King enjoys Champagne moment

King travelled to the Hungarian F1 venue - just outside of Budapest - preparing to make his debut around the famously tight-and-twisty circuit, but ever the quick learner, he proceeded to qualify a season-best third out of the 33 Eurocup contenders to leave him bullish about his prospects in the opening encounter.

However, with overtaking notoriously difficult at the circuit, the 18-year-old was to endure a frustrating afternoon staring at the gearbox of the driver in second.

“There were a couple of opportunities to perhaps go for a move, but both would have involved a risky, late lunge,” admitted King.

“It was more important to finish on the podium than to have an accident while trying to take second place.

“It was my first-ever Eurocup podium and the first for Manor MP Motorsport as a joint operation, too, so everybody inside the team was very happy.

“It’s been a long time coming.

“We’ve known the speed has been there all year - it’s just been a case of putting it all together.”

His finest Eurocup finish also saw King defeat a cluster of competitors backed by the likes of F1 big-hitters McLaren and Red Bull and elevated him to the top ten of the driver standings.