Hot on the heels of the Nurburgring, the teams head straight to Budapest for this weekend’s Hungarian event, the last race before the Formula One community takes a well-earned summer break. Drivers and senior team personnel discuss their prospects for the Hungaroring…
Fernando Alonso, Ferrari
2010 Qualifying - 3rd, 2010 Race - 2nd
“We have made up a lot of ground compared to the very early part of the season in terms of performance, but we must take a further step forward, as I have said so often before. We still lack something, especially in qualifying: it’s true that in the race we can make up for this, but it’s not always possible to move up two places compared to our grid position, as happened in Monaco, Valencia, Silverstone and Nurburgring. At the Hungaroring, the weather should be more in keeping with summer, which is no bad thing as I’ve had enough of the cold and damp we experienced in England and Germany! That goes not just for me, but also for our car: it would definitely work better in temperatures higher than the 13 degrees we had last Sunday.
“I know the Hungarian Grand Prix has a special significance for the Scuderia, as it has experienced some great moments, but also some dramatic ones, like when Felipe (Massa) was injured in that fluke accident when he was hit by a part of Rubens’ (Barrichello’s) Brawn. Budapest is special for me too, as it was at this very race in 2003 that I took my first ever Formula One win. It was a very emotional day, the memory of which will always stay with me.
“As was the case in 2010, I will again celebrate my birthday at the track with the Scuderia. On Friday I turn 30: who knows if I will get a nice birthday surprise…”
Felipe Massa, Ferrari
2010 Qualifying - 4th, 2010 Race - 4th
“On current form, we can be optimistic of having another positive weekend. Adding to that feeling is the fact we will again have the Pirelli Soft and Supersoft tyres, which we know suits our car best and in Hungary, where we can expect more normal summer weather, the hot temperatures will also be on our side. In addition, our development programme is still on-going and we will have some minor updates again this weekend, which I hope will make the car even stronger. The nature of the Hungaroring track means the race here has sometimes been a bit processional: this year for sure there will be more overtaking, not by a big amount as the main straight is not so long, but all the same, the DRS will help. Combined with the possibility of tyre degradation in the high temperatures, I think the crowd can expect a good show on Sunday with some interesting strategies to watch and certainly those conditions will suit us, as the 150º Italia is kind to its tyres in terms of degradation.
“Clearly, after what happened two years ago, Budapest and the Hungarian people are an important part of my personal history and once again I plan to meet the people who helped me through that difficult time, both at the track and the hospital. Since the accident, I have a lot of fans there: I don’t think they became my fans because of the accident, but rather because I spent some time in Budapest and made a full recovery, which was like a victory for me and the people here felt part of that victory.”
Jarno Trulli, Lotus
2010 Qualifying - 20th, 2010 Race - 15th
“I’m obviously pleased to be back in the car and looking forward to getting on track in Hungary. The Hungarian Grand Prix is held on one of the typical modern Formula 1 circuits - it’s pretty stop / start and has a lot of low speed corners with nothing really quick. It's very bumpy and hilly, and it's always very hot, so it's a big challenge for the cars and the drivers but I do enjoy the race there as it pushes the drivers physically, and getting a good lap requires concentration and focus.
“This year it's more difficult than any other season to predict how competitive we are going to be at any of the circuits we race at, mainly because there are so many new factors to take into account that comparisons with previous seasons are largely redundant. However, I think we can expect to be OK because we were competitive in Monaco, a circuit that’s pretty similar to Hungary - relatively low speed with a need for good traction to push out of the slower corners and not so much reliance on aero performance.
“After the Hungarian race I’ll go straight to my house in Miami and spend some time with my family out there. Whenever I’m in the US I make sure I get as much sunshine as possible and I like going out cycling whenever I can. There’s a few other drivers who are usually around when I’m there, like Bruno Junqueira who I met through cycling and Juan Pablo [Montoya]. He’s sometimes around to say hello to and while he’s not into cycling I’m sure I’ll see him once or twice. After that it’ll be back for the next race in Spa but before then August is the three week break for everyone in the team. They all deserve it because they’ve worked so hard all year and it's a long season so I’m sure they’ll all make the most of the time off and come back ready for the last third of the year.”
Heikki Kovalainen, Lotus
2010 Qualifying - 19th, 2010 Race - 14th
“After the cold weather in Germany it’s back to the heat and dust of Hungary, scene of my first victory in F1. This year I think the Hungarian race will be similar to most other places for us but as it’s less dependent on aero efficiency I think we are in with a shout of pushing the guys ahead a bit more than somewhere like Silverstone. We need to get the tyres working properly and if we’re clever with the strategy I think Saturday afternoon could be interesting - we’ll see. Whatever happens I get a great reception when I’m in Hungary - there’s always a lot of Finnish fans there and I’ve always left Hungary with good memories so I’m looking forward to getting back there again.
“Once the race is done I’ll head home and have a couple of weeks catching up with family and friends in Finland, and keeping up my fitness levels. It might be a holiday but I never stop training so I’ll do that without the distractions of any team or sponsor commitments and that’s as important for me as it is for anyone in the team, to recharge the batteries for the next phase of the season.”
Mike Gascoyne, Lotus chief technical officer
“Hungary has always been one of the circuits where all the teams run maximum downforce. While it is obviously not a street circuit it requires a similar setup to Monaco and Singapore as the track’s characteristics do not place a large emphasis on aero efficiency, instead rewarding enhanced downforce throughout the restrictions of the tight and twisty track. In the past teams have tried very innovative additions to the cars in an attempt to generate as much downforce as possible, sacrificing aero performance in favour of points of downforce, but now the rules are so tight there is no room to add the odd bits and pieces that used to be seen sprouting from the cars in Hungary and Monaco.
“With that in mind we may see the differences between the front of the grid and the back decrease slightly, and that could play into our hands. We showed at Silverstone that we can put our cars into Q2 using the right strategy and that may be the same in Hungary. We are definitely influencing the plans of the teams ahead as they cannot risk being behind us in Q1 using only the prime tyres, so hopefully we can do that again in Hungary and keep fighting the midfield pack on Saturday, and pushing on in the race on Sunday when our race pace comes into its own.”
Tony Fernandes, Lotus team principal“Hungary is the last race before the whole team has a well-earned rest. Obviously I know just how hard everyone in our little team works but having helped out with pack-up in Germany on Sunday evening I had another insight into not only how physically tough it is to take down our whole trackside operation in a few hours, but also how quickly and efficiently everyone works to get it done, in some pretty grim conditions. The factory staff have also been flat out all year and their combined efforts helped us in Germany to cure the reliability issues that came back to haunt us in Silverstone. For Hungary the key is to keep up that record and focus on covering as many kilometres as possible over the three days on track, minimise mistakes, and grab whatever opportunities that come our way.
“Jarno will be back for that race and it will be his first chance to try the new power steering system we have developed and tested over the last couple of months. We are not expecting miracles from that - it is obviously a small part but, for Jarno, pretty vital as the aim is to give him the feel he needs from the car to extract every ounce of performance he can. It will be good to see him back in the pack and I am sure he will be pushing harder than ever alongside Heikki on a track that rewards the best drivers out there.”
Lewis Hamilton, McLaren
2010 Qualifying - 5th, 2010 Race - DNF
“After my win at the Nurburgring on Sunday, the Hungarian Grand Prix can’t come soon enough. The team performed brilliantly last weekend and I want to maintain that momentum at the Hungaroring.
“It’s going to be a completely different challenge. The weather conditions will be much hotter than they were at the ’Ring and the nature of the circuit will be very different too. The Hungaroring is a tight and twisty racetrack, not dissimilar to Monaco in terms of downforce levels, and it offers no let up for the drivers. We’re always working behind the wheel, so it’s very physical.
“I’ve always gone well in Hungary. I like the circuit because it’s old school. It has a very historic feel to it, with hills and bumps and cambers changes, and it has massive character.
“There wasn’t much between McLaren, Ferrari and Red Bull in Germany. It’s going to be fascinating to see which team holds the advantage next weekend.”
Jenson Button, McLaren
2010 Qualifying - 11th, 2010 Race - 8th
“It's always fun coming back to Hungary as this is the track at which I won my first Grand Prix, in 2006, and I’ll be celebrating another milestone on Sunday because this is my 200th Grand Prix. I can’t believe I’ve already knocked up a double-ton of F1 starts because I don’t feel a day older than when I made my debut back in 2000!
“Budapest is a beautiful city and the track is a good challenge. It’s one of the stops on the calendar that the drivers look forward to.
“After a premature end to my race at the Nurburgring, I’ll be hoping for better luck at the Hungaroring. The MP4-26 was very competitive in Monaco a couple of months ago and I hope it will be a similar situation this weekend because the Hungaroring has many of the same performance criteria.
“The hot weather conditions make this one of the most gruelling races of the year for the drivers. Cockpit temperatures regularly exceed 50 degrees and we’re always pulling g-force in the car because there are so many corners. It’s tough, but this is definitely a circuit when all the training pays dividends.”
Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principal
“Everyone in the team thoroughly enjoyed Lewis’s win at the Nurburgring on Sunday, but our attention has already turned to this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix. Back-to-back races don’t afford you the luxury of looking backwards, only forwards!
“The Hungaroring is the slowest permanent circuit on the F1 calendar and it’s a great technical challenge. The cars run with maximum downforce and they have to be able to absorb the bumps and high kerbs that abound at the track.
“McLaren has won at the circuit nine times, which is more than any other team, and we’ll be looking to add to that tally on Sunday.
“Lewis proved at the Nurburgring that he’s at the top of his game at the moment. He was perfect in qualifying and perfect again in the race, and when he’s in that kind of form he’s very difficult to beat.
“As for Jenson, he’s had some bad luck in the last couple of races. But he’s mentally tough and he knows that the tide will turn. He’s driven beautifully this year and it’s up to us to give him a car worthy of his talents.
“We’ll be celebrating a couple of milestones this weekend. First, this is Jenson’s 200th Grand Prix. Longevity is to be commended in F1 because this isn’t a charitable business. Second, this will be the 100th race of Mercedes’ 2.4-litre V8 engine, which we’ve used since the inception of these regulations in 2006.”
Nick Heidfeld, Renault
2010 Qualifying - n/a, 2010 Race - n/a
“The Hungaroring is one of my favourite circuits. I enjoy driving there and seem to get on well each time I race there so I hope this weekend is no different. I’ve had two F1 podiums at the Hungaroring before, so I’ve got good memories from the place. Normally the conditions are pretty hot, but we’ve just had a quick look at the forecast and actually there is a chance of some rain! I also know that a lot of Polish fans usually attend this race, so it will be a little extra motivation for me driving what was originally Robert’s (Kubica) car. Hopefully we will have some new parts, which will help get our pace up. We want to have a good result, especially before the August break because it would do a lot for our morale to go into the second half of the season on a high. But, if for whatever reason it doesn’t work out and I still know that we’re moving forward and our pace is good, then it wouldn’t be the end of the world. But, no two ways about it, we’re aiming high - we have to, because this is what we’re here for.”
Vitaly Petrov, Renault
2010 Qualifying - 7th, 2010 Race - 5th
“The Hungaroring is a great circuit and I’ve got good memories from my time there in GP2. I won my first race in Budapest, so it’s always great to come back. The atmosphere is great with a lot of fans watching so I’m always happy to go back. And yes, there are lots of Russians in Budapest too, so I will be doing everything I can to give my team and them a good result. It’s quite technical and you need the right setup to be successful there. There are just two high speed corners but the rest is more technical. Car set-up is very important in Budapest.”
Eric Boullier, Renault team principal
“Hungary has been a big part of Formula One for 25 years now. It was a completely ground-breaking move to make it a race venue back in the mid-1980s, and I think the decision to do so has been vindicated. It put F1 on the map, and behind the Iron Curtain for the first time; it has helped raise its profile in a part of Europe where the sport had not travelled. We know that when we get to Hungary there will be fans everywhere; the Hungarian people love their motorsport and we’re really looking forward to getting our campaign back on-track in front of a motor racing-mad crowd. Make no mistake, we will try to give the LRGP fans in Budapest something to cheer about this weekend, even if the podium looks a bit far from us at the moment. I’ve expected improvement from our car for a number of races now, and we are making improvement, but we have got to get our heads down and make bigger strides. It’s a competitive field out there, with Force India and Sauber also competing in higher positions, so we’ve got to raise our game starting in Hungary.”
James Allison, Renault technical director
"Like Monaco, the Hungaroring is all about qualifying. DRS will skew things a little, but it will remain very tough to overtake. Getting a good qualifying lap will involve having a car which has a good high downforce setup and is able to cope with some of the bumps around the track. It is tough for race engineers and drivers alike. Setup changes normally yield results which are of the order of 0.1sec/lap, but the track evolution can be over 1sec/lap. The challenge is the same for all teams however.”
Adrian Sutil, Force India
2010 Qualifying - 13th, 2010 Race - DNF
“The race in Budapest is always a really nice event. The weather is usually great and there’s quite a relaxed feel to the weekend because it’s the last race before the summer holidays. It’s a very small track that’s tight and twisty without many places to overtake. You are nearly always in a corner so it’s a bit like Monaco and you don’t get any chance to relax, apart from maybe the main straight. We will run with maximum downforce there because after Monaco it’s the slowest circuit on the calendar. The track is not used that much so it’s usually quite dusty when we arrive. It cleans up as we start running, but Friday practice is always quite hard work. By the start of qualifying it has usually improved and the grip just builds up and up. When the track is like that it’s really nice to drive.”
Paul Di Resta, Force India
2010 Qualifying - n/a, 2010 Race - n/a
“The Hungaroring is a short track, but it’s very demanding on the drivers physically and mentally. I suppose it’s like a street track in terms of the layout and the number of corners mean the aero performance of the car is very important there. All the corners seem to flow into each other and you need to find a good rhythm. I had my first experience of the track last year during free practice. It’s not easy to learn much from a handful of laps but I know the layout and main challenges of the track. Because of the tight nature of the lap, it’s never been a track where there has been much overtaking, so it will be another good test of the DRS. It’s the last race before the summer break so it would be good to come away with a strong result. At the half way point of the season I’m feeling good about things. Each race makes things a little bit easier, especially for getting comfortable with all the procedures of Formula One. I’m enjoying my first year as a Formula One driver and I just hope the rest of the season continues in the same way.”
Dr Vijay Mallya, Force India chairman and team principal
“The Hungarian Grand Prix is always a popular race with Force India. The city of Budapest is full of life, beautiful architecture and the fans always give a warm welcome to Formula One. We head there off the back of our strongest showing of the year and determined to build on our momentum. We’ve steadily been improving the car and Adrian’s sixth place finish in Germany was a welcome reward for all the hard work that has gone on at the track and back at base. Considering our competitiveness at the start of the year, this is an achievement the entire team can be proud of. We also know that we need to keep our heads down because there is still a big task ahead of us in the second half of the year. But I believe we have a solid basis to build on and that we can continue fighting for points this coming weekend.”
Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull
2010 Qualifying - 1st, 2010 Race - 3rd
“The Hungarian Grand Prix is one of the hardest for the drivers. It can get very hot in the cockpit due to the high-temperatures, which means we lose a lot of body fluid during the race. There are a lot of bumps on the track, which means you can get shaken up a bit and, because the track has hardly any straights, you have almost no chance to ‘rest’ - that’s what makes the Hungarian Grand Prix so exhausting. There are three extremely slow corners and it’s pretty hard to overtake there, while on the start and finish lines we reach a top speed of 315km/h. We get a good shaking through the first corner due to the bumps; it’s the only place where you can really overtake, so long as you come out of the last corner well and get in the slipstream of the car in front. The last two corners are important, because you have to prepare for a potential overtaking manoeuvre. In the last corner, you have to wait, wait, wait… then you can drive over the kerbs and go full throttle.”
Mark Webber, Red Bull
2010 Qualifying - 2nd, 2010 Race - 1st
“Hungary is always a good Grand Prix, with a good atmosphere - I think it’s one that most of the drivers enjoy. I love Budapest as a city; it’s a very beautiful place with a lot of nice restaurants and places to go out. The track is pretty short and very technical, so it’s a busy lap for us. There are limited places for overtaking, so we’ll see how the DRS helps with that this year. The Hungaroring should suit our car well, we were very strong there last year and more of the same this year would be good. It’s another opportunity for us to get some good points - and it’s always nice to finish before the break with a strong result - so lets see how we go.”
Vitantonio Liuzzi, HRT
2010 Qualifying - 16th, 2010 Race - 13th
“It’ll be good to get back in the car straight away after a frustrating end to the German Grand Prix and it was obviously not the way we wanted the race to go, so hopefully Hungary will bring us better luck! I like the Hungaroring. Its layout resembles that of a go-kart track. It’s so tight. I’ve got great memories of Hungary. It’s where I have scored wins too in 2004 in F3000. The crowd is friendly and fantastic and they have lots of passion, so I’m always looking forward to going there. The Hungaroring is normally very tough - hot and a very long race, it’s a real physical challenge. But I’m feeling good, and we keep progressing, so I’m looking forward to the weekend.”
Daniel Ricciardo, HRT
2010 Qualifying - n/a, 2010 Race - n/a
“Last weekend was really good for my country with Mark Webber’s pole and a podium in F1 and Cadel Evans who took the yellow jersey the day before the arrival in Paris and has become the first Australian Tour de France winner. I don’t know Cadel Evans yet, but I want to meet him as soon as possible and try to invite him to a Grand Prix. I’m excited to go to Budapest: the city is beautiful and the Hungaroring is a track that I like driving on. I have driven at Budapest three times before. I won there on two occasions so it’s a place I enjoy. I drove there with Formula Renault 2.0 and SG Formula and twice with World Series by Renault. For a driver the track is non-stop the whole lap and keeps you very busy with a lot of direction changes which I like. But it's very demanding physically and mentally because there are so many corners and there's only really one straight, and even that is not so long. You don 't really have time to get back your energy and relax, so you are always concentrating. I’m aiming for another improvement in qualifying and getting a spot or two further up the grid.”
Colin Kolles, HRT team principal
“Back to back races push the teams hard. With Hungary coming right after the German Grand Prix, we are looking to put in a strong performance at the Hungarian Grand Prix. The ambient and track temperatures are often very hot here, but as the surface is quite smooth and there are no very high lateral forces so we don't expect overheating to be too much of an issue if the tyres are managed well. The Hungaroring tends to be green and dirty on the first days, so the grip level increases during the weekend. It is also a track that needs high downforce. It’s the last race on the calendar before the summer break, and as temperatures are usually scorching, the inside of the cockpit can rise up to 60 degrees Celsius. It’s obviously very difficult to pass given the tight, twisty layout so we need to maintain qualifying form, and reliability and look for a two car finish again. We are trying to make good progress at every race , and we’re well prepared for Hungary so there’s no reason why we can’t take another step forward this weekend.”
Michael Schumacher, Mercedes
2010 Qualifying - 14th, 2010 Race - 11th
"We have had two home races in a row now, and Hungary too feels like it is linked with me in a way. I will obviously never forget that I won one of my world titles there, and I always enjoyed the support of a lot of fans travelling to Budapest. Ideally we can help them enjoy their weekend, and I am hopeful we can as we have seen some progress lately with our car. I am impressed with the effort the team and the guys back in England are constantly putting into it and it is good to see developments. I am looking forward to travelling there."
Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
2010 Qualifying - 6th, 2010 Race - DNF
"Hungary will be my 100th Grand Prix which seems crazy when my father completed 114 races over his whole career. It's a nice number but statistics aren't that important to me. I'm looking forward to the weekend in Budapest as I like the Hungaroring very much, and I'm hoping for a better time than in 2010 when unfortunately I didn't finish the race. We need to work on our race set-up to see what improvements we can make as the car that I had in qualifying in Germany was better than the one that I had in the race. I'm sure we can do it and take another small step forward."
Ross Brawn, Mercedes team principal
"An extremely busy few weeks for the team come to a conclusion with the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest next weekend, before the well-deserved break of the summer shutdown gives the opportunity to recharge the batteries. The Hungaroring is renowned for being a technically challenging track and it will be very useful for us to gain further experience of our latest developments there. It's not a track where overtaking has been easy in the past, so it will be interesting to see how the combined effect of DRS and KERS improves the possibilities this year. Our recent performances in Silverstone and Germany have been encouraging, although the pace is still not there to compete with the front-running teams, and we will keep working hard to continue to find improvements."
Norbert Haug, Vice-President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
"The Hungarian Grand Prix can be described as a medium-speed challenge, with 40 per cent of the lap spent in corners at or below 150 km/h. The 70-lap race is long and demanding, and usually held in very hot conditions - which would make a pleasant change after the past two race weekends! Our aim in Budapest will be to take some positive momentum into the summer break. The Hungarian Grand Prix will also mark the 100th race for the Mercedes-Benz 2.4 litre V8 engine since its introduction at the start of 2006: in the 99 races so far, our V8 has taken a total of 32 wins."
Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber
2010 Qualifying - 23rd, 2010 Race - 9th
“I have good memories of Budapest from last year. I started from 23rd on the grid and was able to overtake quite a few competitors and end up ninth. It was really a brilliant race. It’s a very technical track with mainly medium speed and slow corners. The straight is quite short, therefore in the past it was very difficult to overtake, but this year we have the DRS which will help us to put on a more exciting race for the fans. Often the temperatures in Budapest are very high, so tyre management will be crucial and tricky. But so far this season our car has been quite kind to its tyres, so we should be in a strong position to score a good result.”
Sergio Perez, Sauber
2010 Qualifying - n/a, 2010 Race - n/a
“To me the Hungaroring is a very good, technical and slow circuit. Traction and braking stability are very important. It is physically pretty demanding, and it has a really nice atmosphere. I believe it should be a good track for us, and I definitely want to score points there before the summer break. Last year I was fighting for the GP2 championship at the Hungaroring, and I must admit it wasn't such a good weekend. I finished third in the first race, but crashed in the second. Off the track I also like the city a lot, as it is a very nice and enjoyable place to be.”
James Key, Sauber technical director
“The Hungaroring is a long established circuit which the teams know well. It’s a fairly low speed track with lots of medium and low speed corners, but all of them are quite flowing rather than stop start. It’s one of the high downforce circuits during the year. Not as high as Monaco, but certainly higher than the majority of circuits. It’s one of those tracks which is either a favourite of teams and drivers or not. But generally for me it’s a place I enjoy going to. It will be an interesting event because we will have the soft and super soft tyre compounds, which we haven’t run since Canada. These are tyres which I think will work very well there. It is usually fairly hot there, so the ambient and track temperatures play a role in the way the tyres work and how you have to operate your car. It’s also a track which has never been particularly easy for overtaking, so qualifying and race strategy will probably play quite an important part. If the temperatures are high, and tyre degradation is also high we could well see a number of different strategies being played out. We will have the same configuration of car as at the Nurburgring because it’s only one week later, but we feel it’s probably a circuit where the car could work well with the right conditions, and we are looking forward to going there.”
Timo Glock, Virgin
2010 Qualifying - 18th, 2010 Race - 16th
“Hungary is always one of my favourite races of the season. In 2008 I scored my first ever Formula One podium here, so the Hungaroring holds very special memories. Hungary is always one of my favourite races of the season. In 2008 I scored my first ever Formula One podium here, so the Hungaroring holds very special memories. Budapest is also a unique city and I always enjoy the race weekend here, where the atmosphere is always great. It’s a very challenging and physical track but it’s always good fun to drive. The circuit generates an incredible amount of grip as the weekend gets underway, which can provide a real challenge in finding the right set-up for the race. It combines very short straights and many corners that require a lot of focus as one leads into the next without any recovery time. After my home race in Germany, I feel very positive looking forward to the weekend ahead.”
Jerome D’Ambrosio, Virgin
2010 Qualifying - n/a, 2010 Race - n/a
“I’m really looking forward to racing in Hungary, where I will work hard to put all the pieces together across the weekend and put in a good performance. I’m really looking forward to racing in Hungary, where I will work hard to put all the pieces together across the weekend and put in a good performance. I like the circuit even though it’s quite tricky and you need to find a good rhythm. It’s very similar to driving in Monaco - it’s twisty, bumpy and dirty off-line. I still have to work on improving my qualifying performance to make sure I have better chances during the race. If I can do this I think I can have a strong race because the pace of the car in Germany was good. So we go to Hungary with a positive feeling and I hope to go into the summer break on the back of a good result.”
John Booth, Virgin team principal
“This is the last Grand Prix before the summer break, so we hope to put in another good performance before a well-deserved rest for the team. The Hungarian Grand Prix will be the conclusion to a very busy and positive period for the team following the important announcements that have taken place this month. We are clearly taking strong and steady steps forward and this makes us confident. After packing the garage and trucks and heading to Hungary in the space of only two days, we arrive to what is going to be one of the toughest races of the season in terms of technical and physical demands. The tight and twisty layout makes it a real challenge for the drivers, which have to drive to the limit during the whole lap. This 4.381 km track requires a high downforce level as well as good mechanical grip. The surface is quite bumpy and even though overtaking has traditionally been very difficult here, this should change now with DRS and the Pirelli tyres. This is the last Grand Prix before the summer break, so we hope to put in another good performance before a well-deserved rest for the team.”
Paul Hembery, Pirelli’s motorsport director
“Hungary certainly couldn’t be more different to the races we have seen recently, as we found out when we went to the Hungaroring for our first season of the GP3 series last year. However, as the GP3 tyres are completely different to those we race in Formula One, there’s not much that we learned apart from an initial idea of what to expect: high temperatures and a slippery track surface. The big challenge for the teams and drivers is going to be keeping tyre wear under control in the warm conditions, but we have used the P Zero Yellow soft tyre in warm weather before and it has shown good performance. The super-soft tyre is almost certain to result in some quick qualifying laps but obviously it doesn’t have the same resistance to wear. How the teams juggle the parameters of speed and durability will once again form the key to their different strategies. There has been plenty of drama at the Hungaroring in the past and with so many new elements to the racing this year, I hope we’re in for another exciting Grand Prix."
Charlie Whiting, FIA Race Director
“The Hungarian GP is one of the best races from an operational point of view. The Race Control side of things is absolutely first class and the Hungarian marshals are excellent. They’re always really efficient, and make this a good place to work. There’s a really nice atmosphere at the circuit, as well, which makes the Hungaroring a very enjoyable place to be: the crowd seems to be big and very enthusiastic without fail and we almost always get great weather. It’s a good place to have a race before Formula One takes its short break for summer, ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.”
More to follow
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