The mood was tense in our garage prior to the start of Friday free practice at the Hungaroring, with several questions waiting to be answered. Had we turned things around after making heavy weather of the previous trio of races? Would all that hard work in the factory pay off? Would the positive signs seen in the simulator translate to on-track performance? Would a track that was sizzling at almost 60 degrees Celsius, the hottest temperature seen at a Grand Prix since this same event back in 2018 allow for that performance?
Answer? Yes! Yuki was eighth fastest in the first session, while Daniel occupied the same position in the second one. Yuki’s car required a suspension set-up change in FP2 which meant he didn’t do many laps, but the mood was buoyant going into Saturday and with good cause as things turned out.
To say conditions were unusual for Qualifying would be an understatement: it was raining for the first phase, but the hot weather ensured the track was still dry enough for slicks. Timing when to send the cars out on track was the key and Daniel, a past winner of this event, outpaced all 19 other drivers in Q1 before going P9 in Q2, one place behind Yuki. Our Japanese driver was on a blisteringly fast lap in the shoot-out for the top 10 places on the grid, but it came to a sudden and dramatic end, when he got one wheel on the wet grass at the exit to Turn 5, totally destroying his VCARB 01. Truth be told, the subsequent red flag also spoilt Daniel’s chances of grabbing a higher grid slot. Thanks to the sport’s incredibly high safety standards, Yuki was able to walk away unscathed from this 68 g impact and would therefore start the Grand Prix from tenth, one place behind Daniel.
It was all hands on deck, as the mechanics from both sides of the garage worked overnight and on Sunday morning to rebuild Yuki’s car around a new chassis. In this situation, there’s always a slight concern that the “new” car won’t perform in quite the same way, but any doubts were soon dismissed as Yuki showed great pace right from the early stages of the Grand Prix. Both cars dropped a place off the start line, losing out to cars that had started on softer tyres, but we knew they could regain the advantage at the first pit stop. Unfortunately, we got it wrong with Daniel, bringing him for an early tyre change, reacting to pit stops from those around him on softer rubber. Through no fault of his own, he was now running in traffic and couldn’t make use of his undoubted rapid pace, which he could finally demonstrate in clear air after his second stop. By then it was too late. Very frustrating for us, but especially so for Daniel, as he was definitely on course for points. His race was compromised and he came home twelfth.
As for Yuki, our Team Principal Laurent Mekies described his race as “sensational.” Like the rest of the field, he was due to change tyres twice, but so good was his tyre management, we realised we could leave him out on track with just one visit to the pits, the only driver to one-stop. And that’s what delivered his excellent ninth place finish, with only the top four teams seeing the chequered flag before him.
It’s nearly time for the summer break, but as you will know from your school days, the toughest exam often comes just before the holidays and before we can relax for a fortnight, there’s this coming Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix to deal with. That means a visit to Spa-Francorchamps, the longest track on the calendar and a stern test of man and machine. We can’t wait.
