So near yet so far for unlucky Laine in Budapest

Matias Laine

Photo by: GP3 Media Service

Matias Laine led for much of the way in this morning’s second GP3 Series race at the Hungaroring, but the Finn’s tyre gamble ultimately failed to pay. The MW Arden driver made a good start and opted to do the whole race on wet tyres, although the circuit started to dry shortly after half-distance – a detail that ultimately proved decisive. Laine successfully resisted fierce pressure from Conor Daly and, subsequently, Aaro Vainio, but by the race’s end dry tyres were worth more than 10 seconds per lap and the Finn was powerless to resist as a clutch of slick-shod rivals swept through. Having led for the first 14 laps, he slipped to seventh during the final two.

Team-mate David Fumanelli crashed out shortly after the start, while Mitch Evans spun at Turn One after contact with another car punctured his left rear tyre. He pitted immediately for slicks, but it was a little too early to make the switch and he spun again en route to finishing 21st, netting fastest lap right at the end.

Matias Laine :

“I promised yesterday that I would pass David at the start and I got away really well when the lights changed. The track was drying very quickly, so the race became a bit of a lottery and it’s always difficult to gamble on a tyre change when you’re leading. It would obviously have been better for me if the race had been slightly shorter, but leading gave me good experience and I had to resist strong pressure, too. I look forward to returning to action at Spa. If I can fine-tune my qualifying performances, I should be able to lead more races very soon.”

Mitch Evans:

“I made a decent start, but da Costa edged me wide and Abt clippd my left rear, which immediately deflated and caused me to spin. I had to pit anyway, so it made sense to switch to slicks, even though conditions weren’t really suitable at that stage. This result is obviously disappointing, but it hasn’t done too much harm to my championship chances and it feels nice to be going into the summer break with a points advantage.”

David Fumanelli :

“My start was OK, if not as good as Matias’s, but I simply lost control after a couple of corners and that was that. It was my fault, so I have to apologise to the team, but I come away from this weekend knowing that my pace was better than the results suggest.”

Source: MW Arden