Hungarian Grand Prix- Red Bull Racing Report #RBR #F1 #HungarianGP
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DANIEL RICCIARDO, Position: 3rd, 1:20.280 (Practice 3 – P3, 1:20.726)
“When I saw Fernando had spun in Turn 9, I was furious as I was up on my lap by quite a bit and when I heard Nico’s pole time, then the time was definitely there. How affected him or Lewis were (by the yellow flag), I don’t know, but I think we had better than a 19.9 in us. We don’t get many opportunities to get a pole from Mercedes, but I thought today there was definitely a chance. But, the positives are that we were quick, we had good pace and I was happy with the car. I was happy with it yesterday and I think we found even more speed for today, so hopefully that means good things for tomorrow. It was fun with the changing conditions, I really enjoyed it; let’s say I embraced the conditions from the start. It was crazy, there was aquaplaning, spray, it was really hairy and the adrenalin was flowing. It was drying very fast and we had to adapt and be on it, it was cool.”
MAX VERSTAPPEN, Position: 4th, 1:20.557 (Practice 3 – P2 1:20.263)
“It was a bit of a shame in Q3 because everyone was backing off so I also had to back off to get a free lap. If you are within two or three seconds of the car in front you will lose lap time, in qualifying especially you don’t want that. I was very unfortunate to miss the line by 0.8 seconds, but there was a yellow flag anyway so I couldn’t improve. We can be very happy with 4th after a very tricky qualifying. It’s always a bit of a gamble when conditions are like that so you can’t really show everything you’ve got. We had the speed to qualify higher, I feel, but today it wasn’t to be. During the race I hope we can go a few steps further and be close to Mercedes, the pace is there for sure and think it will be very exciting. If they have some issues with degradation then there will be opportunities. In FP3 the car was very comfortable, if we can keep the same set up in the race tomorrow I can hopefully fight hard.”
CHRISTIAN HORNER, Team Principal: “It’s great to have locked out the second row of the grid after a reasonably tense and extended qualifying with mixed conditions. Daniel and Max both demonstrated good pace throughout the three sessions and it was unfortunate that the incident at the end of Q3 and the subsequent yellow flag prevented a final last minute show down. The Hungaroring has offered us good opportunities in the past and we hope tomorrow to be able to again take advantage of the strong pace we have showed so far.”
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Road and Track
We ask some of the RBR people who make our team tick to pick out their favourite moments and machines in motor sport and on the road. This time it’s Daniel’s No.1 Mechanic, Chris Gent.
1. What was the first race you ever attended?
It would have been the RAC rally. The year? I have no idea, probably the mid-1990s, when I was about 16 or 17. Actually, the first was a while before that. My stepfather used to race Formula 3, so I would have gone to that when I was about 10 years old. But I can’t remember where it was.
2. What’s the most beautiful road car ever made so far?
It’s got to be a Ferrari. I’d say the F40. Great car, a real classic and probably the best Ferrari.
3. What’s the most beautiful race car ever made so far?
I’d have to say one of ours. I think RB5 or RB6. That era was the start of something and they were wonderful.
4. What was the first road car you owned and was it any good?
It was a Mark II Vauxhall Astra. I was 17 years old. It was a good car and I had a lot of fun in it. I passed my test two days after my birthday and got the car but I ended up writing it off.
5. What car do you own now and why did you buy it?
I have a Volkswagen California (camper van). I like it for the looks and it’s very practical for the family for days out. Also, it was something I’d always wanted.
6. When you were first getting into motorsport who were you a fan of?
Rallying was my big thing. I did do circuit racing to start with but rallying took over and I was a big fan of Colin McRae and the guys of that era, when rallying was a massive thing. I think it was because of the slightly wild reputation that McRae had that I was a fan. He was a terrific all-rounder as well.
7. What’s your favourite circuit, in F1 or outside the sport?
Brazil. Because it’s at the end of the year and it’s been a championship-winning circuit for us. There’s an end-of-term feeling about it and the atmosphere in Sao Paulo is always good as well.
8. Name one thing in motor sport you would like to achieve but haven’t – you’re not allowed to say another title.
Something different. Le Mans, maybe, or the Dakar. I think with Dakar, as a mechanic, you’re involved as much as the driver, it’s such a massive thing.
9. What’s the one that got away across your career?
The first year we really challenged for the championship, with RB5 in 2009. It was so close.
10. If you had an Aston Martin for a day where would you take it and who would you be with?
I would take my sister I think. She’s a big fan of Astons and did one of those driving experience things where you get to drive one. She has done a few track days so I think she’d enjoy that. It would have to be somewhere in Europe – France or Germany maybe. It would have to be open roads though. You can’t really use it on country roads because you can’t really open it up. So it would have to be somewhere where you drive it more to its potential, use more of the speed and enjoy it.