a pace advantage in the early stage over Mercedes. But he revealed he was wrestling with his damaged car from the off. “I felt there was something not right on the grid and for the formation lap the steering wheel was not straight,” he said.

“Then it got worse and towards the end of the stint it was more difficult. We spoke on the radio about it and I was told to avoid the kerbs but on this track you use them on every corner, so you lose speed. It was good that it is tricky to overtake here. It felt like a very long race.”

Ferrari have not won the constructors’ championship since 2008 and have not taken the drivers’ title since Raikkonen claimed it in 2007. Their step forward to go head-to head with Mercedes this season gives them a real opportunity to end the drought.

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Raikkonen might have been passed by Hamilton, which would have cost them constructor points, but they opted to gamble on the British driver being unable to do so. It paid off and they can consider their strategy a success but it indicated that they were willing to risk the team championship in favour of backing Vettel for the title.

Maurizio Arrivabene, Ferrari’s team principal, praised Raikkonen for being a “true team player” and Sergio Marchionne, the Ferrari chief executive, admitted the result had come as a relief. “It was a much‑needed win,” he said. “The great thing is we earned it, this was a tough, tough race and we almost lost it and we got it back.”

Vettel holds the lead going into the summer break and he has earned it but Hamilton can also rest easy knowing that he held an honourable line in Hungary. “The team were in a difficult position but I think today really shows, hopefully, that I am a man of my word,” he said.