CHEAPEST: Hungarian Grand Prix

After some rainy races in recent weeks, the forthcoming Hungarian event is expected to be a scorcher. And as Budapest beckons, the drivers and some prominent team members discuss their prospects for the race...

Fernando Alonso, Renault
2007 Qualifying - 6th, 2007 Race - 4th
“I won my first Formula One race at this circuit with the Renault F1 Team in 2003 and it's a place were I have always gone well. So I'm happy to go back there again this year and determined to bounce back after my result in Germany. I have some great memories here and the race usually takes place around the time of my birthday. There are always lots of spectators, the people are very kind, and we always enjoy a warm welcome - that is why the paddock enjoys coming back to Budapest each year.

“It's quite a demanding track and the temperatures are often quite high for the race, which makes things even more difficult, especially for the drivers and the mechanics. To be quick here you need very high levels of downforce, as well as good grip and traction to get performance out of the low-speed corners. So we will begin working on these things as soon as free practice begins on Friday, building on the information we learnt last week in Jerez.”

Nelson Piquet, Renault
2007 Qualifying - NA, 2007 Race - NA
“My GP2 weekend in Hungary in 2006 was very special because I won the feature race on the Saturday from pole position and then the sprint race on the Sunday, as well as setting the fastest lap in both races. It was definitely one of my best weekends in racing. It's quite a rewarding track to drive if you can find a good rhythm and it seems to suit my driving style. Obviously I haven't driven there in a Formula One car yet, but I'm looking forward to doing that this weekend.

“I think it will be difficult to fight for another podium under usual circumstances because the gap to the leading cars is still too big. I also think that the battle in the midfield will be very competitive, just as it was in Germany, and so I will need to concentrate on getting a good grid position because it is so difficult to overtake in Hungary. If we can reach Q3 then I think the realistic goal is to fight for some points on Sunday, and if we can do that I will be very happy.”

Pat Symonds, Renault director of engineering
“It's a difficult track, which is often quite dirty for the first day of practice, and so you spend a lot of time sliding around with the car, understeering mid-corner and oversteering on corner entry and exit. But you just have to stick with it and wait for the track to come to you. In terms of downforce it's a very high downforce track and it's also pretty hard on the tyres due to the traction zones out of the low-speed corners. The tight and twisty nature of the track makes overtaking extremely difficult and so getting a good grid position for both cars will be a higher than normal priority for all teams.”

Jarno Trulli, Toyota
2007 Qualifying - 8th, 2007 Race - 10th
“I enjoy racing at the Hungaroring because it is a challenging circuit which is good fun to drive. It’s a narrow track with a lot of corners in quite a short lap so it’s not easy to overtake. That means qualifying will be particularly important here. Usually we expect a dusty track because it isn’t used regularly and this is quite a challenge for a driver because if you run off line you lose a lot of time, so you really have to concentrate to avoid making even the smallest mistake. Normally this race is one of the hottest of the year so you really need to be in good condition to stay sharp throughout the race, although I have done my training so it won’t be a problem for me. I have usually been competitive in Hungary, even if I have been a bit unlucky with results, so I am optimistic for the weekend and I expect to score points again. We showed in qualifying at Hockenheim that we can fight close to the front so our aim is to repeat that pace and get back in the points.”

Timo Glock, Toyota
2007 Qualifying - NA, 2007 Race - NA
“After my incident at Hockenheim I am fine and raring to go. I have had the chance to relax a little at home so I am definitely ready for this weekend. Also, I had a day in the car at Jerez preparing for the Hungarian Grand Prix and that went well. I enjoy visiting Budapest. I went there on holiday a few years ago and it was a fun place and also I have had some exciting races there, particularly in 2006. Obviously it’s a twisty circuit and we will have a different aero package for this race. I know the guys at the factory are pushing extremely hard so I am sure we will be competitive again. Qualifying will be really important this weekend because overtaking is very difficult in a Formula One car. I have had some fun races in GP2 in Hungary and overtaken a lot of cars but it’s completely different in Formula One. Even though the result wasn’t what I wanted in Hockenheim, I was competitive in the race and fighting to finish in the top six so I am optimistic again for this weekend.”

Pascal Vasselon, Toyota’s senior general manager chassis
“In Hungary we have an aerodynamic efficiency requirement which is different from our baseline car and much closer to Monaco, so we will run a high–downforce specification. The lay–out of the track also requires attention in terms of cooling, because the average speed is lower and there is quite a lot of braking, so we always have to be careful with cooling the brakes and engine. However, the main challenge in Budapest is tyre related; lateral severity is quite high but the track is quite low grip. You have to make sure you can get adequate heat into the tyres without destroying them very quickly and this is not easy. We have made further developments on our high downforce package since Monaco and we are pretty happy with the results and looking forward to this race. We were in the top six there last year so we are optimistic. It’s going to be a tough battle between now and the end of the year. It’s tight with Red Bull, and Renault is there too after the result in Germany, but it’s our objective to stay fourth in the constructors’ championship. We are ready for the challenge.”

Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren
2007 Qualifying - 11th, 2007 Race - 8th
“It’s a circuit I enjoy. I’ve done a couple of GP2 races here but my best performance was last year when I had one of the best races of my F1 career. Okay, I finished only eighth, but I was fighting with Rosberg for lap after lap, really pushing 100 percent all the way to the flag. It was one of those dices that never gets shown on TV, but I felt proud and satisfied afterwards because I’d pushed for the whole afternoon. This year, it would be nice if I could reward the team with another strong result.

“It’s a circuit where you’ve got to make the car work for you: it’s not a track where you can drag the laptime out of the car, it’s more about working patiently with the set-up to make your life easier on raceday. If you end up fighting the car, the heat and the constantly twisting nature of the track mean you’ll be exhausted by the end of the weekend. Like Canada, it’s also a place that punishes you if you go offline. So driving well at the Hungaroring is all about neatness and patience.”

Lewis Hamilton, McLaren
2007 Qualifying - 1st, 2007 Race - 1st
“Hungary is very different from Germany; Hockenheim is a track that allows you to slipstream and pass other drivers fairly easily, the Hungaroring is the opposite of that. Qualifying will be crucial, and strategy will also be important in determining the optimum fuel-weight for the opening stint. It will be hot and tiring too, so keeping your focus and concentration will be vital. I don’t go into this weekend surfing any particular wave of confidence: it’s such a different type of circuit that it’s difficult for anybody to feel certain about their chances.

“I’m wary about making any strong predictions; yes, we were strong in the last two races, but we encountered difficulties in the two before that, so it’s impossible to call it this weekend. All I can say is that our car feels fantastic at the moment and I’m really enjoying driving it: it feels like you can keep fine-tuning it to extract more performance from it, which is a fantastic feeling for any racing driver.

“It’s easy to say that you’ll treat each race with a certain amount of respect. But the reality is that I haven’t changed my style: it seems to work for me and I enjoy pushing hard to achieve a good result. That’s when I feel I am operating at my maximum and it’s potentially dangerous to start thinking about changing your approach at this point in the season. I’ll be honest: my approach has served me fairly well so far and I’d need to give it some serious thought before attempting to change it. Let’s just say it will be business as usual in Hungary this weekend.”

Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren Formula One CEO
“The two circuits on the calendar that most resemble the characteristics of the Hungaroring are, bizarrely, Montreal, which is dusty and low-grip, and Monte Carlo, which requires a high-downforce set-up to cope with the minimal straights and numerous low-speed corners. And the reality is that we were reasonably competitive at both those circuits. While it has been true to say that one of the key strengths of our car is its pace in high-speed corners, we’ve done a lot of work to the package to strengthen its weak spots. At Silverstone, we were comfortable with our pace through the last sector, and at Hockenheim, we were comfortably quickest through the stadium section of the track, which is tight and reliant on good mechanical grip. We won in Hungary last season and travel to Budapest confident that we have strengthened the weaknesses of our package. Nonetheless, we are fully prepared for a battle with our rivals, whom we can never under-estimate.”

Norbert Haug, Vice President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
“The characteristics of the circuit just outside Budapest are quite different to those at the previous Grands Prix in Silverstone and at the Hockenheimring. The average speed per lap of almost 200km/h is the second lowest speed after Monaco, where we won. In Hungary, we have clinched four victories out of the last 10 races; Lewis was our most recent winner last year. Four times we started from pole in Hungary, the last time also in 2007 with Lewis, and we have posted four fastest race laps.

“As overtaking on the Hungaroring is almost impossible, apart from into turn one, a good grid position is even more crucial than on most other circuits. Nevertheless, at the Hungaroring, we will hardly see spectacular overtaking manoeuvres as demonstrated by Lewis on his way to victory in Hockenheim when he passed Felipe Massa and Nelson Piquet. To be fast through the many corners, which make up the largest part of the circuit, a lot of downforce will be key. At the Hungaroring, this is more important than good top speed. The high ambient temperatures at this race are among the highest which often put a lot of strain on car, engine cooling, tyres and of course the drivers.”

Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber
2007 Qualifying - 7th, 2007 Race - 5th
“For sure we can expect a lot of Polish fans in Budapest. The Hungarian Grand Prix is the closest race to my home country, so in some way it is my home race. The Hungaroring is the track where I had my first Formula One race in 2006. As a driver you always have a special relationship with the track where you had your first Grand Prix. However, it is not for these reasons alone that I like this track. For most of the lap you have some steering angle, which means you rarely get a break, and this is made worse by the fact the straights are very short. The Hungaroring is a difficult track, but then Formula One is about challenges.”

Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber
2007 Qualifying - 2nd, 2007 Race - 3rd
“I’ve always coped very well on the Hungaroring. The track suits me, and in the short history of our team I took a podium place there in 2006 and 2007. In 2006 it was the first podium for our team at the end of an unbelievably wet race. In 2007 I started second and finished third again. I also have a lot of positive memories of the Hungaroring going back to previous occasions. In 1999 I took an early Formula 3000 title there and was able to celebrate. The city is beautiful. I just love the historic buildings and its setting on the river. Budapest has lots of charm, especially when the weather is really summery. If it’s dry the circuit gets very dusty particularly at the start of the weekend. Racing there is exhausting because there aren’t any long straights where you can sit back and relax a little bit. I’m looking forward to the Hungarian Grand Prix and hope we will perform as strongly again as we have done in the last two years.”

Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport director
“In the last two years, the Hungarian Grand Prix was a very exciting affair for us. In 2006 the weather turned the race into a cliffhanger, and in 2007 an offensive strategy really put us on our mettle but rewarded us with a podium place. For 2008 the goal is to make it onto the Budapest podium for the third consecutive time. Our pledge is to get both cars firmly into the top ten qualifiers and take home another decent points haul from the race. The Hungaroring makes huge demands on the cars’ aerodynamics and brakes. At 58 percent, the full-throttle percentage is at the lower end. However, temperatures could become critical for the powertrain. It’s generally hot in Budapest in August, and the heat tends to build up in the dust bowl of the circuit. Plus the low average speed does its bit to drive cooling systems to the limits.”

Willy Rampf, BMW Sauber technical director
“After Monaco, the Hungaroring is the track with the lowest average speed. Especially in the middle section of the track, it’s just one turn after another, and the start-finish straight is relatively short. That calls for maximum downforce. Overtaking is very difficult, and you have to take that into consideration in your race strategy. The track accumulates fresh sand every day, so grip levels are accordingly low, which can lead to understeer. In Hungary we use the softest tyre compounds. When it comes to the car’s set-up, you have to focus primarily on the middle section, which consists of a variety of corner combinations and the very tight final turns before the start-finish straight, which require good traction. The track layout and frequent high air temperatures mean the cars have to drive with maximum cooling.”