Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat said that he had the pace to finish in the points on Sunday, but the three-place grid penalty handed to him for holding up Williams Martini Racing driver Lance Stroll during qualifying on Saturday, made that impossible.
“It was a great race where we were not rewarded, unfortunately.
“We had good pace out there today and I think that, without the grid penalty, we could’ve been fighting for points.”
Following that penalty, the Russian is now just one point away from receiving a race ban, having racked up ten points on his license so far this season. That is more points than he has scored in the driver’s championship, over any year he has driven for the Faenza based outfit.
Despite finishing outside of the points on Sunday however, Kvyat was pleased to have made up five places, having started way down the order in sixteenth place on the grid, at a track where it is notoriously difficult to overtake.
“On the positive side, it’s good to bring the car home and to gain five positions at a track like the Hungaroring isn’t bad – I enjoyed it out there today!”
It has been a difficult and frustrating season for the Russian so far, who will perhaps have more to think about that others over the summer break.
“I’m now looking forward to the summer break and having some time off before focusing again to get the best out of the second half of the season!”
