'Miracle man' Lewis Hamilton moved a small step closer towards his Formula One world title dream on a bitter-sweet day for Ferrari.
The 23-year-old put his health and body on the line to qualify second on Saturday before finishing runner-up to Ferrari flier Felipe Massa at the Valencia Street Circuit, hosting its maiden race.
Hamilton almost pulled out of the European Grand Prix weekend due to a painful neck spasm that required painkilling injections, and 'flu.
It was McLaren doctor Aki Hintsa who made sure Hamilton was able to ultimately extend his championship lead from five to six points.
With six races remaining, it is now Massa who is Hamilton's closest rival after Kimi Raikkonen suffered a blown engine 11 laps from the finish.
Hintsa said: "It's a miracle Lewis made it to qualifying, and when he did, I was the happiest man in the world."
It simply underlined the fact McLaren are far from a one-man team, with Hintsa another integral and highly valuable cog of what is a well-oiled machine.
Explaining his health woes, Hamilton said: "I've had a miserable weekend.
"I had 'flu when I arrived, with hard fevers every day. I've been low on energy, and I also had quite a big problem with a spasm in my neck which almost led to me not racing this weekend.
"I woke up very early yesterday, around 5am, and I had this spasm, but fortunately I've a great doctor who was with me all the way through it.
"It was so bad I was even struggling to stand up, so I had to have injections in my neck and take plenty of painkillers.
"So I think eight points is a good effort. I thought I did a pretty decent job considering."
Dismissing the prospect of it recurring at the next race in Belgium in a fortnight's time, Hamilton confirmed: "It won't be a problem again I'm sure."
It was at that point Massa reached across to Hamilton and grabbed his neck, to which the 23-year-old smilingly grimaced and said: "Ow, it's still sore!"
He added: "It was probably something to do with my pillow, the way I was sleeping because it hurt just when I woke up."
That drew less sympathy from Massa and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica, who finished third and was back on the podium for the first time since his victory in Canada in early June.
"Awwww, poor guy! So beat up," joked Massa.
Kubica then chipped in and said: "I know a driver who brings a pillow with him from home to every race."
"Is that you?" enquired Hamilton.
When Kubica replied "no," Hamilton proved his sense of humour is still razor sharp by responding: "I've heard you bring a teddy actually!"
Such comic shenanigans failed to detract from a fine performance from Hamilton given the circumstances, and in particular Massa.
The Brazilian was never troubled after making a clean, comfortable start around the picturesque marina circuit.
There was only one moment of consternation for Massa when he and Force India's Adrian Sutil ran wheel to wheel on exiting the pit lane before the title contender was forced to yield.
The race stewards immediately confirmed they would investigate the incident afterwards for what they described as an 'unsafe release' by Ferrari at the end of Massa's second stop.
The result was a 10,000 euros (Ј8000) fine and reprimand for Massa who firmly believed he had done nothing wrong.
At least the win eased the sting on his wallet, as well as erasing the pain of his own engine blowout three laps from home when firmly on course for the win in Hungary.
Raikkonen's engine failure compounded a miserable day for the Finn as minutes earlier he had run over one of his pit crew as he began to pull away at the end of his second stop, but with the fuel hose still attached to the car.
The mechanic was taken away on a stretcher to the medical centre, and later to the local hospital for tests after sustaining a foot injury and with pains in his back.
The result leaves Raikkonen 13 points behind Hamilton, with Kubica 15 off the pace, with the Briton adding: "We've had a strong weekend.
"We've scored some good points. It was a long, hot race - I didn't have enough water in the car - but I'm happy to have come through it.
"We're showing we've great reliability, and that's due to all the team doing a fantastic job."
Behind Kubica, Heikki Kovalainen finished fourth in his McLaren ahead of Toyota's Jarno Trulli, Sebastian Vettel for Toro Rosso, the second Toyota of Timo Glock and Williams' Nico Rosberg.
McLaren have now closed the gap to just eight points on Ferrari in the constructors' championship.
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