MAUGERSUTTON1 AUGUST 2019 AUTOSPORT.COM 25GERMAN GP RACE CENTREAlbon bags
best F1 finish
Haas ‘got lucky’ with collision
London-born Thai driver Alex Albon
claimed his best Formula 1 finish in
sixth place after an outstanding race,
surviving a late clash that put Red Bull
stablemate Pierre Gasly out of the GP.
Albon started 16th after his Q1 run was
compromised by a traffic jam before he
started his lap. He climbed into the points
after the first restart and remained a strong
points contender throughout, following
Verstappen’s strategy and running as high
as fourth before being jumped by team-
mate Daniil Kvyat and Lance Stroll, who
gambled on an early switch to slicks.
The clash with Gasly happened on lap 62
as they disputed sixth place, with Albon
moving right to cover Gasly as he also
moved that way to attempt a pass.Romain Grosjean said he and Haas team-mate Kevin Magnussen
“got lucky” after making wheel-to-wheel contact while disputing
ninth place in the closing stages of the race.
Grosjean and Magnussen finished seventh and eighth despite the
clash, which happened on lap 51. Magnussen ran wide exiting the first
corner, allowing Grosjean to close up on him and attack using the DRS
on the run to the Turn 6 hairpin. Grosjean had the outside line and
turned in while Magnussen went a little deep, resulting in contact. Each
complained over the radio, with Grosjean saying “my god, this guy is
incredible, he will never learn” and Magnussen asking “what is he doing?”.
Because Grosjean was faster, and to avoid the risk of another clash,
team principal Gunther Steiner issued an order forcing Magnussen
to let Grosjean past.Daniil Kvyat’s first Formula 1
podium since April 2016 came
within 24 hours of the birth
of his first child.
The Russian confirmed
that his daughter had been
born overnight after he
finished a shock third in the
German Grand Prix thanks
to an inspired call to pit for
slicks while running ninth
at the end of lap 45. This
allowed him to jump to
third and, although hewas passed by the charging
Sebastian Vettel late on, he
jumped fellow slick gambler
Lance Stroll to secure the
final podium place.
“The first time I chose to
go on slicks, it was the wrong
moment,” said Kvyat. “The
second time I think it was the
perfect moment and when I
saw that others didn’t pit for
slicks when I did, I thought
that’s our moment and I was
right and I exited in P3.”New dad Kvyat’s
podium return
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