Hungarian Grand Prix: Race Recap

Event:  Hungarian Grand Prix (Round 12 of 21)

Date:  Sunday, July 29

Location:  Hungaroring in Budapest

Layout:  4.381-kilometer (2.722-mile), 14-turn circuit

Weather:  Sunny

Air Temps:  32.3-34.9 degrees Celsius (90.1-94.8 degrees Fahrenheit)

Track Temps:  46.6-57 degrees Celsius (115.9-134.6 degrees Fahrenheit)

Race Winner:  Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes

Haas F1 Team:  

●  Kevin Magnussen – Started 9th, Finished 7th (Running, completed 69/70 laps)

●  Romain Grosjean – Started 10th, Finished 10th (Running, completed 69/70 laps)

Haas F1 Team earned its second double-points result of the season in the Hungarian Grand Prix Sunday with drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean finishing seventh and 10th, respectively, in the 12th round of the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship.

The seven points from the collective result of Magnussen and Grosjean at the Hungaroring in Budapest allowed Haas F1 Team to take sole possession of fifth in the constructors’ standings. The American squad now has 66 points and trails fourth-place Renault by 16 points, but has a seven-point advantage over sixth-place Force India, a 14-point gap to seventh-place McLaren and a 38-point margin on eighth-place Toro Rosso. Magnussen is eighth in the driver’s championship with 45 points and Grosjean is 14th with 21 points.

Both Haas F1 Team drivers employed a one-stop strategy in the 70-lap race around the 4.381-kilometer (2.722-mile), 14-turn circuit. Grosjean, who started 10th, was the first to pit, bringing his Haas VF-18 in for service on lap 29, swapping his Pirelli P Zero Purple ultrasoft tires for Yellow softs. Magnussen, who started just ahead of Grosjean in ninth, followed on lap 31 and emulated the tire choice of his teammate.

Grosjean dropped to 12th after the stop and Magnussen, who drove to as high as sixth at the start of the race, fell to ninth. But as pit stops began to cycle through, Magnussen rose to seventh and Grosjean climbed to 11th.

When Stoffel Vandoorne was forced to retire his McLaren after 49 laps, Grosjean inherited 10th.

For the remainder of the race, Magnussen and Grosjean raced comfortably in seventh and 10th, respectively, with sizeable margins between the cars ahead and behind each of them. The finish extended Haas F1 Team’s streak of point-paying results to five, dating back to the June 24 French Grand Prix.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix by 17.123 seconds over Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. The win was the 67th of Hamilton’s Formula One career, his fifth this season and his sixth at the Hungaroring. The victory allowed Hamilton to widen his lead in the championship standings over Vettel, his nearest pursuer. Hamilton came into the Hungarian Grand Prix with a 17-point margin on Vettel and leaves with a 24-point advantage.

Nine races remain on the 2018 Formula One schedule, with the next event coming in four weeks with the Belgian Grand Prix Aug. 24-26 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

“Both of us in the top-10 is really good. The race was frustrating. We need to understand how to get the tires better in these circumstances. I spent 50 laps behind (Carlos) Sainz, being half-a-second to one second faster. As soon as you get close to the car in front of you, it just goes and there’s nothing you can do. That was a bit of a shame but, overall, I think we really did a great job. We jumped (Nico) Hulkenberg and (Brendon) Hartley, showing that we had an amazing pace. Generally, I think we had a great pace, so it’s good to have two cars in the top-10. We’ve had a really good weekend. The race pace was so much better than P10.”

“I was quite happy today. Had a good first lap, gained some positions, and took it home from there. Not a very eventful race, except for the first lap, but that’s fine for us. We scored a double-points finish for the team and that’s a good way to go on holiday.”

The FIA Formula One World Championship heads into its summer break before returning to action Aug. 24-26 for the Belgian Grand Prix at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Round 13 of the Formula One schedule begins with practice Aug. 24, qualifying Aug. 25 and the race Aug. 26.