Formula 1®

DHL Fastest Lap Award: 2016 FORMULA 1 MAGYAR NAGYDÍJ

The Iceman delights the fans. Staged just outside Budapest, the 2016 FORMULA 1 MAGYAR NAGYDÍJ is traditionally a home race of sorts for Finnish world champion Kimi Räikkönen. Each year, thousands of the Ferrari star’s followers flock to the Hungaroring to euphorically cheer him on. This year, they got to see him make an amazing charge up the field and post the fastest lap of the race.

His position on the grid did not look good at all. Kimi Räikkönen was only 14th on the grid after a tough rain-affected qualifying on Saturday. He was facing an almost impossible task at the Hungaroring which is not known for its overtaking opportunities. The Iceman, however, did not let that put him off his stride. He started on the soft tires, gradually battled his way forwards and even had a chance of a podium over the final laps with the freshest tires of anyone in the Top Six.

Räikkönen had to pass Max Verstappen’s Red Bull in order to realize his chances and improve even further on what had already been a strong charge from P14 to P6. The two were already acquainted from Barcelona. There too, the Finn had chased the Dutchman to the end of the race – and had been unable to pass. Verstappen took his first GP win, Räikkönen finished second. It was a similar story in Hungary. The Red Bull driver defended his position strongly against the attacks of the faster Ferrari driver. Not even a contact could upset Verstappen. Räikkönen posted the fastest lap time of 1:23.086 minutes on Lap 52 while hunting down the Red Bull in front of him.

“My car was really good today and behaved well. We had the speed, but obviously, this is not the easiest place to overtake,” said Räikkönen. The Hungaroring is not conducive to overtaking and prevented him from translating his good form into an even better result. “After yesterday’s qualifying, unfortunately, we were not best placed to get the result we deserved today, and that’s the most disappointing thing. We achieved the maximum today. I’m disappointed, because I couldn’t get past Verstappen and catch the rest.”

This was the Iceman’s first win in the 2016 DHL Fastest Lap Award. Mercedes ace Nico Rosberg still leads the overall rankings with five fastest laps. Teammate and new world championship leader Lewis Hamilton is in second place (two fastest laps). Räikkönen is now in joint third place with three other drivers, all with one fastest lap to their names.

July is a hectic month for Formula 1. Four races in five weeks present logistics technicians with a major challenge. F1 will move directly from Hungary to Hockenheim for this weekend’s 2016 FORMULA 1 GERMAN GRAND PRIX at the Hockenheimring (July 29th - 31st), bringing a close to their summer marathon. 

Fastest race laps: 2016 FORMULA 1 MAGYAR NAGYDÍJ 

01 Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) 1:23.086 - on Lap 52 
02 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 1:23.670 - on Lap 60 
03 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:23.849 - on Lap 69 
04 Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 1:24.383 - on Lap 59 
05 Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) 1:24.608 - on Lap 60 
06 Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) 1:24.669 - on Lap 48 
07 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1:24.687 - on Lap 40 
08 Fernando Alonso (McLaren) 1:24.958 - on Lap 62 
09 Sergio Pérez (Force India) 1:25.021 - on Lap 65 
10 Carlos Sainz (Toro Rosso) 1:25.103 - on Lap 67 

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