Ferrari’s strategy for Kimi Raikkonen in the 2018 Formula 1 Hungarian GP helped the Finn to push on the Pirelli tyres, something which the drivers haven’t been able to in recent times.
Ferrari stopped Raikkonen early in the race and gave him the freedom to push on with the plan for another pit stop. So much so, Raikkonen caught up with the top runners, especially Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel, even after his two stop.
He was in the position to get ahead of Vettel when they were behind Bottas but the German insisted he had the pace to stretch, if he could clear Bottas for second. Eventually, both were able to get by to finish second and third respectively.
Even though Raikkonen lost a place to Vettel at the start, but he managed to regain his podium place at the expense of Bottas. The Finn was particularly happy to push in the race, especially at a time when tyre conservation is key.
“I think we had very good speed but obviously what happened in qualifying and at the start [of the race], we never really were able to use our speed when we were on our own, catching-up,” he started.
“But apart from that, you are kind of offset in the position and you know you are going to get stuck once you catch up with them. Obviously it worked out kind of OK. At the beginning I was giving a bit of a hard time to Valtteri.
“Then Seb [as well], so they [Mercedes] never had freedom to slow down and take care of their tyres. And then there was an issue [with Bottas] and it [the strategy] paid off, so we both gained one place. Apart from that it was fun to push.
“Because the tyres – at least on my side – as I stopped twice, they lasted well and I was able to go full speed. So that was fun. But the end result doesn’t really feel like a happy finish. As a team we scored decent points and I think we have a few things to improve.
“I’m sure we have all the speed to be higher up – but we need to tidy up a few things. I think which way you look it depends if it’s good or bad. I don’t think it’s a disaster but it could be better, for sure.”
The Finn took a record-breaking ninth podium at Hungaroring and scored his sixth straight podium of the 2018 season. He sits third in the standings with 146 points behind Lewis Hamilton and Vettel.