After Hungaroring, Magnussen and DAMS close in on the title

Certain races reveal the true qualities of a driver and a team like the one on Saturday on the Hungaroring did for Kevin Magnussen who made a stunning comeback to second place on the podium. Thanks to another great drive the next day, the young Dane finished second again extending his lead in the drivers' championship to 36 points.

Race winner Nico Müller, second place Kevin Magnussen, third place Sergey Sirotkin

Photo by: DPPI

The deluge, which hit the hills around the Hungarian circuit at the start of the weekend, had a major influence on the outcome of the first heat. Nato aquaplaned off into a gravel trap like many of his rivals and did not set a time. Magnussen managed one flying lap but he had to abort his second one after yet another red flag: he ended up 16th on the grid.

But every cloud has a silver lining as he drove an incredible race in the rain. He quickly passed Vandoorne, who started from 11th place, and continued his exorable progress to the top of the time sheets.

Only Nico Muller who started on the front row was able to fight off the Danish tornado! Nato was caught up in the spray in the middle of the pack and could do no better than fifteenth.

The weather cleared up for Sunday and Magnussen confirmed his stranglehold by setting pole in front of his two main rivals, Da Costa and Vandoorne. His French team-mate after a promising first run (provisional 8th time), was unable to get the best out of his second set of tyres and was in 17th spot on the grid.

The Danish driver made a perfect start and led for the first part of the race. However, he was unable to hold off Da Costa who was on an out-of-sync strategy. Kevin, though, fended off the attacks of Vandoorne until the flag and his second place, both in terms of points and from a psychological point of view, is a big step towards his objective this season - the title! Behind, Nato drove an excellent race and fought his way up from 17th to 11th keeping up a searing pace and holding off a future F1 driver, Sirotkin. Although he didn't score any points it was an encouraging performance.

François Sicard, Managing Director: "It's been a great weekend for us in terms of points, and I'd like to offer the whole team my heartiest congratulations. We've still got work to do in view of the final rounds. Kevin has made a big impression, above all on Saturday, when he showed that he's the Man in the championship: he was exceptional. Norman also proved his potential in the races; he just has to get the monkey off his back in qualifying. I hope he'll do it at his home race on the Paul Ricard circuit."

Kevin Magnussen: "My thanks to the team who did a great job on the car. On Saturday it wasn't easy but I was able to drive a good race and fight my way to the front. Although I could have won if I'd qualified better I've scored a big haul of points for the championship. I'm a bit disappointed at missing out on victory on Sunday, but our aim is the title and we've made a big step towards it. Above all, we mustn't relax our efforts."

Norman Nato: "Despite the results this weekend I just want to see the bright side of things. Saturday's race was very difficult as I started from the back end of the field. I'm happy with the pace I set during the heat on Sunday. I must qualify better; it'll make life a lot easier! I hope that I'll achieve this at the next round in France to reward the team's work."

DAMS