"I think that's been totally unfair.

"He went from 14th on the grid to fourth in seven laps, and when he overtook (Ferrari's Michael) Schumacher I smiled to myself and thought 'You showed them Jenson,'" said Fry. "He deserves this so much."

Honda took a gamble in Budapest, opting for a soft dry tyre rather than the harder one favoured by rivals and making the change from wets at exactly the right moment.

"The choice of tyres this weekend was a big risk for the guys to take but we were determined to," said Fry.

"We knew there was a big opportunity, we knew that if we did something a bit different maybe we would get a great result."

Ironically, the team could also have benefited from the wave of disappointment that greeted their performances in the early part of the season.

Pre-season testing had raised a real sense of expectation, with the team talking of winning races for the first time and challenging for the championship.

When that breakthrough failed to emerge, and it became apparent that Honda were struggling to match the pace, the media attention dwindled.

"Things went a bit pair-shaped after three or four races and some not so nice things were said," recalled Fry. "But once we got through that, people just left us alone.

"We had our beating for not being instantly successful and then really the pressure was off. Ironically, that helped us."