How Arvid Lindblad's 'smell' aided Liam Lawson in Hungarian GP

Arvid Lindblad has described how his "smell" for a two-stop strategy in the Hungarian GP aided team-mate Liam Lawson's eighth-place finish. 

Lawson finished best of the rest at the Hungaroring, and the highest-placed non-McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes, or Ferrari driver after switching his strategy from a planned one-stopper to a two-stopper.

This was to cover off the Audi of Nico Hulkenberg, who was engaged in a fierce battle with both Lawson and Lindblad, who had triggered a third stint, although Lindblad remained on the one-stop, along with Hulkenberg's team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto. 

Whilst Lawson and Hulkenberg pulled clear on their fresher tyres, Lindblad and Bortoleto dropped back, but the Briton was still able to score points in 10th place, marking the seventh consecutive weekend he has done so, after scoring one point in the Canadian GP Sprint before points in the six grands prix since.

Reflecting on the race, Lindblad described how he could "smell" it was going to be a two-stopper and was nearly the "hero" himself on his strategy. 

"It was a bit of a shame the one-stop didn't work, but I fully understand from the team's point of view, it was a big question mark going to the race," Lindblad explained to media, including RacingNews365.

"Then we saw Nico trigger the two, and we decided to split the strategy with the cars, which made sense, because if the hard hung on better, I would have looked like a hero being P8, and unfortunately it didn't. 

"So Liam was the one that maximised; I don't have any regrets about the one-stop not working because it could have also been the other way around quite easily.

"I don't know what Liam was asking, but I was saying I think it's going to be a two. So maybe I helped him out. Even before the race, I was telling them that I think it's going to be a two, and the default plan was a one, but we had it in the back of our mind.

"I could feel before the race; I just smelled it. FP1 was already a bit deggy, but then it's 20 degrees hotter [for the race], and I just don't feel that these tyres are very good when it gets hot. 

"I know both of the other two stops we've had this year were Barcelona and Red Bull Ring, which were both very hot, and these tyres are not good thermally, so I just got that feeling. 

"On the medium, I was going pretty slow in the beginning, and they still weren't very nice; and we ended up boxing on like Lap 21, and it was going to be a [49-lap] stint; it just felt like it was going to be a two."