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Hungarian Grand Prix: Old-school survives in F1

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The Hungaroring circuit may just be the proof that every dog does, indeed, have its day.

F1 arrived in Hungary in 1986, with one of the sport’s great driver line-ups – Prost, Mansell, Piquet (pictured, celebrating with water at the circuit) and a young Senna.

Some 200,000 people turned up to watch the race, and the lucky ones in that almighty crowd got to see Nelson Piquet drift a 1000bhp F1 car as he fought past Senna.


Let’s twist again


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That overtake remains one of F1’s finest moments – with dirty tyres, on a negative camber, against a ruthless competitor, Piquet pulled a rallycross manoeuvre and, legend has it, did it while flipping the bird to Senna.

Respect.

It took place largely because of two particular features of the Hungaroring – the twisty nature of the circuit, which made any overtaking extremely difficult; and the dust that coated so much of the place, making an already low-grip track treacherous off-line.

Those features meant the Hungaroring wasn’t much loved in its early days and, although it produced more than a few memorable moments, it wasn’t glamorous and it wasn’t fast – Martin Brundle (pictured) described it as being ‘A street circuit without the houses’.

But time has been kind to this circuit. The Iron Curtain came down, F1 fans realised they could easily enjoy the beauty of Budapest on a race weekend – the capital is just 12 miles from the circuit – and, crucially, modern tracks began to make the Hungaroring look old-fashioned.

It turns out that an ‘old-fashioned’ circuit can be quite desirable in an era of Hermann Tilke-designed blandness. With just one proper straight, the drivers are worked hard, turns coming at them relentlessly without a chance for a breather.

And a breather can be very necessary – it’s not unusual for the temperature to hit the mid-30s here, and that’s the sort of temperature that had Britain in a sweaty tizzy this week.


Get a grip

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While this weekend’s race won’t just be about tyres, there will be a lot of debate about grip levels.

The track has been resurfaced and, rather than the slippery black stuff of old, it now boasts a much grippier covering.

F1 tyre supplier Pirelli has described the surface as ‘aggressive’, suggesting that cars will have more mechanical grip in those relentless corners.

Ferrari may have more to gain (or lose) from the new surface, having opted to take more soft tyres to the race than any other team.

They’ll have nine sets of supersofts, one more than Mercedes and Red Bull, and Force India will take just six.

One of the side-effects of the new track covering is that the dark surface will absorb heat more easily – Ferrari (pictured) will be hoping that those Pirelli supersofts don’t degrade rapidly if track temperatures are on the high side and the ‘aggressive’ surface takes its toll too.

Ferrari have had an error-strewn season and, with rumours rife of changes at the top, the heat will be on in more ways than one.

Get a move on

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The combination of supersoft tyres and that new track surface means records could tumble.

Track kerbs have been re-profiled too and the Hungaroring is as fast as it has ever been. Earlier this year the WTCC lot raced here and their fastest lap record was utterly shattered, by more than two-and-a-half seconds.

For the record, the fastest F1 lap here remains Rubens Barrichello’s (pictured) 1minute 18.436seconds, during qualifying way back in 2004.

Last year’s pole lap, by Lewis Hamilton, was a leisurely 1minute 22.020seconds, so there’s a big gap to make up.


Fight or flight

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We may see a proper battle at the front this weekend. Mercedes don’t have their usual power advantage on this twisty track and team boss Toto Wolff has been telling everyone who’ll listen that Merc will have to have a perfect weekend to ensure Red Bull don’t steal a win.

If Red Bull can nail qualifying then they’ll have every chance of a perfect weekend.

Their car creates a huge amount of downforce and thrives on circuits with lots of corners and few high-speed straights.

And their Renault/TAG Heuer power unit is showing more and more promise.

Of course, if Mercedes get a car in clean air at the front of the pack, you wouldn’t bet against them.

Lewis Hamilton is looking more and more like he has taken control of this year’s championship and he has excellent form at the circuit, where he has won four times.

The only other F1 driver to win four times in Hungary is Michael Schumacher, and so a Hamilton victory this weekend would be one for the Hungaroring record books.

Of course, a Hamilton win would also catapult him past team-mate Nico Rosberg in the drivers’ championship – there’s a lot at stake this weekend.

But along the pit lane at Red Bull, there are two drivers tussling for No.1 status, and they both know there’s a chance of a win this weekend too.

Daniel Ricciardo has been able to blame a problem-strewn season for many of his poorest results but he was out-qualified for the first time by team-mate Max Verstappen at Silverstone, and that hurt.

Bad luck or not, there’s no hiding from the fact that, since he joined Red Bull just six races ago, Verstappen has been on the podium three times, including his maiden win in Spain.

Ricciardo? He’s been on the podium three times since the beginning of the 2015 season, without ever winning.

The pressure is building rapidly, so don’t be surprised to see as much in-team rivalry at Red Bull as there is at Mercedes.


Wildcard winners

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The Hungaroring does reward the very best drivers – Hamilton, Schumacher and Senna (pictured) being the top performers in terms of wins – but it also has a habit of giving underdogs a chance to shine.

Those who have won their first F1 race here include Fernando Alonso in 2003, Jenson Button in 2006 and Damon Hill in 1993.

It’s easier to stay ahead here, although DRS has slashed that advantage in recent years.

For an underdog to win this year, both Mercs and both Red Bulls have to hit trouble. Then Vettel has to have more mechanical misery and Raikkonen has to fall asleep. Hmmm.

There are thunderstorms forecast for the early part of race weekend and, really, that’s what it will take to cause an upset.

But, even if it’s not a weekend for the underdogs, it should be a great weekend for in-team battles. Pick your driver, settle back and wait for tempers to flare.