Saturday: Button at the right moment, Magnussen in the wrong place for McLaren F1
Victim of the rain in the first corner in Q3, Kevin Magnussen was unable to take advantage of his competitive McLaren during the qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix in Formula 1. His teammate, however, found his rhythm and set the 7th fastest time.
Jenson Button (n°22) – 12th and 7th
While the Briton’s weekend was difficult, everything fell into place at the best moment: « Until qualifying, I felt as if it was raining on me all weekend! Then, this afternoon, the car felt much better than it had in all the other sessions. I think it’s the “never give up” attitude of the guys in the garage: we’ve been playing with the settings all weekend, it’s better now, but there’s always more work to do. »
« In Q2, we had a decent pace and I think we performed well to take 7th place, just a few hundredths off 6th position. 7th is fundamentally where we are. We don’t know what the weather will be like. In the dry, our pace on long runs seems good, but all the guys in front are very fast, so we’ll see what we can do. I’m on the clean side of the grid, so I hope for a good start, » he explains.
Kevin Magnussen (No. 20) – 8th and 10th [will start from the pit lane]
In a good position to deliver another strong performance, the Dane fell victim to the rain in Q3: « I just hit the wall. It was wetter in the first corner than in the last. I came out of the last corner and there was full grip. I braked where you normally brake but that wasn’t where you should have braked this time. Physically, I’m fine, but I’m sad I couldn’t do better. »
He shows determination, despite everything: « I am especially disappointed for the team, I think we could have achieved another good result in qualifying. Now, we have to keep going: starting from the pit lane will make my life difficult, but I am determined to have a solid race. I am just very disappointed to have made this mistake. »
