Pirelli’s Motorsport Director, Mario Isola, was surprised by the performance of Max Verstappen at the 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen started his race down in 10th after a technical issue ruined his qualification. Moving up from P10, Verstappen came to win the Hungarian GP followed by a strategic blunder by Ferrari.
After overtaking Charles Leclerc on lap 41, the Dutch had a ‘little’ spin in the following lap. However, the Championship leader would come back and overtake his title rival once again.
The Dutch would go on to lead the race and clinch his 8th victory of the season. He now leads the Championship by 80 points.
Isola stunned by Max Verstappen’s performance
Pirelli’s Motorsport Director, Mario Isola was left stunned by Max Verstappen’s drive to victory:
“I will say Verstappen [surprised me the most].”
“Because of the pace, not the strategy, because [it was] the strategy that was indicated by us, so it was confirmed that it was a good strategy. [I say Verstappen] in terms of strength in the performance, that he was able to win the race after spinning and starting from 10th position.”
“It doesn’t happen every day,”
added Isola.
How Verstappen’s spin didn’t impact his race?
When asked about the spin Max Verstappen encountered on lap 42, Isola commented:
“The spin was quite quick,” he commented.
“So I believe that [the] tyres were still in a sort of rotation, [rather than creating] a proper flat spot. He was not complaining about vibrations on the radio, so it means that the tyres were [holding up] quite well.”
Max Verstappen is comfortably in the lead as we head into the summer break. The defending champion holds a firm 80-point lead on rival Charles Leclerc.
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