Hungarian GP | Sainz and Raikkonen star in the midfield battle
Impressive drives by the Spaniard and Finn saw them finish P5 and P7 respectively.
For the fourth time in the last five races, Carlos Sainz finished in the top 6. An outstanding start from 8th on the grid allowed him to pass Gasly and Norris on the run down to T1. Bottas’ wing damage and early stop meant the Spaniard up to P5 in the early stages.
Despite intense pressure from Gasly in the second stint, he held on to 5th to record another great result. Sainz is now 27 points clear of Raikkonen in the championship standings in the battle to be ‘best of the rest.’
Carlos Sainz – P5
“Yes! This time, P5 tastes much better than the P5 of seven days ago. We executed the race perfectly. We had a great start, great pace and, in a fairly normal race, we managed to score a top-five finish. Holding Gasly behind in the second stint was intense, but I controlled the pace to counter-attack any opportunity he had to get closer and managed to finish ahead of a Red Bull on pure pace.’’
Yes! Back to back P5s! Great start, good pace and smooth tyre management. Holding Gasly was intense (I didn’t see it on TV either, but trust me!). This P5 is the perfect way to head into the break. Thank you and congratulations to the whole team. Enjoy a very well deserved rest. pic.twitter.com/E9sxXfrhs9
— Carlos Sainz (@Carlossainz55) August 4, 2019
🎙️ Carlos to the team after his P5 finish: "Thanks guys! Wohooo! Thanks for the first half of the season. We're on a run!" 👊#HungarianGP 🇭🇺 pic.twitter.com/1s1SjnIW49
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) August 4, 2019
It was another excellent showing from Kimi Raikkonen this weekend. After starting 10th, he overtook Grosjean and Gasly on the opening lap. Just like Sainz, he benefitted from Bottas’ problems to be P7.
The Finn remained there after the stops – but it wasn’t straightforward. He got undercut by Gasly but maintained 7th thanks to Gasly problems. Raikkonen then had to fend off his Finnish compatriot in the closing laps to keep 7th. For the eighth time in twelve races this year, he scored points.
Kimi Raikkonen – P7
“The car behaved great, I did a good job in the first lap and stayed out of trouble and then we had even better speed than the McLaren, but it was impossible to overtake. We lost one position at the pit stop but also gained one, so that’s a bit of a shame, but overall I can’t be too disappointed. I’ll take the points and move on.
Chequered flag! 🏁 Great drive from Kimi (P7), bringing home 6 more points. 🕺🏼 An unfortunate race for Antonio (P18), who did everything he could. #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/vgZMhx4XZP
— Alfa Romeo Racing (@alfaromeoracing) August 4, 2019
