Hungarian Grand Prix Preview

Ferrari will look to move on from the negative reaction to last weekend’s German Grand Prix with another strong showing in Hungary. The team has progress over the last six weeks and will be keen to capitalise on a dominant performance in Germany where they were never headed.

Felipe Massa returns to the scene of his terrifying accident of last season that not only threatened his career but also his life. The Brazilian was struck on the head from a stray spring from Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn during qualifying but last weekend he showed that he still has the ability to perform at a high level. This weekend though will be very trying as he deals with returning to the Hungaroring as well as the inevitable backlash from his team’s decision to force Massa to let Alonso through.

Alonso though will no doubt have been buoyed by winning in Germany, his first win since the season opener in Bahrain, and returns to where he achieved his maiden victory driving for Renault in 2003. That race was remembered as being one where an unfamiliar sight took place-Michael Schumacher being lapped; this though is becoming increasingly familiar and somewhat expected at times.

Ferrari will no doubt be confident of continuing their good form and their car has shown promise recently on low grip surfaces. Their car also has good high downforce characteristics that the team hope will allow them to allow Alonso to close the gap at the head of the title chase.

To do so he must beat McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, something he couldn’t do in 2007 when his relationship with his then team unravelled. During qualifying Alonso blocked the pitlane and ensured that Hamilton was unable to set another lap to challenge his teammate. The stewards all agreed that Alonso needed to be punished and he lost five grid places, this though was only a slight punishment compared to the decision of McLaren to end their dealings with Alonso at season’s end.

Hamilton has a superb track record at Hungary with two wins and two pole positions and last year’s win was the product of an incredible turnaround in fortunes for his McLaren team as they had been struggling two seconds off the pace in the season’s early races. Jenson Button has also been victorious in Hungary. In 2006 the then Honda driver finally won his first Grand Prix. It would take until the season opener last season before he won again. This year he arrives in Hungary as the reigning world champion and Lewis Hamilton’s closest challenger.

McLaren has won the last three Hungarian Grand Prix with Heikki Kovalainen winning in 2008. The team are confident of another strong showing but with the MP4-25 still showing some problems in high downforce configuration the team might have to rely on guile once more instead of outright pace to challenge for the win.

Red Bull have made a habit of shooting themselves in the foot this season so it would not be surprising to see the team share a wry smile at the coverage Ferrari received this season. That the incident took place so soon after Red Bull’s own intra team situation came sharply into light at Silverstone would only have pleased them more. The team have shown an inability to execute on race days and with the season now firmly counting down to Abu Dhabi they must hope that it isn’t too late to challenge. The team will know that with races at Spa and Monza upcoming that they will be firmly on the back foot to McLaren and its fully functioning F-Duct, Red Bull has one but not on a similar level to their Woking counterparts.

Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel will arrive in Budapest knowing that the RB6 has consistently shown itself to have the best high downforce characteristics in Formula 1 but they will also know that they need to win this weekend because their high drag car might struggle at the low downforce and high speed Belgian and Italian races. Webber finished third last year, setting the fastest lap, and the Australian will be as committed as ever but will face a tough struggle against his teammate.

Vettel was shocked at the public reaction to the team’s decision at Silverstone to give him the new wing but his pole lap in Germany showed that he has lost none of his commitment. Finishing third at home was undoubtedly a disappointment but he showed that he has moved on from Silverstone.

The Circuit

The Hungaroring is situated just outside Budapest and offers the teams a unique challenge. The dusty confines of this tight circuit require a car that changes direction and rides bumps well. The challenge for engineers is to get the car stiffly sprung to rapidly change direction but soft enough to be unsettled over the many bumps. Teams will need a high downforce configuration and the first turn is the only realistic overtaking position.

With overtaking so difficult qualifying takes on enormous importance and with the dusty nature of the circuit drivers need to be on the racing line to have confidence off the line.

The weather for this weekend’s race

Clear blue skies and high temperatures await teams and drivers this weekend with 31C expected for Saturday and Sunday.

A look ahead to the German Grand Prix

In one of the most controversial and incident filled seasons in recent memory Red Bull will look to put their British Grand Prix saga behind them during this weekend’s German Grand Prix from Hockenheim.

Last time out at Silverstone the Milton Keynes based team was once more the centre of attention when Mark Webber had a new front wing removed from his car and given to teammate Sebastian Vettel. With the Australian now fully aware of his place within the hierarchy of his team he proceeded to dominate the race after giving no quarter to his teammate at the first turn. Vettel ended the first lap in the pits with a puncture as Webber led the field for the rest of the day with only the safety car heading him, ironically this gave Vettel the chance to salvage his day and secure six points with a seventh place finish.

Red Bull ended the weekend with 31 points, only one point more than McLaren, from a race that the team should have delivered a crushing one-two such was their superiority. The team have consistently shot themselves in the foot this season and with the summer break ever closer the team know that the next two weekends are crucial with back to back races.

McLaren brought an extensive aerodynamic upgrade to Silverstone that ran only on Friday and while results did not meet expectations Red Bull must be aware that their opponents are exceptionally well placed should the upgrade work either at Hockenheim or the Hungaroring next weekend.

The Hockenheimring Circuit

Lewis Hamilton was the victor at the last race Hockenheim hosted the German Grand Prix. Hamilton dominated en route to winning the title in 2008 even when severely handicapped by a tactical blunder by his McLaren team. Then Toyota driver Timo Glock had a massive crash coming out of the last corner that caused a safety car to be deployed and while the majority of the field pitted Hamilton stayed out. With Nelson Piquet in second Hamilton was spared his blushes by the Brazilian holding up compatriot Felipe Massa and allowing Hamilton to make his pitstop 16 laps from the end and maintain track position before coasting to the finish to win by 5 seconds.

Hockenheim was redeveloped in 2002 with a circuit that lost the vast majority of its former character. Whereas in the past the circuit was one of the fastest and most fearsome visited during the near the current configuration is much slower and more technical. The new layout though has seen some exciting races throughout the field but generally races are dominated by one driver as was the case in 2003 when Juan Pablo Montoya would have lapped the entire field had he not slowed down for the last few laps before winning by over a minute.

Can we expect the unexpected this weekend?

This weekend’s race though promises to be very exciting with poor weather expected for practice and qualifying before cool race day temperatures. There is the possibility of a race weekend similar to Canada with drivers struggling with tyre issues. To illustrate the issue that Bridgestone expect to encounter with tyres they will bring the super soft and the hard compound tyres. If the weekend follows a similar pattern to Canada it should be expected that everyone will qualify on the softer rubber, Red Bull showed in the Montreal race that it is impossible to avoid mass tyre wear on high fuel and the hard tyre. While most races have been single stoppers this year the tyre wear and short pitlane, expected total pitstop times is 18-19 seconds, mean this race could be a two stopper for the majority of the field.

Since the redevelopment this race has not been won from outside the top three on the grid with the pole sitter winning four of the six races. Qualifying is obviously crucially important but if the tyre issue does materialise the race could be won by any of the leading drivers but the favourites will once more be the Red Bull’s, McLaren’s and Alonso.

The home crowd will have a lot of compatriots to cheer on with Germans Sebastian Vettel, Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg, Adrian Sutil, Timo Glock and Nico Hülkenberg all competing this weekend. Vettel will obviously be keen to move on from Silverstone but at Mercedes Schumacher will be keen just to show some progress. The seven times champion has struggled on his return to Formula 1 and has been outpaced by teammate Rosberg but a return home could invigorate Schumacher. He still remains the only German to win the world title but those days are becoming a fast fading memory with Schumi just a shadow of his former self. He has struggled all season with slow and medium speed corners and Hockenheim is filled with these so the chances of seeing a fight back are slim but with the team expecting more from recent developments he could challenge for a decent haul of points. Rosberg on the other hand will be keen to add to a promising British race when he finished in third.

Heading into this weekend the top four drivers are separated by 24 points in the title chase so theoretically any of them could leave as title leader but with 25 points for a win changes can rapidly occur and with poor weather for Friday and Saturday expected a “green” race track on Sunday could lead to an exciting race with leading drivers out of position and chasing back through the field.

Rossi shines on return to action

Just 41 days after suffering a broken leg Valentino Rossi was back on track yesterday during first practice for tomorrows German Moto Grand Prix.

The Italian was the centre of attention as he took to the track within seconds of the start of practice and he ended the day in seventh after an encouraging session where he was consistently on the pace of the leaders.

The nine times world champion said after the session, “I have some pain in the leg and ankle but it's not too bad, I was able to do some laps in a row and I was quite fast so things seem okay. Now we will have to wait until tomorrow morning to see how the leg is and whether it has swelled overnight or developed any problems."

Honda’s Dani Pedrosa dominated the day with a series of fast laps that no one else came close to matching. The Spaniard knows that he needs to win this weekend and halt Jorge Lorenzo’s run of three straight victories. Lorenzo leads the title chase by 52 points but with his teammate Rossi back it will be interesting to see if Lorenzo can continue his current form. Lorenzo ended the day in sixth just ahead of Rossi.

For the first time this season neither Rossi nor Lorenzo was the fastest Yamaha with American Ben Spies ending the day in fourth as the rookie continues to showcase the speed that makes him a favourite of the Japanese factory. The reigning World Superbike champion has had an impressive start to his Grand Prix career and will be looking to add to his British GP podium in the coming races.

The Ducati’s were the closest riders to Pedrosa with 2007 world champion Casey Stoner ahead of teammate Nicky Hayden, the 2006 title winner. It has been a trying season for Stoner but the Australian has been on the podium for the last two races and with the recent announcement that he will ride for Honda next season it would not be surprising to see him relaxed and competitive for the remainder of the season.

Rossi’s return sends a shockwave through the MotoGP paddock

Jorge Lorenzo may have a commanding lead at the top of the MotoGP championship but teammate Valentino Rossi will steal the headlines this weekend when the Italian makes his return to racing just six weeks after breaking his leg.

Rossi was expected to be absent until the Czech Grand Prix in August but after testing a World Superbike last week in Misano rumours started to fly that the nine times world champion was considering making a comeback. After testing at Brno on Monday it seemed all but certain that the Sachsenring would see his racing return with only this weekend’s local medical officer in a position to halt his return.

Rossi is clearly impatient to return to racing with the Italian saying, “I'm really excited that my doctors think I can ride this weekend. I will see the medical officer and then we will have the final decision. I am really looking forward to seeing everyone and being back in the paddock; I was tired of being at home!”

With Rossi’s departure to Ducati set to be officially announced in the coming weeks the question that Lorenzo and Yamaha must be asking themselves has to be, will Rossi be willing to assist his teammate to win the title?

Lorenzo has been imperious this season with five wins from seven races and is riding a wave of confidence after winning the last three races. The Spaniard has been exceptional this season and has shown a maturity that was missing since moving into the MotoGP class and the confidence that he consistently showcased en route to two 250cc world titles is now on full display in the premier class. Last season he was beaten by Rossi in this race by just 0.099 seconds after a race long battle at the front of the field. Lorenzo though will start the race as favourite this year and even though he is yet to win in Germany anything less than a victory would surely disappoint the 23 year old.

Lorenzo’s compatriot Dani Pedrosa is best placed to stop the championship leaders run of form. Pedrosa, riding for Honda, has an enviable record in Germany having won three times in the past and has always been impressive on the contrasting slow and high speed sections that make up this track and the triple world champion will know that if he is to challenge for a first premier class title he needs to start clawing back to Lorenzo.

2007 world champion Casey Stoner had his first ever rostrum in the 2003 German 125cc Grand Prix and the former world champion is a former pole sitter and race winner in the MotoGP class. His form is improving once more after a trying start to the year that included crashes in Qatar and France and the Australian comes to the Sachsenring on the back of podiums at Assen and Barcelona. Another podium is probably the best that Stoner can expect this weekend.

Frenchman Randy de Puniet has been the surprise package of the season thus far with impressive pace in qualifying, including front row starts for the last three races. This weekend sees his satellite LCR Honda fitted with factory parts as he tries to translate his undoubted speed into a first podium of the season.

This weekend is sure to see sparks flying on track and the return of Rossi is sure to galvanise the paddock but once more the onus will be on Stoner and Pedrosa to stop Lorenzo’s dominance.

A look ahead to the British Grand Prix

This weekend’s British Grand Prix marks the midpoint of the 2010 Formula 1 season.

The race will take place on the heavily redesigned Silverstone circuit that should prove to be one of the seasons fastest and most challenging races. Silverstone is, like most British circuits, built on the site of a Second World War airfield and straddles two shires-Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire.

Silverstone underwent the mass redevelopment after gaining the long term rights for both Formula 1 and MotoGP, the new circuit is approximately 800 metres longer than the previous layout and features the new reprofiled Abbey Curve which drivers will take almost flat out in sixth gear and which promises to be even faster than Copse Corner.

Last time out in Valencia saw contrasting fortunes for the Red Bull drivers with Sebastian Vettel winning for the first time since April and the previously inform Mark Webber taking all the attention after his crash into the back of Lotus’ Heikki Kovalainen resulted in the Red Bull somersaulting along the race track.

The weekend looks prime to be filled with excitement and with only 29 points separating the top five, all of whom have won this season, in the title chase it looks set to be the launch pad of an exciting second half of the season.

The Circuit

The new layout retains the thrilling opening half of the lap with Copse Corner starting the lap with a 185mph entry speed and just a lift of the throttle to take drivers through and onto the start of one of the seasons most thrilling series of corners-Maggots, Beckets and Chapel. This series are entered in top gear at 190mph and sees drivers flick the car left-right-left-right-left in the blink of an eye before they enter the longest straight of the lap. The Hanger straight measures 800m and leads into Stowe corner, where Michael Schumacher crashed in ’99 resulting in a broken leg.

Once drivers exit Stowe they are brought into the new section. Instead of braking down to first gear for the Abbey chicane they now face the right handed Abbey Curve that they will take at 185mph in sixth. This then leads into the Arena section of the lap with the Arrowhead corner and Village developed to offer overtaking opportunities. This however will likely only occur if the lead driver makes a mistake, in the recent MotoGP races here there was little overtaking through this section.

Once released from Village the drivers are then onto the national circuit straight, renamed the Wellington straight which will again see speeds in excess of 180 mph. Brooklands has been opened up by using the Wellington Straight and Luffield is unchanged as drivers exit it and cross the line to start another lap of the fantastic Silverstone circuit.

The weather

The weather is expected to continue to be warm and sunny for the weekend with forecasters expecting a slim 10% chance of rain affecting Sunday’s race.

Facts and figures ahead of the British Grand Prix

The British Grand Prix is one of only three that has been ever present on the Formula 1 schedule and hosted the first ever Formula 1 Grand Prix in 1950 when Alfa Romeo’s Giuseppe Farina emerged victorious. The race has been held at three circuits-Brands Hatch, Aintree and this weekend will mark the 44th time that Silverstone plays host.

Twelve British drivers have won this race in the past ranging from Stirling Moss in the 50’s to Jim Clark and Jackie Stewart in the 60’s to James Hunt in the 70’s to Nigel Mansell in the 80’s to Damon Hill in the 90’s and the most recent being Lewis Hamilton in the rain sodden 2008 race. Reigning world champion Jenson Button has yet to win at home but will be confident of a good performance this weekend as McLaren bring an updated car to its home race.

Recent British Grand Prix

The British Grand Prix has seen some true classics down the years with some of the most memorable moments occurring at Silverstone. Each corner has been steeped in history in a manner as only a circuit that has hosted so many races can achieve.

Last season’s race was dominated by the Red Bull’s with Vettel leading home Webber ahead of Barrichello. The German was able to pull away from the Brawn driver at a rate of a second a lap at stages of the race and had a very comfortable win. The 2008 race was held in wet weather and saw Lewis Hamilton emerge from the gloom with one of the greatest drives in the sports history as the McLaren drivers dominated in awful conditions en route to his world title. That race also saw Rubens Barrichello finish second, Honda’s final podium in Formula 1.

2007 saw Kimi Raikkonen win for Ferrari after the Finn’s better fuel strategy had allowed him to emerge after his second pitstop just ahead of the earlier stopping Fernando Alonso and win by just over two seconds. Alonso had won the previous year’s race ahead of Michael Schumacher.

2003 is perhaps the best remembered of recent races but it is remembered for the wrong reasons as Neil Horan entered into Formula 1 folklore when he staged a protest on the circuit. The priest ran along the Hanger straight with banners imploring people to read the bible. Barrichello won that race ahead of Montoya and Raikkonen.

2000 saw the race take place in April. Unsurprisingly it was wet, in fact it was so wet that spectators were unable to park in the car parks and Saturday was closed to fans except those able to walk to the track. The race day did not fare much better with only an estimated 35000 present to see David Coultard win his home race again after battling with Barrichello before the Brazilian suffered a hydraulic failure.

The 1998 race will be remembered for being the first to see a race won by a car in the pitlane as Schumacher took a ten second penalty at the end of the race for overtaking under a yellow flag. 97 should have seen Mika Hakkinen end his long wait for a first win but the Finn suffered a heart breaking engine failure with seven laps remaining as he challenged Jacques Villeneuve for the win.

1992 saw Nigel Mansell famously overtake Nelson Piquet down the Hanger Straight before comfortably winning for Williams. The race is also remembered for Ayrton Senna running out of fuel and “hitching” a lift back to the pits with the victorious Mansell.

This weekend’s race promises to continue the excitement of the current season where after the opening race of the season there was a fear for processional racing. With half the season gone the next three weeks before the summer break could be imperative to the outcome of the championship with McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari all aggressive in recent developments and keen to add to their victory tallies thus far.

Lorenzo keen for his dominance to continue

This weekend Barcelona plays host to the Catalan Grand Prix with championship leader Jorge Lorenzo keen to extend his winning streak.

Lorenzo has won the last two Grand Prix and has taken the flag in four of the six races so far this season. Last season in Barcelona he finished second to Valentino Rossi after the Italian’s audacious overtaking manoeuvre on the final corner of the race. This season though Lorenzo will be looking to go one better and add the MotoGP race win to his 2007 250cc victory at this circuit.

Lorenzo may be leading the championship charge but the home crowd will be cheering loudest for Barcelona born Dani Pedrosa. Since 2002 Pedrosa has finished on the podium here in all but two races, including winning three times. Pedrosa’s style of riding suits the fast and flowing Catalan circuit with the diminutive Spaniard capable of maintaining incredible corner speed through the incredibly fast turn 9 and the final two corners on the lap.

Former world champion Casey Stoner comes to Spain on the back of finally breaking his 2010 podium duck by finishing third in Assen behind Lorenzo and Pedrosa. Stoner has finished third here the last two years and was victorious in 2007 en route to his sole world title. The Australian has struggled this season after a spate of accidents but his form has improved in recent weeks with the podium in Assen the culmination of the work done by the team to make the current Ducati more suited to Stoners aggressive style of riding.

As usual beyond the big three it is difficult to forecast any rider challenging for the podium unless trouble besets the favourites. Pedrosa’s teammate Andrea Dovizioso has ridden well this season and currently lies in third in the title chase. The Italian has been consistent this season but knows that if he is to realistically challenge for the title he has to add to his sole premier class win in last season’s rain sodden British Grand Prix at Donnington. The 2004 125cc world champion has been fourth in Barcelona in both of his MotoGP starts at the circuit and has one win, in 2006, and three other podiums to back up his current consistency.

Randy de Puniet has been in great form recently and returns to the scene of his first ever Grand Prix victory looking to step onto the podium for the first time since the middle of last year. The Frenchman has qualified his satellite Honda on the front two rows of the grid at each race this season and after finishing in sixth place from second on the grid the last two weekends he will know that it is time for him to start converting his undoubted pace into stronger race performances. The LCR rider is well placed to do that in Barcelona and add another podium to his brace of 250cc victories at the circuit.

The MotoGP class may be the premier class of motorcycle racing but the Moto2 and 125cc classes are incredibly competitive and allow younger riders the chance to hone their craft before moving to the larger capacity bikes.

The Moto2 class features the most competitive racing in the world. The recent Italian Grand Prix was an example of just how intense this class is with the top 12 riders home all having won at least one Grand Prix.

The class is led by the Catalan Toni Elias who has failed to finish in Barcelona since finishing third in 2003. The Gresini rider has won twice this season and comes to Barcelona on the back of a runner up finish at the Dutch TT. Elias though will know that one of his main rivals will be the winner in Holland, Andrea Iannone. The Italian has won twice this season and each time he has shown that he is the only man right now capable of opening a large lead if he is left unchecked during a race. The 20 year old has won two races this season in the ultra competitive Moto2 class at a canter and his rivals know that if they are to deny Iannone the chance to add to his victory in Catalonia last season that he will need to be kept in check throughout the race.

Swiss rider Thomas Luthi came to prominence in the 2003 125cc race with his first Grand Prix podium and the former world champion has had a solid season thus far with three podiums to lie third in the title chase. This weekend though could be a struggle for Luthi after it was revealed that he needed surgery on a fractured collarbone that he had raced with for both podiums at Silverstone and Assen.

Shoya Tomizawa won the opening race of the season and followed it up with a podium at the Spanish Grand Prix but the young Japanese rider has been solid in recent races rather than spectacular as he was initially. Last season this race marked his best qualifying performance and this weekend could be a great opportunity for the Suter chassis shod rider to regain some of his early season momentum.

Julian Simon is the reigning 125cc world champion and has shown that even with the change to the larger capacity the Spaniard has lost none of his flair or speed. He has not stood on the rostrum in Barcelona before but with the increased confidence that he has shown since changing chassis manufacturer to the Suter it would not be surprising to see him add to his brace of podiums so far this year.

The 125cc class may be home to the smallest bikes in the paddock but it is also home to some of the talented and committed riders in the world. The home crowd are almost certain to see the Spanish flag above the winners step on the podium but their loyalties will be toward Pol Espargaro. Espargaro is as local as it is possible to be to the circuit having grown up just a stone throw away from the front gates and the Derbi rider will be keen to erase the memory of a disappointing race in Holland and retake the championship lead from compatriot Nico Terol.

Both riders though will be chasing another Spaniard, Marc Marquez. The young Derbi rider had not won a race until the start of June and has since emerged victorious at the Italian, British and Dutch races. Momentum is king in 125cc racing and the diminutive Marquez will know that with momentum on his side he needs to continue to close the gap on his countrymen at the top of the championship table.