One step away from the points zone
Finishing in the points zone at the Dutch Grand Prix seemed almost a feat for Nico Hulkenbergwho pitted early on lap 14 to fit the hard tyres and then managed them with a long stint that lasted until lap 57. A courageous move by the German driver, but insufficient to defend himself from the return of Pierre Gasly and Fernando Alonso, with an efficient performance that almost gave him a top-10 finish, finishing instead 11th.
Disappointment remains
A points zone therefore almost reached with a different move, but which does not calm the frustration of the #27 of Haas: “I feel a little disappointed – he declared – after a very difficult weekend we managed to get in two significant sessions. It looked very promising for most of the race, but I don’t think we got the strategy rightor maybe we were too aggressive with the pitstop, but I have to go back to understand better. In the end, Gasly and Alonso had much fresher tyres and so I couldn’t react. It’s a shame because maybe a point or two would have been possiblebut overall it was a good recovery from what was a difficult weekend.”
There is no shortage of positive points
In a complex weekend for Haas also in other non-sporting aspects, Zandvoort did not even smile on Kevin Magnussen, 18th and forced to start from the pit lane after replacing the control unit and battery: “Starting from the pit lane we knew it would be a difficult race, and so it was – he added – the pace seemed good to me from where I was, although I have yet to see everyone’s times, but I felt strong when I was fighting with the others. I had an off-track run on the first or second lap, which cost me a position, and then I was stuck in traffic after the first stop. I don’t think we had a bad pace and, even though we didn’t get great results, the pace was good. Not great, but not bad. Hopefully the next races, with more medium levels of downforce, will be good for us.”
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