The Hungarian Grand Prix is notorious for its unexpected results and today, it most certainly lived up to its past. Through all of the penalties and accidents I could barely keep track of which driver was where in the ranks. Aside from the thrills, there were also several drivers that deserve recognition for the race they just drove. Max Verstappen got his best ever finish in fourth, Daniel Ricciardo performed some incredible passes to get himself to third and Sebastian Vettel took Ferrari all the way to the top.
Despite all of
these incredible displays of skill, in my opinion the title of Star Driver of the Hungarian Grand Prix goes to Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat. The young Russian took his Red Bull to second place in today’s race, making Daniil Kvyat the second youngest podium sitter ever. This is especially deserving for the driver and the team as it’s no secret Red Bull have been struggling for results. Despite this, it was clear that Red Bull were feeling more comfortable at this track from the practice sessions where they were setting some great lap times.
Daniil Kvyat carried this success through to his qualifying where he managed to get his car into 7th place. This in itself is quite accomplishment for Kvyat but he went on to prove his skill as he participate in an incredible race successfully displaying his consistency; a highly sought after quality in a racing driver. During the Grand Prix the Red Bull driver fought for his points. He did this successfully as he did indeed manage to stay in the middle of the points for a majority of the race. However, not too far from the end of the race Rosberg suffered a puncture, pushing Kvyat up to second place. Some people may dub this as pure luck or coincidence. Being in the right place at the right time. This is indeed the case. However, Kvyat has little experience of being this high in the positions and hence, I believe it is quite the accomplishment that he kept his cool and position allowing him to bring home 18 points to his struggling team.
Not only did he finish in second but he did so with quite a significant gap between himself and Ricciardo in third. The gap was big enough for him to take his 10 second penalty and retain his position. This second place finish is the best result ever obtained by a Russian driver in Formula 1. Kvyat showed maturity in his driving style, illustrating that you don’t need years of experience behind you to effective and safe decisions on track. I’d like to congratulate him on his first podium and his courtesy upon accepting his trophy, dedicating this career defining moment to the late Jules Bianchi.
Images courtesy of Red Bull Racing
