Liam Lawson could ascertain that he can hold Max Verstappen behind in F1 Hungarian GP, as Isack Hadjar wished gravel hit was a bigger problem in his race.
Despite losing out to Red Bull’s Verstappen early in F1 Hungarian GP, Visa Cash App RB’s Lawson finished in front of him by the end of it in eighth. He couldn’t catch the likes of Gabriel Bortoleto and Lance Stroll, but scored crucial points when immediate rivals eked out more.
With Hadjar unable to score, it kept Visa Cash App RB in touch with their rivals on the points table. For Lawson, it was another points finish to add to couple other in the last few races. It was a tricky grand prix strategy wise, but he got the one stop to work without hitting traffic.
“Yeah, I’m pretty happy with the race,” said Lawson to media. “The car’s been very good recently, especially in the race. Honestly, our long run pace has been very, very good. As of right now, we have a decent handle on the tyres, which is very tough, honestly, this year in the race. Yeah, ultimate pace, I think, had we started a bit higher up, we honestly had the potential to finish higher as well.
“So, I think that’s probably the learning from the weekend. But happy with the race. We did [get the strategy right], yeah. It was tough. Just finding a gap as well to box, I think. In the car, you feel like you want to just undercut the guys in front of you, but obviously, there’s traffic that you’re going to come out into, and around a small track like this, it’s quite hard.
“So, yeah, I think we did a good job. The speed was good, especially towards the end of each stint. I think that’s where we were coming on strong. So yeah, very happy,” summed up Lawson, who was also pleased to keep Verstappen at bay. In fact, he understood that it won’t be easy for the Dutchman to pass after assessing how he ran in the first stint when Red Bull’s pace dried up.
By the time Verstappen caught up with Lawson, his pace diminished and despite couple of attempts, he didn’t have enough delta to pass. “A little bit, because, I mean, at the start he was very fast,” said Lawson. “But I also saw the first stint of the race, he was very quick at the start, he got me in the first lap. And then I think they struggled more with tyres.
“So, I was kind of hoping it would be the same, so I knew if I kept him there for a few laps, maybe he would start to drop, and I think that’s more or less what happened.” At the same time, Hadjar had two key moments which denied him a chance to score. He got stuck behind Oliver Bearman at the start and later, he had Andrea Kimi Antonelli in front of him.
The first stint was crazy after he was hit by the gravel which popped up after Bearman ran over it. Even though his hand was sore, Hadjar wished his pain was a larger problem, but it wasn’t to be. Being stuck behind Bearman and Antonelli, ultimately cost him chance to score. The Italian did the one stop and used the track’s advantage to his strength to keep the Frenchman at bay.
“We had no tyre advantage, so it was impossible to overtake, I tried my best behind him but didn’t get him,” said Hadjar to media. “So, I was screwed behind Ollie and once he pitted, I tried to extend the pace little bit and the pace came back a second per lap and I was like ‘okay, this is good’. It is a shame because I knew I was going to have to pit to cover the cars from behind.
“The second half of the race was very-very strong, the pace was very good, we nearly got Kimi at the end. And no, I wish it [gravel hit] was the problem, but no it was not. Yeah [it was hurting], but honestly, it was drivable and I could focus. I have had [like this] but not this amount and at this speed. It was definitely [distracting], I hope they get rid of the stone. It is a bit sore, a bit blue but it is okay.”
Here’s Max Verstappen on Liam Lawson
