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F1 pundit Scott Mitchell-Malm claimed that Haas F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg was 'borderline heroic' in his defense against Red Bull driver Sergio Perez on the final lap of the 2024 Austrian GP on Sunday (June 30). The German driver finished the race at the Red Bull Ring in P6 ahead of the likes of the Mexican and his teammate Kevin Magnussen.
Hulkenberg was faultless in his execution for 71 laps as he did not put a foot wrong, starting the race from P9 and gaining a couple of positions at the end of the race due to the contact between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris which saw the latter retire from the race.
However, while appearing on The Race podcast, Mitchell-Malm spoke about Nico Hulkenberg's defense on the Red Bull of Sergio Perez in a weaker Haas that saw him get the best result of the season for the team. He said:
"Hulkenberg borderline heroic what he did on the last lap to make sure he beat that Red Bull because even a damaged Red Bull... It was Hulkenberg who finished sixth there not a damaged Red Bull putting Perez in seventh. [30:00]"
The F1 pundit added that 12 points for the Haas F1 team, courtesy of Hulkenberg's P6 and Magnussen's P8 could be pivotal for the American team given the recent resurgence of Alpine. He said:
"So getting that result was huge for them given that Alpine had been picking up a little bit of form recently and just tossing up the odd point or two here and there that could have been something that toward in the second half of the season Alpine build on and then catching this kind of haul here could be massive for Haas in the championship."
Nico Hulkenberg analyzes his P6 at the Austrian GP
Nico Hulkenberg stated that the Austrian GP was 'one hell of a race' for him as he had to battle against his teammate Kevin Magnussen and Sergio Perez to keep his P6 on Sunday.
As per F1.com, the 36-year-old said:
“It was one hell of a race, especially at the end when it got so intense. It was touch and go to keep Perez behind in the last two laps, he came by but into Turn 3 I let him edge in front, so I got DRS, which obviously put me back in front."
His best finish of the season takes Nico Hulkenberg back to P12 in the Drivers' Championship ahead of Daniel Ricciardo on 14 points as compared to the Aussie's 11.
The double points also helped the Haas F1 team overtake and regain their P7 in the Constrcutors' Championship in Spain and now sit on 19 points, 11 behind RB and 10 ahead of Alpine.
