Daniil Kvyat was unable to follow his amazing podium finish in the German Grand Prix with another top ten finish at the Hungaroring on Sunday, with the Russian dropping down the order in the closing laps after his tyres hit the proverbial cliff.
The Scuderia Toro Rosso driver was fighting for the final point only to fall away over the final fifteen laps to finish down in fifteenth, falling behind team-mate Alexander Albon, Renault F1 Team‘s Nico Hülkenberg, plus the battling due of Kevin Magnussen (Haas F1 Team) and Daniel Ricciardo (Renault) in that time.
Kvyat enjoyed the first battle with Albon that saw the Russian come out on top, but it was far less enjoyable for him second time around with his tyres in a much worse state to that of his team-mate. He felt his early stop ultimately cost him as he fell away from the top ten battle.
“It was an interesting race and I think it could have been a good day, but unfortunately, we pitted too early and my tyres hit the cliff with around 15 laps to go,” said Kvyat. “Once you hit the cliff it’s game over, so the strategy didn’t work out for us today.
“It was a nice battle with Alex when we were both on the same tyres, I managed to overtake him and it was very good fun, but after that in the last few laps when my tyres were completely gone it wasn’t enjoyable anymore.”
Never-the-less, Kvyat was pleased with how he drove during the race in Hungary, feeling he got as much out of the STR14 as he could have, but it was just a shame that he could not break into the top ten in the final race before the summer break.
“Having said that, I’m quite happy with the way I drove, and I got everything I could out of the car,” said the Russian. “It’s just a shame we weren’t able to bring home the points.”
