Hungarian GP: Free Practice 1 - Re-Cap & Times

HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX - FREE PRACTICE #1

    The first practice session started out with many drivers opting for intermediates as the track was damp. Mercedes led the session with Hamilton in 1st and Rosberg in 2nd. Before the session started, it was announced that Rosberg has signed a new 2 year deal with Mercedes and will stay with the team for 2017 and 2018.

    The Hungaroring has recently been resurfaced so there were plenty of spins on the slippery surface. It was even more slippery due to the wet areas of the track in the first half of the session. 

    Charles Leclerc was back in the Haas in place of Esteban Gutierrez and Esteban Ocon was in the Renault in place of Kevin Magnussen. Both drivers feel ready for the call up to F1 if they are asked in 2017. Rumors have spread that Ocon could replace Palmer at Renault while Leclerc is rumored to be taking a seat at Haas, although it is uncertain who he might replace.

TIMES:

1. Lewis Hamilton - 1:21.347 / Mercedes-Mercedes

2. Nico Rosberg - 1:21.548 / Mercedes-Mercedes

3. Sebastian Vettel - 1:22.991 / Ferrari-Ferrari

4. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:23.082 / Ferrari-Ferrari 

5. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:23.174 / Red Bull-TAG-HEUER

6. Max Verstappen - 1:23.457 / Red Bull-TAG-HEUER

7. Fernando Alonso - 1:23.953 / McLaren-Honda

8. Jenson Button - 1:23.961 / McLaren-Honda

9. Romain Grosjean - 1:24.013 / Haas-Ferrari

10. Sergio Perez - 1:24.073 / Force India-Mercedes

11. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:24.120 / Force India-Mercedes

12. Felipe Massa - 1:24.154 / Williams-Mercedes

13. Valtteri Bottas - 1:24.370 / Williams-Mercedes

14. Carlos Sainz - 1:24.579 / Toro Rosso-Ferrari

15. Marcus Ericsson - 1:24.981 / Sauber-Ferrari

16. Charles Leclerc - 1:25.181 / Haas-Ferrari*

17. Felipe Nasr - 1:25.256 / Sauber-Ferrari

18. Esteban Ocon - 1:25.260 / Renault-Renault*

19. Daniil Kvyat - 1:25.324 / Toro Rosso-Ferrari

20. Rio Haryanto - 1:27.012 / Manor-Mercedes

21. Pascal Wehrlein - 1:27.249 / Manor-Mercedes

22. Jolyon Palmer - 1:28.560 / Renault-Renault

* - Driving in this session only.

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk

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Revised Radio Restrictions

REVISED RADIO RESTRICTIONS PUT IN PLACE

    The FIA have tightened the rules on radio restrictions following Nico Rosberg’s ten second penalty after the British Grand Prix.

    Not only will the restrictions now apply whenever the car isn’t in the pit lane, but drivers must be given a message to come into the pits if they receive any indication of problems with the car.

    The rules that came in at the start of the year state that teams can inform drivers of a “critical problem” with the car, with failure “imminent and potentially terminal”. The change removes the “critical” aspect, but drivers must be instructed to come into the pits to solve the problem.

    The rule now reads: “Indication of a problem with the car. Any message of this sort must include an irreversible instruction to enter the pits to rectify the problem or to retire the car.”

    Item three of the list of permitted messages has also changed. What was previously “information concerning damage to the car” is now “information concerning damage to the bodywork of the car”.

    Also changed is item four. This now reads:

    “Instructions to select driver defaults. This must be for the sole purpose of mitigating loss of function of a sensor, actuator, or controller whose degradation of failure was not detected and handled by the on-board software.”

    When the rules apply has also changed. When the rules came in at the start of the year, radio restrictions started when the car left the garage. This has been relaxed, with restrictions only applying when the car isn’t in the pit lane, with the exception of the slow down lap after the end of the race.

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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New Ownership For Sauber

SAUBER SECURES FUTURE WITH NEW OWNERSHIP

    Swiss company Longbow Finance has taken ownership of the Sauber group in a move that they hope will secure the team’s future in Formula One.

    President of the board of directors, Peter Sauber will retire from all functions, and is succeeded as by Pascal Picci, the president and CEO of Longbow Finance.

    “As a Swiss company, we are pleased with having secured the future of a Swiss presence in a highly specialised and innovative industry,” Picci said.

    Sauber have been struggling with money problems for years, and the results have reflected that struggle. The team is yet to score a point this season, and finished eighth last year.

    Longbow Finance plan to not only keep the team afloat, but to “create the basis for a competitive and successful future” of the team.

    There will be a change behind the scenes to try and bring in the results, though both the name and team principal, Monisha Kaltenborn, will remain the same.

    Kaltenborn is optimistic about the deal.

    “We are convinced that Longbow Finance S.A is the perfect partner to again make the team competitive and successful in Formula One,” she said. “At the same time, the new structure will allow us to finally further expand our third party business in which we commercialise our know-how.”

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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F1 Looking at Imola Return

F1 SET FOR POSSIBLE IMOLA RETURN

    The fate of the Italian GP rests with Italy's motorsports body. Though both Imola management and Bernie Ecclestone have signed an agreement to bring Formula One back to the circuit, the president of the Automobile Club d'Italia is in favour of the Monza track.

    Formula Imola president Uberto Selvatio Estense believes the lack of support from the ACI president Angelo Stricchi Damiani is a political issue.

    "If in the future there is not an Italian GP, it is only the problem of Mr Sticchi Damiani, who didn't allow this agreement," Selvatio Estense told motorsport.com.

    Sticchi Damiani must sign off on the location of the Italian GP, wherever it's to be held.

    In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Sticchi Damiani clamed the problems that had put Monza's future under question have been cleared up.

    "We finally solved all the problems there were with the territorial entities - the region [of Lombardy], the cities of Milan and Monza, and the park authority.We have found an agreement between ACI milan and SIAS [Monza owners], and we are preparing a binding offer to be sent to FOM."

    If FOM accept the offer, any Imola agreement will be rendered irrelevant.

    Selvatio Estense says Imola is in good financial health, following a restructure of the company. He also believes the track would be "a great success with spectators".

    "We are building up new facilities, we are building up a new press room, we are completing the project of Hermann Tilke that began in 2006. Right now, we are moving the medical centre and building a new one. We are doing a lot."

    The president of the region surrounding the track is also in support of the race, providing Ecclestone and the ACI are happy.

    Monza had beeen hosting the Italian GP since 1950 (bar 1980, when it was held at Imola) and is a fan favourite.

    "The Italian GP is Monza, is part of our tradition, and we cannot allow it to go away," Lombardy region vice-president Fabrizio Sala, told Autosport.

    Sala also claimed his department would be paying 5 million euo a year, and all the other problems facing Monza seem to have been solved.

    Whatever the decision, Imola have said they need an answer by December, so they can properly prepare for the race.

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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Sources: autosport.com, motorsport.com & gazzetta.it

Hungarian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Manor

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - MANOR RACING F1 TEAM

Rio Haryanto - “I enjoy everything about Hungary, and especially the circuit. I won here in 2011 in GP3 - with the Manor Racing GP3 team in fact! I arrived here two days ago, so I’ve had plenty of time to adjust to the high temperatures that we have here at the moment, and to explore the city a bit. I’ve been here a few times now and it seems to get better and better every year. From GP2 I know this is a really interesting and technically challenging circuit. It’s pretty relentless, in that you don’t get much time to catch your breath during the lap. It requires maximum concentration at pretty much every turn if you really want to put a good lap together, but when you do, it’s actually a lot of fun.”

Pascal Wehrlein - “These next two races are really good ones so, if anything, things will be hotting up for me, rather than calming down. The Hungarian Grand Prix is always an exciting event.”

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Hungarian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Williams

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - WILLIAMS MARTINI RACING

Valtteri Bottas - “The Hungaroring is probably the most intense track compared to the other events it falls around during in the season. It’s much tighter with many slow speed corners and a very technical track to drive, so definitely not the easiest. Budapest falls in the summertime and normally it’s very hot. It’s nicknamed the Finnish Grand Prix because there can be tens of thousands of Finns at the race. I always really appreciate seeing the Finnish flag and feeling that support.”

Felipe Massa - “Hungary is a track where I personally have a lot of history with the accident I had. As a consequence, I have the most amazing fans there who support me a lot. They follow me everywhere I go and always have gifts for me. It’s an amazing place to go back to and spend time with them. As a track, it’s somewhere you need to have very good down force with the short straights and number of corners. It’s quite difficult on the tyres as well, so if you have good down force, that will really work well for you at this track. All in all, it’s a fantastic race in a nice town that I enjoy.”

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Hungarian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Toro Rosso

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO F1 TEAM

Carlos Sainz - "I enjoy racing in Hungary. Just like they did in Austria this year, the circuit in Budapest has also been resurfaced, so all our references will have to be reset. You arrive at Turn 1 at high speed, so you need to brake hard – from 300 to 80kph in about 80 metres. You then get to Turn 2, where you always experience some understeer, which makes it difficult to turn the car into the corner. Turn 3 should be flat in qualifying and Turn 4 is a very high-speed completely blind corner taken in 6th gear. Turns 6 and 7 form a very slow chicane, followed by a medium-speed and then a high-speed one. So this is a section formed by three chicanes that progressively get quicker and our car should be good here. The last three corners of the circuit are difficult, all in third gear. The second sector is the most interesting and enjoyable one to drive. I also think that our car should be strong here, so I'm looking forward to the weekend."

Daniil Kvyat - "The Hungarian track is an interesting one. The braking going into Turn 1 is heavy, while at Turn 2 you need to brake while you turn, which can mean some front-locking if you're not careful. Turn 4 is a tight but high-speed corner, while Turn 5 is another corner where you have to brake and turn at the same time. After this come three chicanes: the first one is tight, the second is a bit faster and the third is a high-speed one. At Turn 12, the long last corner, you need to use the whole track on entry. My favourite parts of this track are the high-speed sections – Turns 4 and 5 as well as Turn 11. The key to going quickly here is to get into a rhythm and let the corners flow into one another, which makes it a fun lap to drive. But in the race, it can be frustrating as overtaking is pretty difficult, which means qualifying well is very important at this event."

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Hungarian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Haas

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - HAAS F1 TEAM 

Romain Grosjean - “I’ve always had a good feeling in Hungary. I’ve always liked the track. I like sector two, the flowing section of the track, which is quite nice. They’ve resurfaced it this year, so we’ll see how it goes. It used to be very bumpy. It’s a low-speed circuit. How the car handles is important. I’ve been lucky to have had cars that have performed well there over the years.

It can get very hot in Budapest. It’s not an easy race, but on the other hand, there’s not many high-speed corners on the track, so it’s more about keeping your focus and concentration all through the race. Regardless, we’re always keeping fit to prepare ourselves. It’s very difficult to overtake at the Hungaroring. To be fair, I made one of the best overtakes of my life there in 2013, outside of turn four, on Felipe Massa. I got a drive-through penalty for that one for having four wheels off the track. That didn’t matter to me as it was one of my most beautiful overtaking moves ever.

It’s going to be our number one priority to get the tyre to work for us and analyse the degradation, which can be high on some compounds. If we get the grip, we’ll get the lap time. Then we can do more pit stops and have more fun.”

Esteban Gutierrez - “Budapest is a track where the temperatures are usually very hot and the main characteristic of the tyre is that they get overheated very easily. But I know the car and I am confident in driving the car, so with any kind of conditions or track characteristics you just get used to it very quickly.

The Hungaroring for me is a special track. It’s the first track I tested in Europe back at the end of 2007 when I tested Formula BMW, so it brings me great memories every time I come back there. I have achieved great results, so mainly from that point of view, I’m happy to be back. It is a slow track, but it has also quick corners and a very interesting layout. It’s quite physically demanding because of the fact you have not many chances to have a pause from the driving. You have to be focused all the time because all the corners make it very demanding - mentally and physically. But I like that challenge. It’s a nice track and I really look forward to the experience.

I would say turn one is the best (overtaking) opportunity. You come down from the long straight and you have the DRS on, so yeah, it’s approaching turn one. Also the exit of turn one approaching turn two. Those are the two main overtaking opportunities. (Being tough on tyres is) a characteristic of the Hungaroring. The tyres degrade very quickly, so it’s even more important in qualifying to be spot on the first lap and get the maximum out of the new tyres. You don’t have a second chance on this track to put a good lap time on the tyres.

I would say the last corner (is my favourite part of the Hungaroring), which I enjoy a lot, and sector two where you have the chicane and a good series of corners, which makes it very interesting. You cannot miss one apex because if you miss one apex, all of the following corners are affected and quite long. There is also a very nice, fast corner - Turn 11. I love it.”

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Article Posted By: Amy Hawk
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Hungarian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - Force India

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - SAHARA FORCE INDIA F1 TEAM 

Nico Hulkenberg - "Getting back in the points in Silverstone was a good result, although I think I could have scored even more points had some circumstances like the VSC played out differently. However, the car performed well and we beat some fast cars on merit, which is very encouraging for Hungary and the rest of the season.

The race in Budapest is generally pretty cool. I am a big fan of this city: it's beautiful, with lots of historic buildings and there's a good vibe around town. There are many fans who somehow manage to find out where you're staying and they'll be waiting at the hotel every morning and evening. It's pretty good fun.

The Hungaroring is not somewhere I raced a lot in my junior formulas. Outside of F1, I only raced there in GP2 in 2009 – I won the feature race and it was a pretty good weekend for me. It's an old school track: narrow and very twisty. There is no chance to relax or lose concentration as all the corners come one after the other and you risk losing momentum with any mistake. It's a challenging track to get right and it usually produces some fun races."

Sergio Perez - "We have been strong in the last few races, but after some very fast tracks like Austria and Silverstone we head to the Hungaroring, which is the complete opposite to them.

The weekend in Budapest is one I find very enjoyable: there's a nice atmosphere in the paddock and everyone's a fan of this beautiful city. Unfortunately, this year the race is not the final one before the summer break: in the past we usually had a big celebration on Sunday night and the mood there was always great, regardless of whether your result was good or bad. I have a lot of great memories from those parties! I hope there is still one this year as it's a great way to release a lot of the tension after the race.

I really like Hungary and its interesting culture. The locals really love Formula One too and there's always a big crowd in the grandstands. It's a track with few overtaking opportunities so qualifying is important. It's probably the second most important race for track position after Monaco. I think it will be a challenging weekend, but we know we can be competitive on every track. I haven't had a lot of luck there in the past, so I hope for better fortunes this year."

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Hungarian GP: Driver Preview Quotes - McLaren

DRIVER PREVIEW QUOTES - McLAREN HONDA FORMULA 1 TEAM

Fernando Alonso - “Silverstone was definitely a challenge for us, but we knew that from the beginning and we still took a lot of positives away from the weekend. Reliability-wise, we’re getting stronger, and the test just after the grand prix was definitely a little boost for the whole team. We completed a full programme, got a lot of mileage done, and learned a lot which will help with our development, so hopefully we can put some of this knowledge to good use in Hungary.

There’s no such thing as perfect in this sport, but the important thing will be to execute a trouble-free weekend in all areas. If we manage to get the best out of every session, and have some clean, drama-free running, hopefully we can find some good pace in the car and maximise the potential of what we have underneath us - and score some valuable points.

The Hungaroring is a great little circuit, and has quite unique characteristics that not many other tracks share. It’s a bit like a street circuit in the way it’s configured, even though it’s purpose-built, and it requires absolute precision and concentration to get the most out of every lap.

Since you need good balance and downforce, the best way to get a good lap time is to really attack the corners - a bit like in karting - so from that point of view it’s a really fun circuit to drive. Although it’s not a traditional ‘power’ circuit like many others, it doesn’t feel like a slow circuit either; I hope we can find a good set-up early on in the weekend so we can really make the most of our car and hopefully have some fun.”

Jenson Button - “This circuit is quite different from the last few we’ve been to, so I’m looking forward to heading back to Hungary next weekend. It’s less dependent on power, and much more dependent on traction, cornering speeds and agility, and it’s a really enjoyable challenge. You get a great feeling when you hook up a good lap there.

The focus is much more on aero, so we’ll run pretty high down force and try to make the most of our car’s good traction under braking. Hopefully it’ll mean we can keep up with the chasing pack and maybe even make up a bit of ground, too. Although we struggled with our pace in Silverstone, the Hungaroring is a different kettle of fish, so I’m keen to see how we perform there.

Both Fernando and I won our first Grand Prix in Hungary, and it’s always a special feeling going back. It’s been 10 years since that first victory - although it doesn’t feel that long - so the Hungaroring is a place that holds great memories. Budapest is a really cool city and we stay more centrally than at many other Grands Prix, so we get to see quite a bit of the surrounding area, and it makes for a great atmosphere and a real buzz about the place.

In the past couple of years Hungary has been fairly good to us and provided a bit of a boost before the summer break after a relentless few weeks of back-to-back racing, so I’m hoping for more of the same this time around. It suits our car more than some of the other circuits, but of course there are no guarantees, so we’ll be putting in the hard work on Friday to make sure we have the best possible set-up for the demands of this quirky track.”

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Article Posted By: Amy Hawk
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