Jenson Button WON in his 200th GP

Jenson Button claimed victory in his 200th grand prix as he perfectly judged an absorbing race in changeable weather in Hungary.

McLaren could have had a one-two, with Lewis Hamilton leading much of the race, but a tyre strategy misjudgement and a penalty ruined Hamilton's afternoon.

World championship leader Sebastian Vettel had to settle for second, ahead of Fernando Alonso's Ferrari and the recovering Hamilton.

McLaren had taken the advantage early in a race that began on a damp track with everyone on intermediates, Hamilton attacking Vettel relentlessly through the opening laps as both slid around in a dice more reminiscent of a karting scrap than Formula 1.

The lead finally changed on lap five, when Vettel ran wide at Turn 2 and Hamilton breezed past and pulled away, soon extending a four-second lead over the championship leader, who was at least able to drop Button at this stage.

Laps 10 to 13 saw all the leaders decide the track was ready for slicks, and coming in one lap sooner than Vettel paid off for Button, who made the most of this warmer tyres and greater confidence to take second place into Turn 2.

Mark Webber pulled off the same move on Alonso for fourth at the same time. The Ferrari had lost ground through the first corner on the opening lap, then charged back up the order despite two minor trips off the road.

The relatively serene middle phase of the race saw Hamilton holding a comfortable gap over Button, who had a similar 5s advantage back to Vettel, while Webber fended off Alonso 10s behind them.

Alonso decided to make a relatively early third pitstop and take another set of super softs, while all the other leaders except Hamilton switched to the harder softs at this point.

That burst of pace allowed Alonso to jump both Red Bulls during his rapid laps before they pitted, though the tyres then began to wear and he lost third to Vettel again.

Hamilton followed the same strategy as Alonso, which left him looking very vulnerable to Button, but in the event the return of the rain rendered these tactics rather irrelevant.

The sudden shower hit on lap 47, causing Hamilton to spin at the chicane. He tried to rejoin as quickly as possible, but could not prevent Button taking the lead - and also forced Paul di Resta's lapped Force India off the road as he rotated, a move that would ultimately earn Hamilton a penalty.

With the rain increasing, Button slipped up at Turn 2 four laps later, allowing Hamilton back into the lead. Button retaliated on the following lap and briefly regained first place on the pits straight, only to go wide again at Turn 2 as the top spot was exchanged yet again.

But just as Hamilton moved back into first, he made what turned out to be the costly decision to pit again for intermediates. It was obvious almost immediately that this was the wrong call, as the rain rapidly vanished, and the Briton was soon back in for slicks. His drive-through penalty for nearly wiping out di Resta soon followed, dropping him to sixth and leaving Button clear to win.

The 2009 champion briefly came under pressure from Vettel, but had the pace to pull away again and clinch his second victory of the year.

With Webber also switching to intermediates unnecessary, Alonso regained third, which he held despite a quick late spin.

Hamilton battled back to fourth ahead of Webber, with Felipe Massa recovering from an early spin to sixth.

Kamui Kobayashi tried to go the distance on just two tyre stops and held seventh heading into the closing stages, albeit with a massive queue of cars chasing his Sauber. The plan did not work, and he had to pit for fresh rubber after tumbling down the order, as Paul di Resta (Force India) came through to seventh and Sebastien Buemi turned 23rd on the grid into an eighth place for Toro Rosso.

Mercedes only took ninth place, Nico Rosberg having also pitted for intermediates late on. Michael Schumacher had a gearbox problem shortly after spinning while dicing with Massa in the opening stages. Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) clashed with Kobayashi during their late battle but still took 10th.

Adrian Sutil (Force India) and Sergio Perez (Sauber) saw their great qualifying results wasted in a first lap incident that delayed both.

One of the most spectacular incidents of this highly eventful race befell Nick Heidfeld, whose Renault caught fire in the pit exit after a long stop, with a minor explosion on its left-hand side as the marshals dealt with the blaze.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The Hungarian Grand Prix
The Hungaroring, Hungary;
70 laps; 306.663km;
Weather: Mixed conditions.

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team                       Time
 1.  Button        McLaren-Mercedes           1h43:42.337
 2.  Vettel        Red Bull-Renault           +     3.588
 3.  Alonso        Ferrari                    +    19.819
 4.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes           +    48.338
 5.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault           +    49.742
 6.  Massa         Ferrari                    +  1:17.176
 7.  Di Resta      Force India-Mercedes       +     1 lap
 8.  Buemi         Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +     1 lap
 9.  Rosberg       Mercedes                   +     1 lap
10.  Alguersuari   Toro Rosso-Ferrari         +     1 lap
11.  Kobayashi     Sauber-Ferrari             +     1 lap
12.  Petrov        Renault                    +     1 lap
13.  Barrichello   Williams-Cosworth          +    2 laps
14.  Sutil         Force India-Mercedes       +    2 laps
15.  Perez         Sauber-Ferrari             +    2 laps
16.  Maldonado     Williams-Cosworth          +    2 laps
17.  Glock         Virgin-Cosworth            +    4 laps
18.  Ricciardo     HRT-Cosworth               +    4 laps
19.  D'Ambrosio    Virgin-Cosworth            +    5 laps
20.  Liuzzi        HRT-Cosworth               +    5 laps

Fastest lap: Massa, 1:23.415

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                         On lap
Kovalainen    Lotus-Renault                56
Schumacher    Mercedes                     27
Heidfeld      Renault                      24
Trulli        Lotus-Renault                18


World Championship standings, round 11:                

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  Vettel       234        1.  Red Bull-Renault          383
 2.  Webber       149        2.  McLaren-Mercedes          280
 3.  Hamilton     146        3.  Ferrari                   215
 4.  Alonso       145        4.  Mercedes                   80
 5.  Button       134        5.  Renault                    66
 6.  Massa         70        6.  Sauber-Ferrari             35
 7.  Rosberg       48        7.  Force India-Mercedes       26
 8.  Heidfeld      34        8.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari         22
 9.  Schumacher    32        9.  Williams-Cosworth           4
10.  Petrov        32       
11.  Kobayashi     27       
12.  Sutil         18       
13.  Buemi         12       
14.  Alguersuari   10       
15.  Di Resta       8       
16.  Perez          8       
17.  Barrichello    4       
       
All timing unofficial

Autosport

Vettel beats McLarens to Hungarian Grand Prix pole

Sebastian Vettel maintained Red Bull's 100 per cent pole position record this year as he stormed to the head of the Hungarian Grand Prix grid with a flying late effort in qualifying.

The world champion had been trailing behind Lewis Hamilton as he began his second and final effort at the end of Q3, but saved his best until last as he lapped the Hungaroring in 1m19.815s, just 0.163 seconds ahead of the McLaren driver.

Jenson Button made it two McLarens inside the front three while a superb late effort by Felipe Massa gave him fourth spot, demoting his Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso to fifth and the Red Bull of last year's race winner Mark Webber to sixth.

Adrian Sutil was a superb eighth for Force India, splitting Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher as the trio - unlike the top six - only undertook a single flying lap in Q3. Sergio Perez, who will start 10th for Sauber, did not bother going out at all.

There was a gap of almost two seconds from first to 10th with a couple of minutes of Q2 remaining, the result of which was that the top seven at that moment - led by Button - did not undertake second runs.

All of those drivers had done enough to make it into Q3, but behind them the order was constantly changing. Late flyers for Sutil and Schumacher brought the Force India and Mercedes drivers into the top 10 after the chequered flag had come out.

The big loser was Sutil's team-mate Paul di Resta, who was bumped back to 11th. The Renaults of Vitaly Petrov and Nick Heidfeld were 12th and 14th, split by Kamui Kobayashi's Sauber, while Rubens Barrichello and Jaime Alguersuari were next up for Williams and Toro Rosso.

Barrichello's team-mate Pastor Maldonado did not venture out in Q2, after the Venezuelan pulled himself into the session at the very end of Q1 with a flying lap. The Williams driver knocked Sebastien Buemi's Toro Rosso out of the reckoning.

The star of Q1 was Heikki Kovalainen, who put his Lotus 19th and just over 0.1s behind Buemi.

Behind him were his team-mate Jarno Trulli, Virgin's Timo Glock and Hispania drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi and Daniel Ricciardo, all of whom will move ahead of Buemi once his five-place grid penalty for colliding with Heidfeld in German last weekend is applied.

Pos  Driver                Team                 Time          Gap   
 1.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault     1m19.815s
 2.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes     1m19.978s  + 0.163
 3.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes     1m20.024s  + 0.209
 4.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari              1m20.350s  + 0.535
 5.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari              1m20.365s  + 0.550
 6.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault     1m20.474s  + 0.659
 7.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes             1m21.098s  + 1.283
 8.  Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes 1m21.445s  + 1.630
 9.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes             1m21.907s  + 2.092
10.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari       No time
Q2 cut-off time: 1m23.067s                                   Gap **
11.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes 1m22.256s   + 1.994
12.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault              1m22.284s   + 2.022
13.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari       1m22.435s   + 2.173
14.  Nick Heidfeld         Renault              1m22.470s   + 2.208
15.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth    1m22.684s   + 2.422
16.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m22.979s   + 2.717
17.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth    No time
Q1 cut-off time: 1m23.285s                                    Gap *
18.  Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari   1m24.070s  + 2.492
19.  Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault        1m24.362s  + 2.784
20.  Jarno Trulli          Lotus-Renault        1m24.534s  + 2.956
21.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth      1m26.294s  + 4.716
22.  Tonio Liuzzi          HRT-Cosworth         1m26.323s  + 4.745
23.  Daniel Ricciardo      HRT-Cosworth         1m26.479s  + 4.901
24.  Jerome D'Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth      1m26.510s  + 4.932

107% time: 1m27.288s

* Gap to quickest in Q1

** Gap to quickest in Q2

Autosport

Sebastian Vettel back on top in final practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix

Some late-night working from his mechanics appeared to pay dividends for Sebastian Vettel on Saturday morning, as he went fastest around the Hungaroring for Red Bull, three-tenths quicker than Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

Jenson Button was third for McLaren, followed by Mark Webber in the second Red Bull, Ferrari's Felipe Massa, Mercedes' Nico Rosberg and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton. 

Sebastian Vettel suggested that Red Bull's hard late-night work might have paid off as he beat Fernando Alonso's Ferrari to the top spot in final practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

After Vettel was unhappy with the car on Friday, Red Bull used its first curfew exception of the year to work into the night trying to improve the set-up.

Vettel then led most of the middle part of the session this morning, having set a 1m22.021s early in the running on harder tyres. Even though he ran wide on his first flying lap on his next outing and took the best out of his tyres, he was still far enough clear of the field that he set a lap that would have been good enough for second next time around.

Alonso was then the first driver to set a good time on the super soft tyres, jumping to the front with a 1m21.469s with 10 minutes to go.

But Vettel's qualifying-style lap was even faster, the world champion clocking a 1m21.168s to end the session on top by 0.301s.

Although Jenson Button took third for McLaren, his team-mate Lewis Hamilton did not get a chance to show what he could do at the end.

The Friday pacesetter ran wide at Turn 1 at the start of what would have been his first flying lap on super softs, reported over the radio that the brakes "did not work" and pitted after one more lap. That left Hamilton seventh in the end.

Mark Webber was just behind Button in fourth for Red Bull, ahead of Felipe Massa - the Ferrari driving having been some small mistakes on his super soft run. He had earlier narrowly avoided the barriers at the chicane during a trip over the grass.

Nico Rosberg's Mercedes completed the top six, with Hamilton, the second Mercedes of Michael Schumacher, Vitaly Petrov's Renault and Paul di Resta's Force India next up. Nick Heidfeld was just outside the top 10 in the other Renault after losing time parked in the garage with a fuel system problem.

At the tail of the field, the Virgins and Hispanias were all outside the 107 per cent rule had it been applied to this session - although the leading drivers are unlikely to use super softs in Q1.

Pos No Driver Team Time/Retired Gap Laps
1 1 Sebastian Vettel RBR-Renault 1:21.168
2 5 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:21.469 0.301
3 4 Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.639 0.471
4 2 Mark Webber RBR-Renault 1:21.645 0.477
5 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:22.002 0.834
6 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:22.534 1.366
7 3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:22.667 1.499
8 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1:23.037 1.869
9 10 Vitaly Petrov Renault 1:23.175 2.007
10 15 Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:23.276 2.108
11 9 Nick Heidfeld Renault 1:23.281 2.113
12 17 Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1:23.375 2.207
13 16 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:23.626 2.458
14 11 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:23.663 2.495
15 12 Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1:23.894 2.726
16 14 Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:23.966 2.798
17 19 Jaime Alguersuari STR-Ferrari 1:23.998 2.830
18 18 Sebastien Buemi STR-Ferrari 1:25.061 3.893
19 21 Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1:25.141 3.973
20 20 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1:25.501 4.333
21 25 Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1:26.955 5.787
22 22 Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1:26.991 5.823
23 24 Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:27.174 6.006
24 23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1:27.713 6.545

Autosport

Hamilton quickest again in second practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton continued to set the ultimate pace in second practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix as the McLaren man led the way with a 1m21.018s lap ahead of Fernando Alonso's Ferrari.

In a session dominated by long runs and analysis on the relative degradation of Pirelli's supersoft option and harder prime tyres, Hamilton went fastest on an early short run with his red-walled tyres 50 minutes in and was never headed thereafter, though it was Red Bull that looked strong in the late soft-tyre analysis.

Hamilton's team-mate Jenson Button was third quickest ahead of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel's Red Bulls, proving if nothing else that the weekend promises to be very close between the top three teams once again.

An initial threat of a shower prompted the teams to fire out of the pits early in P2 and very quickly Hamilton was back to the top of the timesheets with a time of 1m22.969s.

But that rain which spattered the back of the grandstands down near Turn 1, never materialised and things soon returned to normal as everyone concentrated on their long runs.

Nevertheless the early burst of activity saw Alonso move to the top of the times with a 1m22.297s that remained the benchmark until after the halfway point in the session as drivers worked on their prime tyre analysis.

At this point though the order was Alonso, from Vettel, Button, Massa and Hamilton.

Ferrari was the first front-running team to switch to the red-walled super soft Pirelli option tyre and Felipe Massa threatened to go fastest until the Brazilian ran wide at Turn 5 with 40 minutes of the session to go.

His team-mate Alonso wasn't far behind though and the Spaniard fired in a rapid 1m21.259s lap.

This triggered a brace of option runs and Hamilton, visibly enthusiastic in his work on track, moved right back to the top with a 1m21.018s.

Button then moved to third ahead of Webber, fastest of the Red Bulls, who was only fourth, ahead of world championship leading team-mate Sebastien Vettel.

That's how things stayed as drivers settled down to do more evaluating of the extent of the super-soft's operating window - or most of them at least. Ominously though, it was Red Bull that looked most competitive during this phase.

Behind Massa, who ended up sixth fastest, was Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher in the Mercedes cars, which were neither close to the top three teams or particularly threatened by Force India immediately behind it.

Force India's drivers therefore completed the top ten with Paul di Resta out-pacing Adrian Sutil.

Further down the field, notable times included that of Jarno Trulli which was half a second quicker than Lotus team-mate Heikki Kovalainen and Daniel Ricciardo who was a similar amount faster than HRT veteran Vitantonio Liuzzi.

Pos  Driver                Team                  Time               Laps
 1.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes      1m21.018s           29
 2.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari               1m21.259s  + 0.241  40
 3.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes      1m21.322s  + 0.304  34
 4.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault      1m21.508s  + 0.490  35
 5.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault      1m21.549s  + 0.531  31
 6.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari               1m22.099s  + 1.081  40
 7.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes              1m22.121s  + 1.103  36
 8.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes              1m22.440s  + 1.422  36
 9.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes  1m22.835s  + 1.817  40
10.  Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes  1m22.981s  + 1.963  37
11.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari        1m23.030s  + 2.012  34
12.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari        1m23.399s  + 2.381  37
13.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth     1m23.679s  + 2.661  34
14.  Nick Heidfeld         Renault               1m23.861s  + 2.843  28
15.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth     1m24.181s  + 3.163  39
16.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m24.182s  + 3.164  26
17.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault               1m24.546s  + 3.528  21
18.  Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m24.878s  + 3.860  35
19.  Jarno Trulli          Lotus-Renault         1m24.994s  + 3.976  38
20.  Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault         1m25.447s  + 4.429  39
21.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth       1m26.823s  + 5.805  33
22.  Jerome D'Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth       1m27.261s  + 6.243  28
23.  Daniel Ricciardo      HRT-Cosworth          1m27.730s  + 6.712  31
24.  Tonio Liuzzi          HRT-Cosworth          1m28.255s  + 7.237  25

All Timing Unofficial

Autosport

Hamilton sets the pace in opening practice for the Hungarian GP

Lewis Hamilton picked up where he left off last weekend in Germany as he set the fastest time in the first practice session for the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest.

The McLaren driver outpaced world championship leader Sebastian Vettel by 0.214 seconds with a lap of 1m23.350s, while Fernando Alonso was third fastest for Ferrari.

Mark Webber was fourth, despite a shunt late in the session, ahead of Jenson Button and Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari..

The circuit was dry when the session started but overnight rain had dampened it at the edges, and as ever the Hungaroring was devoid of purchase in these early stages of the grand prix weekend.

Nico Hulkenberg was the first man to gun it, setting a lap of 1m29.671s 20 minutes into the session. That time would be lowered by more than seconds through the 90 minutes of running. The German, who was standing in for compatriot Adrian Sutil at Force India for the first session, indeed improved on that time on the very next lap to a 1m28.286s.

Just before the half hour mark Sebastien Buemi lowered it by more than a second (1m27.058s) in the Toro Rosso as he begun the team's 100th grand prix weekend - not counting all those it completed as Minardi.

Jenson Button was the first heavy-hitter to file a time, that of 1m25.697s. Not long after that McLaren team-mate and German Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton joined him on track and immediately went faster with a 1m24.284s. Button then improved to 0.699s behind his team-mate before heading back to the pits as the team evaluated new aero parts and a diffuser.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa then went second quickest to split the McLarens, before his team-mate Fernando Alonso lapped fastest of all (1m24.179s) having recovered from a small fire early on due to overheating when he returned from the pits after his constant speed run.

It was just about the half distance when finally the Red Bulls came out, but Alonso was still working it and lowered his own best time even further to a 1m23.642s

Webber's best at this point was only good enough for second behind the Ferrari.

Vettel meanwhile made steady progress with a fairly long run, which included a lap to back off and a run through the pitlane, which eventually saw him move to the top with a 1m23.564s. The stint also included a locked up moment when he ran across the Turn 5 chicane.

With 20 minutes to go the McLarens returned to the action and Hamilton lowered the target time to 1m23.350s, some 0.214s quicker than Vettel had managed.

It was about this time that Webber had a rare shunt. The Australian went off at Turn Nine, taking off his front wing in the process, having run wide over the kerbs that then pinged him across the track and into the barrier. The car was sufficiently unbroken for him to drive back to the pits however. Not before he'd improved to fourth in the times.

After that, most drivers were satisfied to complete their long-run information gathering which ensured that Hamilton ended up fastest from Vettel, Alonso, Webber, Button and Massa. Hamilton himself though was set to improve his own time in the dying minutes of the session, having set purple sectors in the first two, only to be blocked by Jaime Alguersuari. The McLaren man returned the compliment on the next tour.

The Mercedes of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher were split by 0.119s in seventh and eight positions, while Sergio Perez and Vitaly Petrov completed the top ten.

Bruno Senna ended the session 15th on his first free practice run for Renault - the Brazilian some 0.7s off the pace of Petrov.

Further down the field, Jarno Trulli, who was projected to use a new power-steering system for this race in a bid to help him get to grips with the Lotus - ended the session 20th, 0.5s off Heikki Kovalainen's time.

Pos  Driver                Team                  Time               Laps
 1.  Lewis Hamilton        McLaren-Mercedes      1m23.350s          19
 2.  Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault      1m23.564s  + 0.214   24
 3.  Fernando Alonso       Ferrari               1m23.642s  + 0.292   29
 4.  Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault      1m23.666s  + 0.316   12
 5.  Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes      1m23.772s  + 0.422   20
 6.  Felipe Massa          Ferrari               1m24.115s  + 0.765   25
 7.  Nico Rosberg          Mercedes              1m24.250s  + 0.900   22
 8.  Michael Schumacher    Mercedes              1m24.369s  + 1.019   20
 9.  Sergio Perez          Sauber-Ferrari        1m24.620s  + 1.270   24
10.  Vitaly Petrov         Renault               1m25.093s  + 1.743   22
11.  Kamui Kobayashi       Sauber-Ferrari        1m25.113s  + 1.763   21
12.  Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes  1m25.336s  + 1.986   22
13.  Nico Hulkenberg       Force India-Mercedes  1m25.357s  + 2.007   17
14.  Rubens Barrichello    Williams-Cosworth     1m25.836s  + 2.486   24
15.  Bruno Senna           Renault               1m25.855s  + 2.505   25
16.  Sebastien Buemi       Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m25.890s  + 2.540   28
17.  Jaime Alguersuari     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m26.099s  + 2.749   36
18.  Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Cosworth     1m26.124s  + 2.774   25
19.  Heikki Kovalainen     Lotus-Renault         1m26.878s  + 3.528   26
20.  Karun Chandhok        Lotus-Renault         1m27.352s  + 4.002   21
21.  Timo Glock            Virgin-Cosworth       1m28.533s  + 5.183   30
22.  Jerome D'Ambrosio     Virgin-Cosworth       1m28.903s  + 5.553   22
23.  Tonio Liuzzi          HRT-Cosworth          1m29.059s  + 5.709   24
24.  Daniel Ricciardo      HRT-Cosworth          1m29.904s  + 6.554   26

All Timing Unofficial

Autosport

Hungary preview quotes - Ferrari, Lotus, McLaren, Renault & more

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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