Hungarian Grand Prix Preview

Tuesday 31st July 2007

This was always the grand prix preview that plumbed the depths of despair. The Hungarian Grand Prix used to be the low point of the season, the nadir, the boringest F1 could get. With it's too-small straights and it's tight confines, the Hungaroring promises all the overtaking thrills and spills of the Monaco GP yet none of its history or glamour.

And then we had the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix when it rained, and it proved to be one of the best races of the last twenty-five years, with enough action on the opening lap to fill an average grand prix report. Alonso (moved down the grid for brake testing) and Schumacher (penalised for not observing a tiny bit of flag waving) had to make up places at the start and they steamed through the field on the opening lap as though everybody else had two less gears.

In the end Alonso went round the outside of Schumacher at a turn where overtaking is impossible thanks to the Michelins showing a lot more early grip than the Bridgestones. It was frantic stuff with Michael banging wheels with Heidfeld on his way back to the front and ultimately retiring.

If we have half the action this weekend we're in for a treat. Already the long-term weather forecast is showing that we could have showers on Friday and Saturday, so a spell of unsettled weather could bring more rain to the race.

At the Nurburgring Fernando Alonso showed that he's a far superior driver to Felipe Massa in mixed conditions. In the past the difference between Mclaren and Ferrari could be put down to Michelin and Bridgestone tyres, but with both drivers equally shod it was a question of who could manage their car.

Alonso wouldn't have had such a cruise to the flag had he been up against Raikkonen in a Ferrari, or Michael Schumacher in one, or even Rubens Barrichello for that matter. Last year Massa spun in the early stages of the Hungarian GP so he'll be keenest of all that it stays dry.

The tight, twisty Hungaroring is closest to Monaco in its layout and so it is likely that Mclaren will still enjoy their clear Monaco edge that put them well ahead of the red cars. Then we'll be off to the power circuits of Turkey, Spa and Monza and the pendulum will swing back once more.

So once again we should see a Hamilton versus Alonso tussle for McLaren supremacy. Last race we saw the entertaining post-race argument between Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa after the Brazilian strayed off line when they were side by side through the Ford Kurve and he bumped the World Champion's wheels. The thought occurs - "what would happen if Lewis and Fernando touch like that". With no easy overtaking place anywhere at the Nurburgring, a pass on track will be difficult.

If it stays dry, qualifying and race strategy will be all important and we will be back to the F1-as-a-chess-match theory espoused by Max Mosley in the late 90s.

There are two 'new' drivers on the grid for this race. Sakon Yamamoto will take up where he left off at Super Aguri - as the principal object of affection for blue flag wavers - but this time he'll be in a Spyker. Scott Speed's removal from Toro Rosso has given Sebastien Vettel a chance to prove just how quick he is. The highly-rated 20-year-old German will also give Tonio Liuzzi a good benchmark to prove his ability. If he can show that he's quicker than Vettel then it might prompt a sudden re-appraisal. Vettel is certainly under-experienced in the hard knocks school of F1 combat. It won't be a question of piloting what was the third quickest car on the grid round a technically simple circuit like Indianapolis, where he stood in for BMW's Robert Kubica. This will be tough.

Renault, BMW, Red Bull and even Williams-Toyota will be hotly contesting the positions from P5 through to P10 or even better if Ferrari haven't got their set-up right. Red Bull in particular will have been energised by their 3rd and 5th in Germany.

Jenson Button will hope to see it raining again on race day as that's the only way that his Honda will get near the points-scoring positions. The betting odds on back-to-back Hungarian GP victories will need a computer of the size of Big Blue to calculate. He was up to P4 from P17 on Lap 2 at the Nurburgring and lost out on big Honda points when he missed his Turn 1 braking point by about a kilometre.

If it doesn't rain - and this is the default setting for Hungary - then it can still be an intriguing race, if only to see how far Ferrari have developed since Monaco. At least by now they'll have got all the "white powder" out of the tanks.

AD

Post to del.icio.us

E-mail Article Print-Friendly Version Subscribe to Race Features RSS Feed