HUNGAR GAMES

A tough day at the Hungaroring office. P19 for Pascal and P21 for Rio was the maximum today, but we did leave a Sauber in our wake

The Race, 2016 Formula 1 Magyar Nagydij
Sunday 24 July
Hungaroring, Budapest
Pascal MRT05-01 P19 1:26.524
Rio MRT05-02 P21 1:27.791

 
Pascal Wehrlein:
Pascal, blisteringly hot conditions today. How tough was that race for you?
“It was a very difficult race today. It was clear very early on in the weekend that this was
not ‘our’ track and I think that showed today. I got a really good start and climbed to
17th position, and then up to 16th, but we didn’t have the car to stay there or fight for
more. I think it’s something positive that, even with all those factors, we still managed to
keep a Sauber behind us, but still disappointing overall.”
Two positives on the horizon though – your home race and the summer break?
“Yes, next week will be very busy and exciting for me. With all of that going on I’ll put
all thoughts of the break to one side for now, because I want to fight hard at the
Hockenheimring and enjoy the experience of my first home race in F1. I really hope we
will find that our car is better suited to that track, as it’s one I’ve driven many times and
I really love racing there.”

 
Rio Haryanto:
Rio, a difficult race today?
“Yes, once again we split the strategies between Pascal and me, to give us the best
chance of a result. It didn’t work out for either of us. There was only one retirement
today and our performance was the maximum from the car here.”
Just the one stop for you today?
“I was doing quite well at the start of the race and it seemed like we would be able to
make a one-stop work. On the medium tyre the pace was obviously not that good, but
the degradation was much less than on the softs and it’s always good to try something
different to the other cars around us, just in case we can make it work.”

 
A word with Dave Ryan, Racing Director:
“Today’s race was every bit the challenge we anticipated. We tried different strategies
again to cover all bases, but with only one retirement, that really was the best result
possible. Both drivers did a good job to optimise their respective strategies, just in case
the race came to us, and Pascal did well to keep Ericsson behind until the end of the
race. A quick turnaround and on to Germany now, for Pascal’s home race and that of
our powertrain partner Mercedes HPP. Hopefully we can put on a good performance
there.”