2018 Hungarian GP : Drivers of the Day

The Hungarian Grand Prix witnessed a resurgence in orange with one of the most commanding team performances all meeting. That plus an unexpected retirement for the championship leader could mark a major turning point of the season. Of the 22 drivers, who was brilliant in Budapest?

5. Lewis Hamilton

Although not to his usual standards, Hamilton is having an understated season and has been making the most of the JNM-16C chassis which realistically should be deep in the midfield judging by Chuck Bucknum’s performances. Being an older chassis, Hamilton’s best performances have come at circuits that compliment good grip levels such as Silverstone, and the Hungaroring was no exception as from 10th on the grid, he steadily worked his way up the order with a three-stop strategy and a consistent car for the race. It wasn’t a spectacular performance, in fact it was more lonely than anything, but 4th place and last of those on the lead lap was a good reward nonetheless.

4. Vaino Kimminen

Kimminen is definitely back in his groove after a terrible North American period with three consecutive top two finishes heading into the Hungarian Grand Prix, but this feat is shared by championship leader Alessandro Farina, who won last time out at Hockenheim. In the race, both drivers split their strategies and it seemed as if the three-stop strategy was the correct option as Kimminen looked set to challenge Farina for 3rd place in the closing stages, but he didn’t need to as the Italian ploughed into the broken down Sebastian Vettel exiting the fast turn 11. At certain points in the race, Kimminen looked at challenging Catharina Caracciola for 2nd, but ended up settling for the final place on the podium.

3. Catharina Caracciola

After two consecutive points finishes in a rapidly improving car, Caracciola was immediately on the pace with fastest times during Friday’s sessions and ended up with her second consecutive Hungarian Grand Prix pole position, curiously equalling the record of most poles at the circuit. Unlike last season where she seemed to attempt a first to last challenge, Caracciola kept the lead in the opening phase of the race before teammate Kevin Magnussen took the lead shortly before the first round of pitstops. Caracciola’s three-stop strategy dropped her behind Farina, but on fresh tyres, she caught and passed the Italian for 2nd at just the right moment on lap 66. Had she stayed behind, she might’ve been caught up in the Vettel-Farina smash. Instead, she went on to take her best career result.

2. Mason Taylor

The twists and turns of the Hungaroring were not expected to suit CBA Racing as their strengths lie in straight line performance, partly from aggressive ERS settings. Alas in qualifying, the highest CBA was down in 17th place with Taylor ahead of Tomas Gonzalez, but both cars were set up more for the race with Taylor setting the 5th quickest time during Sunday warm-up. Having qualifying way down the order, both CBA cars planned to stop just twice in a bid to gain track position, but overtaking proved particularly difficult with Valtteri Bottas holding up a huge train of cars at point. Despite the high tyre wear all round, Taylor was able to keep his tyre life in check and a relatively early second stop brought his race to life, jumping many cars including the Tornado of Charles Leclerc. Although the Monegasque got back ahead, Taylor still finished a hard-earned 7th.

1. Kevin Magnussen

FJR’s car philosophy really played into its hands at the Hungaroring with the high downforce circuit suiting the JB-18 chassis well, and with the top speed issues steadily being eradicated, FJR were the team to beat, topping every session leading up to the race. Although he didn’t start from pole position, Magnussen looked to be the quicker driver as he overtook teammate Caracciola for the lead and never looked back. A minor complication occurred in the form of the two-stopping Farina as after his first two stops, Magnussen lost track position to the Gojira driver, but on much fresher tyres, the Dane was able to overtake Farina on track and went on to take his first win since the 2016 Macau Grand Prix, and FJR’s first win in Hungary since 2001.

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