The 22-year-old British rookie put behind him the pole position controversy and spy saga gripping McLaren to take his third win and 10th podium finish in 11 races, underscoring his credentials as title favourite.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was second, 0.7sec behind, with Germany's Nick Heidfeld third for BMW Sauber.

Spain's two-time world champion Alonso, who was stripped of pole and demoted to sixth place on the starting grid for impeding Hamilton in the final seconds of Saturday's qualifying, finished fourth.

Hamilton said his teammate had not spoken to him since Saturday's controversy.

As punishment for that same incident, the International Automobile Federation barred championship leaders McLaren from scoring points in yesterday's race.

They remained on 138 points, with Ferrari narrowing the gap on 119. There are six races remaining.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa, third in the drivers' standings before yesterday's race, failed to score a point after starting in 14th because his pit crew had forgotten to refuel his car during qualifying. He slipped to fourth.

Hamilton has 80 points, Alonso 73, Raikkonen 60 and Massa 59 in a championship that remains very much a four-way battle.

McLaren's title hopes are also hanging on an appeal hearing into the spy controversy.

'It's been an eventful weekend and quite emotional for all the team,' said Hamilton, who was happy to be back on top after his sensational run of nine straight podium finishes ended at the Nuerburgring two weeks ago with ninth place.

'With all the drama that has gone on over the weekend, it would have been easy to lose focus. It's been a bit of a downer for the team.'

The Briton led all 70 laps of a race that, in contrast to the excitement and controversy away from the track, was uneventful until the closing stages, when Raikkonen closed right up on him.

'I had a problem with my steering and it made it quite difficult to keep the pace,' said Hamilton, who soaked his father Anthony in champagne from the podium.

'I was quite nervous that something was going to break, but thank God it didn't.

'It was probably one of the hardest races I've had to do and even more satisfying that I had to push that bit extra to keep Raikkonen behind me.'

The Finn, pushing hard on a tight circuit that is a nightmare for overtaking, slotted into second place at the start and remained there throughout. He set the fastest lap of the race right at the end.

'It was kind of a boring race, just driving behind and waiting for something to happen,' said Raikkonen.

'Nothing really happened, so we finished where we started. Our car is maybe not exactly suited for this circuit.'

Poland's Robert Kubica, marking his first anniversary in Formula One after making his debut here last year, was fifth for BMW Sauber, with Toyota's Ralf Schumacher sixth.

Germany's Nico Rosberg was seventh for Williams, with Renault's Finnish rookie Heikki Kovalainen taking the last point for the struggling champions.

Briton Jenson Button, who took his first grand prix win in a wet Hungarian race last year after 113 starts, retired his Honda after 38 laps.

REUTERS