Haas F1 Team earned its second double-points result of the season in the Hungarian Grand Prix Sunday with drivers Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean finishing seventh and 10th, respectively, in the 12th round of the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship.
The seven points from the collective result of Magnussen and Grosjean at the Hungaroring in Budapest allowed Haas F1 Team to take sole possession of fifth in the constructors’ standings. The American squad now has 66 points and trails fourth-place Renault by 16 points, but has a seven-point advantage over sixth-place Force India, a 14-point gap to seventh-place McLaren and a 38-point margin on eighth-place Toro Rosso. Magnussen is eighth in the driver’s championship with 45 points and Grosjean is 14th with 21 points.
Both Haas F1 Team drivers employed a one-stop strategy in the 70-lap race around the 4.381-kilometer (2.722-mile), 14-turn circuit. Grosjean, who started 10th, was the first to pit, bringing his Haas VF-18 in for service on lap 29, swapping his Pirelli P Zero Purple ultrasoft tires for Yellow softs. Magnussen, who started just ahead of Grosjean in ninth, followed on lap 31 and emulated the tire choice of his teammate.
Grosjean dropped to 12th after the stop and Magnussen, who drove to as high as sixth at the start of the race, fell to ninth. But as pit stops began to cycle through, Magnussen rose to seventh and Grosjean climbed to 11th.
When Stoffel Vandoorne was forced to retire his McLaren after 49 laps, Grosjean inherited 10th.
For the remainder of the race, Magnussen and Grosjean raced comfortably in seventh and 10th, respectively, with sizeable margins between the cars ahead and behind each of them. The finish extended Haas F1 Team’s streak of point-paying results to five, dating back to the June 24 French Grand Prix.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix by 17.123 seconds over Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. The win was the 67th of Hamilton’s Formula One career, his fifth this season and his sixth at the Hungaroring. The victory allowed Hamilton to widen his lead in the championship standings over Vettel, his nearest pursuer. Hamilton came into the Hungarian Grand Prix with a 17-point margin on Vettel and leaves with a 24-point advantage.
Nine races remain on the 2018 Formula One schedule, with the next event coming in four weeks with the Belgian Grand Prix Aug. 24-26 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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