The Red Bull weekend in Hungary was already going pretty badly when Max Verstappen crashed his RB16 against the wall of Turn 12 … before the race started. But some frantic grill repairs allowed Verstappen to start with just a few free seconds, before the Dutchman split the Mercedes in the race and claimed P2, leaving team principal Christian Horner to be commended for the work of both his driver, and its mechanics had.
Red Bull had suffered a grim build-up until Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix, with Alex Albon failing to break out of Q2 in qualifying, while Verstappen, last year’s polesitter, was only able to drive P7 on the grid. Then, when Verstappen made his way to the grid on the greasy track before the start, he lost the car upon entering Turn 12, causing damage to the left front thrust and track bars.
With only 20 minutes to repair the damage, the Verstappen crew rose to the task, with F1 Motorsport Managing Director Ross Brawn watching the side of the track, calling in the repair job “a achievement as extraordinary and impressive as anything. ” Have I ever seen, “a sentiment with which Horner seemed to agree …
“The second feels like a victory,” says Verstappen as he recovers from the crash before the podium race.
“The mechanics of that car, Leroy, Ollie, all the guys have done an amazing job today to turn it around in 20 minutes,” Horner said after the race. “It is something that would generally take an hour and a half. You know he owes them that result today.
“[Max] he was going to go into the pits because he thought it was all over, “Horner added.”[But] We could see on television that it was mainly the push rod and the track rod.
“If that had been a wishbone, the steering rack, even a vertical position, the game is over, so he’s very lucky in that regard.” But as I say, I think we completed it with 25 seconds left, the wheel continued so everything was fine, and the sweat dripped from the boys. Seeing them working was incredible ”.
Crash to P2: Max Verstappen’s incredible Hungarian GP recovery
Verstappen paid off his team handsomely, enjoying a scorching pitch off the line early to climb from P7 to P3, before jumping the Racing Point of Lance Stroll at the first pit stops to take a second place he held to the flag. , thwarting Mercedes’ attempts to stop Valtteri Bottas three times to get ahead of Verstappen in the process.
Teammate Alex Albon completed Red Bull’s strong recovery, climbing from 13th on the grid to pass Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari for fifth place in the final stages of the race.
READ MORE: “There is a lot of work ahead”, says Leclerc after a mixed day for Ferrari
“Max redeemed himself,” Horner said. “We were on the ropes at quali and then to bounce back, get P2 here, split the Mercedes, I think last night I would have bitten your right arm for that.”
“Max is removing the wheels [the car] and he had a decent pace in the race, “added Horner,” Alex also, when he went outdoors, he’s doing the lap times, so I think there are a lot of positives that we can draw from today’s race, a lot of information that we have now I have to use to bridge that gap with Mercedes. “
Hungarian GP: Verstappen thanks Red Bull mechanics
